The biopharma job market remains challenging, based on BioSpace data. In August, job postings live on the website dropped 32% year over year. In addition, during the first eight months of 2025, over 26,000 people were laid off or projected to be laid off.
New York City has seen increased life sciences employment during the past decade as public funding and key projects like JLABS @ NYC have given the area a boost. A Partnership Fund for New York City executive discusses the city’s strengths and a notable challenge facing businesses.
Capsida has yet to disclose the exact cause of death. The patient had received the gene therapy CAP-002 for a type of epilepsy.
New draft guidelines suggest the FDA is open to exercising regulatory flexibility for non-opioid drugs being developed for chronic pain.
Analysts at BMO Capital Markets expect the lack of other exon-44-skiping therapies to facilitate a “smooth” approval process for Avidity’s del-zota.
These 27 markets, comprising countries across Asia, Europe and South America, together contributed some 12% of Lundbeck’s earnings in 2024.
FEATURED STORIES
New FDA expert panels, such as recent meetings on SSRI use during pregnancy and on hormone replacement therapy during menopause, are drawing criticism for being one-sided. One leader says such panels are designed to reach a specific conclusion.
Amid an unprecedented turnover in leadership at the FDA and mass layoffs of staff, communication has crumbled and uncertainty runs rampant, leaving small and medium biopharma companies without a clear path forward for their therapies.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeated a series of anti-vaccine talking points during his appearance in front of the Senate finance committee on Thursday, as Democratic and Republican senators alike hammered the Health Secretary on recent COVID-19 vaccine restrictions and his views on Operation Warp Speed.
As AAV9 and CRISPR programs navigate safety, delivery and scalability hurdles, small molecules offer a deployable, scalable bridge, complementing genetic approaches and accelerating meaningful impact for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
It can cure deadly diseases, save long-term healthcare costs and transform lives. But the U.S. insurance system still isn’t ready to pay for it.
Blank check deals dwindled after a crazy 2021. Now, biotechs are starting to turn to special purpose acquisition companies again as an easy route to the public markets.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
Are long R&D cycles, overwhelming literature reviews, or patent bottlenecks slowing your path to innovation? In the fast-evolving life science landscape, AI is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity.
LATEST PODCASTS
Eli Lilly drops a second Phase III readout for orforglipron; AbbVie committed to the psychedelic therapeutics space with the $1.2 billion acquisition of Gilgamesh’s depression asset; the CDC taps vaccine skeptic Retsef Levi to lead its COVID-19 immunization working group; and the FDA prioritizes overall survival in cancer drug development.
Closely watched data from Eli Lilly and Viking Therapeutics this month have reignited the discussion around oral weight-loss drugs—and their ultimate place within the anti-obesity medication market.
In this episode presented by Cresset, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses clinical trial fail rates and AI’s potential to reduce preclinical costs with Mutlu Dogruel, VP of AI and Mark Mackey, CSO of Cresset.
Job Trends
BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the second quarter of 2025, with increased pressure from further layoffs.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
Peter Marks, the venerable head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has been forced out. In this special edition of BioPharm Executive, BioSpace takes a deep dive into the instability of the HHS.
Year-over-year BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the first quarter of 2025.
In this deep dive, BioSpace explores the diverse therapeutic modalities now in development, as well as the opportunities and battles for market dominance in this emerging space.
DEALS
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Novartis is licensing ARO-SNCA, a preclinical siRNA therapy for synucleinopathies, a group of neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease. -
If the trend holds, IQVIA expects 2025 deal volume between Chinese and multinational companies to easily eclipse the 100 agreements signed in 2024. -
The deal extends AbbVie’s commitment to the psychedelics space and depression, after emraclidine’s high-profile flop in schizophrenia last November. -
Patients who are prescribed Wegovy or Ozempic can now use GoodRx to access the medications at just $499 a month if they skip insurance. This is not the first time Novo has partnered with a pharmacy to offer the blockbuster drugs. -
After a slow 2024, the biotech shell company Concentra Biosciences is back, offering to buy four biotechs in the past month and seven so far this year.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy has been on a winning streak as of late, with a metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis approval last month and prime position in the oral obesity race. -
While Eli Lilly’s orforglipron is full speed ahead for a regulatory filing this year, the pharma is also pushing forward with one more Phase II study of naperiglipron, which uses the same scaffold as Pfizer’s failed obesity drugs danuglipron and lotiglipron. -
In December 2024, Teva also secured FDA approval for the other liraglutide brand Victoza, indicated for type 2 diabetes. -
Novo Nordisk has brought on other cardiometabolic collaborators this year, including United Laboratories International and Deep Apple Therapeutics. -
Eli Lilly drops a second Phase III readout for orforglipron; AbbVie committed to the psychedelic therapeutics space with the $1.2 billion acquisition of Gilgamesh’s depression asset; the CDC taps vaccine skeptic Retsef Levi to lead its COVID-19 immunization working group; and the FDA prioritizes overall survival in cancer drug development.
POLICY
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While a win for consumers, the regulatory action did nothing to stem the manufacture of compounded versions of the popular obesity drugs that are made by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. In fact, the FDA seems to be signaling that “some level of compounded product is acceptable,” according to BMO Capital Markets. -
The World Health Organization’s Essential Medicines list guides high-level procurement and coverage decisions for over 150 countries. -
Ousted CDC Director Susan Monarez claimed in an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal Thursday that she was fired for refusing to rubber-stamp COVID-19 recommendations to be made by an advisory panel that has expressed “antivaccine rhetoric.” -
In coordination with the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Gilead will make its twice-yearly HIV prophylactic Yeztugo available to resource-limited countries “at no profit.” -
Perhaps the most interesting of the pile of FDA rejection letters was for Lykos Therapeutics’ MDMA therapy. Letters sent to Stealth BioTherapeutics, Regeneron and more were also released as the agency also promised future CRLs “promptly after they are issued to sponsors.”
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HOTBEDS
REPORTS
Establishing trust through thought leadership is no longer optional in today’s cautious biopharma market. Learn how strategic insights and targeted outreach can turn awareness into high-converting leads.
The life sciences job market continues to shift. BioSpace’s Q2 2025 U.S. Life Sciences Job Market Report is now available, offering exclusive insights into the latest hiring trends, layoffs, and workforce dynamics across the life sciences industry.
The 9% average salary increase from 2023 to 2024 was the largest for life sciences professionals since 2021. Several factors could be behind the spike, including companies providing higher pay because bonuses and stock compensation went down.
CANCER
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The French giant is gaining access to darovasertib, a small molecule protein kinase C inhibitor already in Phase II/III trials, with rights for the whole world besides the U.S. -
Exelixis is looking at the possibility of relocating some of the eliminated Pennsylvania roles to its headquarters in Alameda, California, according to a company spokesperson. -
Krystal Biotech’s decision follows the FDA’s rejection last month of Replimune’s RP1, which works similarly to Krystal Biotech’s KB707. The biotech said this has introduced “heightened uncertainty” regarding a potential accelerated pathway for the candidate. -
The FDA recommends that companies use overall survival as a primary endpoint for clinical trials where feasible. The new guidance follows the surprising return of CBER Head Vinay Prasad, who has previously argued for prioritizing OS. -
The platform strategy of using one molecule to target an underlying biological pathway to address many different diseases can be a goldmine for smaller companies. But it also has a unique set of challenges.
NEUROSCIENCE
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The reprioritization effort will help AC Immune extend its cash runway through the third quarter of 2027. -
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will appear before the Senate Finance Committee Thursday, ahead of a vaccine advisory committee meeting later in September. Meanwhile, deal-making appetite appears healthy, and the weight loss space continues generating clinical data and other news.
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Some of the biggest SPACs from the industry’s pandemic-fueled heyday are no longer on the market. -
While the approval of Leqembi Iqlik bodes well for Biogen and Eisai’s planned application for a subcutaneous induction regimen next year, its financial impact remains “uncertain,” as potentially higher revenues from the injection could be offset by steeper costs of production, according to Jefferies. -
After a demoralizing period punctuated by the withdrawal of one of the few marketed therapies for ALS, investment in new biotechs, state-backed collaborative initiatives and buzz at BIO2025 suggest a new day in drug development for one of medicine’s most intractable diseases.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Kriya is advancing a host of gene therapies for a wide variety of chronic diseases, including geographic atrophy, trigeminal neuralgia and type 1 diabetes. -
Prasad Returns, Delany Departs, Lilly’s Weight Loss Pill Disappoints and Sarepta’s Fallout ContinuesCBER Chief Vinay Prasad reclaimed his job less than two weeks after his mysterious exit; MAHA implementor Gray Delany is out after reportedly sparring with other agency officials over communications strategy; Eli Lilly’s first Phase III readout for oral obesity drug orforglipron missed analyst expectations; and Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals addresses the recent woes of its of partner Sarepta.
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Jefferies analysts said these detailed safety outcomes confirm the gene therapy’s positive risk/benefit profile in ambulatory patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. -
Skysona can now only be used in patients with cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy who have no available treatment alternatives or stem cell donors. -
In the wake of multiple patient deaths from liver injuries related to Sarepta Therapeutics’ AAV gene therapy platform, some in the sector are looking for ways to improve the current technology, while others are eager to move on.
