Another patient has died from acute liver failure after receiving Sarepta’s gene therapy for DMD ; After a quiet start to the year, M&A is back with one deal for a gene editing biotech reinvigorating that sector; and RFK Jr. installs a suite of new vaccine board members who share his skeptical views on vaccines.
Roche obtained CT-173, a PYY mimetic, in its $2.7 billion acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics in December 2023. The company reported the change in its second quarter earnings call.
The Washington, D.C.–Baltimore area ranks in the top six for life sciences R&D and manufacturing talent, according to a CBRE report. The Maryland Department of Commerce’s director of life sciences discusses the workforce and how the state is adapting to changing needs.
While FDA Commissioner Marty Makary emphasizes learning and humility, the FDA has systematically removed the very experience that would make change possible.
The decision follows last month’s vote of the CDC’s revamped vaccine advisory committee. Thimerosal, mostly removed from vaccines decades ago, has long been a target of anti-vaccine advocates for unfounded links to autism and adverse health outcomes.
Looking for a biopharma job in California? Check out the BioSpace list of 11 companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Dispatch seeks to address two main challenges of immunotherapies in solid tumors: the lack of a target and the immunosuppressive tumor environment.
FEATURED STORIES
While GLP-1 drugs remain wildly popular and are a highly lucrative sector, data analytics firm GlobalData contends manufacturing and cost will remain overhangs on the obesity market.
Accurately diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease pathologies is becoming increasingly important, but the U.S. is facing imaging resource constraints.
The plethora of genes involved in obesity presents an intriguing opportunity for both gene silencing and ex vivo gene therapy approaches.
Although Massachusetts’ life sciences job growth increased by just 2.5% in 2023, the state continues to grow the industry, according to a new MassBioEd report.
Biogen recently bolstered its pipeline with a potential $1.8 billion acquisition of Human Immunology Biosciences, following other big players looking to cash in on a global immunology market estimated to grow to $257 billion by 2032.
Despite a surge in the financial markets, multiple Big Pharma companies have announced hundreds or even thousands of cuts. Experts hope for a better second half of the year.
LATEST PODCASTS
In this episode presented by PII, BioSpace’s head of insights discusses how to relieve clinical trial patients of technological burden to improve compliance with guests Oliver Eden and Travis Webb.
Pfizer and Novo Nordisk continue to fight for ownership of obesity startup Metsera; CDER Director George Tidmarsh leaves his position amid an ongoing probe into his “personal conduct”; FDA reverses course on approval requirements for uniQure’s Huntington’s gene therapy; Sarepta’s exon-skipping Duchenne muscular dystrophy drugs fail confirmatory study.
In this episode presented by Element Materials Technology, BioSpace’s head of insights discusses how China, historically focused on manufacturing, is increasingly becoming an innovation leader, particularly in pharmaceuticals, with guests Dr. Jihye Jang-Lee and Dr. Khanh Courtney. Ultimately, balanced strategies involve domestic capacity investments coupled with global collaboration.
Job Trends
BioInvent International AB announced a clinical supply agreement with AstraZeneca to evaluate BioInvent’s anti-FcyRIIB antibody, BI-1206, in combination with rituximab and Calquence®, in a Phase 1/2a study in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Subscribe to Genepool
Subscribe to BioSpace’s flagship publication including top headlines, special editions and life sciences’ most important breaking news
SPECIAL EDITIONS
In this deep dive, BioSpace investigates China’s rise as a biotech powerhouse.
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.
DEALS
-
Eli Lilly announced Thursday it will acquire former collaborative partner Sigilon Therapeutics to deepen its diabetic foothold with a potentially functional cure for Type 1. -
Despite a challenging economic climate and gloomy forecast, 2023 has still notched some mega-deals for biopharmas. BioSpace highlights the biggest deals in the industry this year. -
The acquisition of the privately-held company will bring its novel, investigational beta-lactamase inhibitors and other antimicrobials into the Japanese pharma’s pipeline. -
Banking on its lead antibody APG777 for atopic dermatitis, Apogee Therapeutics is filing an initial public offering for an as-yet-undisclosed value. -
Citing anti-trust issues, six states—California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Washington and Wisconsin—are joining the FTC’s legal challenge to Amgen’s nearly $27.8 billion buyout of Horizon.
WEIGHT LOSS
-
The biotech is taking a synergistic approach to obesity with two muscle-preserving antibodies set to enter a Phase II study in mid-2024 in combination with existing incretin-based treatments. -
Driven by soaring demand for its diabetes and weight loss drugs, Novo Nordisk on Wednesday reported better-than-expected full-year 2023 earnings with a 31% sales increase. -
Stringent regulation, manufacturing costs and absence of price control contribute to high GLP-1 agonist costs in the U.S. Patients could go to other countries for cheaper treatment. -
The persistent shortage of genuine glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist products has led to an increase in fake versions, the World Health Organization warned on Monday. -
More than 3,000 people in the U.S. suffered from side effects of Ozempic in 2023, according to exclusive reporting on Wednesday from Reuters citing data from America’s Poison Centers.
POLICY
-
The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday issued an interim report on the top pharmacy benefit managers, showing that they are generating massive profit at the expense of patients by inflating prescription drug costs.
-
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday said he intends to have a “significant package of China-related legislation” signed into law by the end of this year, including the BIOSECURE Act which intends to stop federal contracts with Chinese “companies of concern.”
-
The Biden administration is appealing a 2023 jury decision that declared invalid its patent protections over Gilead Sciences’ HIV prevention regimen of Truvada and Descovy. -
The groundwork being done in 2024 is building the foundation for global collaboration in the future. -
A federal judge ruled last week that the U.S. government can use its economic standing as a bulk purchaser to negotiate for better deals, handing Boehringer Ingelheim a loss in its legal challenge to the Inflation Reduction Act.
We interviewed Gaius Augustus, a PhD candidate at the University of Arizona, who is a participant in their Cancer Biology Graduate Interdisciplinary Program. He is also a bioinformatician, who regularly incorporates epidemiological data into his work.
We all have stress, but sometimes the pressures of work tend to leach into other areas of our lives. This can cause an upheaval in your entire existence and may leave you feeling on-edge at the office and detached at home.
Are you fascinated with microbiology? Have you ever thought about how to integrate your passion for research and entrepreneurship? The field of microbiology is expanding and being significantly impacted by advancements in technology.
According to a recent BioSpace survey, 93% of respondents are open to a new job for the right opportunity. Are you one of the 93%? If so, keep your eyes open for those opportunities and don’t stop looking. You never know what may come your way!
We had the opportunity to meet with Arti Dumbrepatil, a postdoctoral fellow in the University of Michigan’s chemistry department. Arti explained her journey as an international student and how a postdoctoral fellowship can prepare you for a career as an independent scientist!
There is something of a recurring theme among the life science, healthcare and biopharma industries: shortage of skilled employees will lead to a decrease in innovation.
HOTBEDS
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The FDA is hoping to repurpose GSK’s Wellcovorin for cerebral folate deficiency; Pfizer acquired fast-moving weight-loss startup Metsera for nearly $5 billion after suffering a hat trick of R&D failures; psychedelics are primed for M&A action and Eli Lilly may be next in line; RFK Jr.’s revamped CDC advisory committee met last week with confounding results; and Stealth secured its Barth approval.
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
-
Two of the five fatalities were found to be unrelated to MacroGenics’ investigational antibody-drug conjugate vobra duo, while the other three are still under investigation. -
ADC Therapeutics is positioning Zynlonta for a label expansion with new Phase II data showing that the treatment can elicit high rates of complete response in patients with relapsed or refractory marginal zone lymphoma.
-
Following the regulatory victory of Balversa in urothelial carcinoma, Johnson & Johnson on Friday continued its bladder cancer winning streak with an 82.8% complete response rate forTAR-200 in high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. -
Following an upsized IPO earlier this year, CG Oncology on Friday posted promising Phase III data for cretostimogene, which elicited a 75% complete response rate in high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients. -
AstraZeneca’s blockbuster BTK inhibitor Calquence significantly improved progression-free survival when used as a frontline treatment in patients with mantle cell lymphoma, according to Thursday’s late-stage results.
NEUROSCIENCE
-
Following a controversial Rett Syndrome trial last year, Anavex Life Sciences’ blarcamesine has claimed another clinical victory—this time in an Alzheimer’s disease Phase IIb/III study. -
With a potential combined market value of $30 billion, BioSpace takes a deep dive into the Phase III data supporting Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi and Eli Lilly’s investigational donanemab. -
With a recent study yielding positive results, experts say GLP-1 drugs are making headway in treating Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. -
With new Alzheimer’s drugs receiving—and expected to receive—FDA approval, the market for diagnostic biomarker tests is set to expand. -
The companies partnered to develop the antibody transport vehicle in late 2021, but will continue their 2018 agreement to pursue other drugs in preclinical development.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
-
Pfizer and Novo Nordisk continue to fight for ownership of obesity startup Metsera; CDER Director George Tidmarsh leaves his position amid an ongoing probe into his “personal conduct”; FDA reverses course on approval requirements for uniQure’s Huntington’s gene therapy; Sarepta’s exon-skipping Duchenne muscular dystrophy drugs fail confirmatory study. -
The potential approval of Vertex’s IgAN therapy povetacicept in 2026 comes amid launch headwinds for the company’s non-opioid pain medicine Journavx and gene therapy Casgevy. -
With a 100% response rate in a Phase II study, KYV-101 sets a new efficacy bar in generalized myasthenia gravis, according to analysts at William Blair. -
The clinical hold comes days after Intellia voluntarily paused enrollment and dosing in the same two studies. -
As third-quarter earnings continue to roll out, Novartis makes headlines with the second biggest acquisition of the year; Novartis’ CEO also downplayed the impact of Big Pharma pricing deals with the Trump administration; Regeneron continued the trend of dropping cell therapy assets; BioSpace takes a look at how the FDA is functioning mid-shutdown.
