The all-cash buyout, which gives AbbVie access to Capstan Therapeutics’ in vivo edited CAR T therapy for B cell–mediated autoimmune diseases, adds to a growing sense of momentum in M&A, according to BMO Capital Markets.
BMS is letting go of 68 employees in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The pharma has now cut over 1,000 employees there since April 2024 as part of its cost-cutting measures.
The rise of monoclonal antibodies brought back hope for stalling or reversing the devastating neurodegenerative disease. Big Pharma has taken notice with a handful of high-value deals, GlobalData reports.
Digging into a prespecified analysis for the mid-stage study, INmune Bio identified some clinical and biological benefits of its TNF inhibitor in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease who have at least two biomarkers of inflammation.
In an open letter addressing the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts to HHS, the executives urged Congress to continue “robust federal funding” for scientific research, which they say will help maintain U.S. biotech leadership globally.
In adults 50 and older, Moderna’s flu shot was more than 26% better than an unspecified commercial vaccine. In May, the company pulled its application for a combo flu/COVID-19 shot, saying it would refile following data from this Phase III trial.
FEATURED STORIES
The potential of mRNA vaccines was established during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, a new wave of candidates could soon hit the market for cancer, influenza and more.
The FDA has six target action dates ahead to round out September as drugs for gastroparesis, Niemann-Pick disease type C and more await decisions.
It’s time for Congress to step up and fund America’s supply chain independence from Chinese companies by bolstering our domestic manufacturing capabilities.
Analysts expressed skepticism about plans detailed by Moderna’s R&D chief Stephen Hoge to trim research spending in preparation for the launch of up to 10 new products.
As it nears a crucial FDA action date for its transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy candidate, BridgeBio focuses on its late-stage pipeline.
No patients have received Casgevy, CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmeceuticals’ recently approved sickle cell gene therapy. Experts weigh in on the path to profit for the treatment and the therapeutic class in general.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
Listen now for a high-level discussion on overcoming pharmaceutical supply chain challenges through end-to-end integration.
LATEST PODCASTS
In this episode of Denatured, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis and Colin Zick, partner at Foley Hoag LLP, spend time discussing some of the points brought up in the Bioprocessing Summit last month. They explore the connections between hammers, AI, The Planet of the Apes and monoliths.
The White House is clamping down on pharma’s ability to buy new molecules from Chinese biotechs; Sanofi, Merck and others abandon the U.K. after the introduction of a sizeable levy; Novo CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar lays off 9,000 while the company presents new data at EASD; Capsida loses a patient in a gene therapy trial; and CDER Director George Tidmarsh walks back comments on FDA adcomms.
This week’s release of the Make America Health Again report revealed continued emphasis on vaccine safety; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s faceoff with senators last week amounted to political theater; the FDA promises complete response letters in real time and shares details on a new rare disease framework; and Summit disappoints at the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Barcelona.
Job Trends
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved sotatercept-csrk (U.S. Brand Name: WINREVAIR™, for injection, 45mg, 60mg) for the treatment of adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH, World Health Organization [WHO] Group 1) to increase exercise capacity, improve WHO functional class (FC), and reduce the risk of clinical worsening events.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
In this deep dive, BioSpace explores the next big thing in obesity.
BioSpace did a deep dive into biopharma female executives who navigated difficult markets to lead their companies to high-value exits.
BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the second quarter of 2025, with increased pressure from further layoffs.
DEALS
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Tome Biosciences has only been on the scene for a short time but on Tuesday notched an acquisition of CRISPR-based biotech Replace Therapeutics for $65 million upfront. -
All three companies closed out the year, which saw significant growth in mergers and acquisitions, with high-value deals that could potentially set the tone for M&A in 2024. -
The acquisition announced on Friday will give Bristol Myers Squibb ownership of Karuna Therapeutics’ investigational antipsychotic KarXT, which is being tested for schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis. -
Continued fallout from the IRA, heightened antitrust enforcement and the rise of AI will all shape the first wave of biotech mergers and acquisitions coming this year, experts tell BioSpace. -
What needs to happen for funding in biopharma to bounce back? BioSpace’s Lori Ellis discusses the macroeconomic environment and biopharma funding outlook with venture capital guests Ansbert Gadicke, Martin Gershon and Mike Goguen.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Novo Nordisk will face strong generic competition from at least 15 companies in China for its blockbuster GLP-1 receptor agonist products Wegovy and Ozempic, according to Reuters. -
The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has endorsed the use of Eli Lilly’s Zepboundfor weight management in patients with BMI of 35 kg/m2 and above and at least one weight-related comorbidity. -
Structure Therapeutics’ GLP-1 receptor agonist GSBR-1290 achieved mean weight loss of 6.2% in overweight or obese patients. The company’s shares jumped to a six-month high on the news Monday. -
Driven by growing market demand and an improving supply chain, the global weight-loss drug market is expected to hit $150 billion in value by the early 2030s, according to analysts cited by Reuters. -
The FDA currently does not recommend using changes in lean mass as an endpoint in clinical trials for weight loss drugs. Should it?
POLICY
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United States Pharmacopeia is recruiting expert volunteers from academia, industry, regulatory and healthcare to develop, revise and approve medicine, dietary supplement and food ingredient standards and solutions used in more than 150 countries to improve global public health. The volunteers will serve from 2025 to 2030. -
Massachusetts residents voted Tuesday against the Natural Psychedelic Substances Act, which would have seen some psychedelics, including psilocybin and dimethyltryptamine, legalized in the state. -
Senator Elizabeth Warren told the Federal Trade Commission that the acquisition of contract manufacturer Catalent could increase Novo’s dominance over the hot GLP-1 market, reducing competition and increasing prices. -
The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Teva violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. The payment is in addition to the criminal penalty paid by Teva USA under its deferred prosecution agreement. -
WuXi AppTec looks to unload its Philadelphia manufacturing sites and WuXi Biologics slows its rapid expansion in the U.S. as the companies await the Senate’s review of the BIOSECURE Act that threatens to cut them off from U.S. biopharma.
This article offers suggestions for how to be camera-ready for a virtual interview.
Many people are wondering how they can make meaningful connections and grow their professional network in a time when large group meetings are discouraged.
Once you’ve made initial meaningful contact with a hiring manager – through an interview, online or phone inquiry, informational interview or networking experience – the best way to turn that encounter into opportunity is through sustained follow-up.
Here are four ways to improve your productivity while working from home!
You can apply these career-planning and goal-setting techniques to establish career goals that are just as exciting as those you dreamed about as a kid.
The interview goes both ways and in order to choose a perfect workplace, you must analyze a few things. Here are a few interview red flags to watch out for during an interview.
HOTBEDS
REPORTS
In this Employment Outlook report, BioSpace explores current workforce sentiment, job activity trends and the prospective job and hiring outlook for 2025, particularly as it compares to the previous year.
BioSpace’s third report on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in life sciences examines dramatic shifts in attitude around diversity initiatives.
CANCER
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The company is building a new facility in California, its third U.S.-based radioligand therapy production site, and expanding an Indianapolis site for producing isotopes for cancer treatment. -
Proceeds from the oversubscribed financing will be used to advance ArsenalBio’s lead programs, which include a handful of solid tumor cell therapy candidates. -
NuCana’s chemotherapy replacement has failed to improve progression-free survival in a Phase II test, sending the biotech’s shares down by 50%. -
The pharma continued its clinical losing streak on Thursday with the announcement that it is discontinuing late-stage studies of the anti-PD-1 therapy in non-small cell lung cancer and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. -
With the FDA’s rejection of Ordspono in March, Monday’s green light from the European Commission marks the first approval worldwide and the first regulatory victory for Regeneron’s bispecific antibody platform.
NEUROSCIENCE
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Neurocrine Biosciences on Tuesday won the FDA’s approval for a sprinkle capsule formulation of Ingrezza, providing a more convenient route of treatment for Huntington’s disease patients with trouble swallowing. -
On June 10, the FDA will convene its Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee to discuss the New Drug Application for Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug. -
After a record low in 2022, the pharma industry in 2023 saw a surprise rebound in productivity following one of its slowest years on record, according to a report from audit firm Deloitte. -
Ketabon is working to develop a medication that harnesses ketamine’s antidepressant effects without the safety issues that currently prohibit its at-home use. -
Biogen on Wednesday exceeded analyst profit estimates for the first quarter of 2024 as the biotech’s cost-cutting measures took hold and sales of its Alzheimer’s disease therapy Leqembi started to pick up.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Sarepta Therapeutics on Wednesday called the launch of the gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy “exceptional” but the company does not expect to see significant growth in the first half of 2024 due to its currently limited patient pool. -
Cell and gene therapy professionals gathered in Miami last month to discuss new manufacturing approaches for these up-and-coming treatments. -
Johnson & Johnson and Legend Biotech got a positive opinion from a European Medicines Agency panel for earlier lines of treatment, as they ready for a March FDA advisory committee meeting. -
After treatment with a CD19 CAR-T therapy, patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, idiopathic inflammatory myositis or systemic sclerosis achieved long-lasting remission, according to results published in the NEJM. -
The regulator has granted a priority review of the efficacy supplement for Sarepta Therapeutics’ gene therapy Elevidys with a target decision date of June 21, 2024.
