The alleged deaths were detected by the FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, reports from which “generally cannot be used to determine” causation or even contribution, according to the agency.
If approved, Ascendis’ TransCon CNP would become the second therapy for achondroplasia, challenging BioMarin’s Voxzogo.
The FDA’s docket in December includes decisions for two big biologic franchises: BMS’s Breyanzi and Amgen’s Uplizna.
Analysts at Guggenheim Partners expect Voyxact to see “broad commercial uptake” given its relatively broad label compared with previous accelerated approvals for IgA nephropathy.
The discounts should be compared against the drugs’ “ultimate net price” rather than their indicated list price to gauge the true impact of the negotiations, BMO Capital Markets analysts said.
Imfinzi is the first immunotherapy approved for perioperative use to treat gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers.
FEATURED STORIES
Therapies from industry leaders BioMarin and Ascendis Pharma supply a key hormone that promotes bone growth. In order to move the field forward, challengers are looking to address the underlying cause of the rare, genetic disease.
New analysis from Jefferies shows that rare disease and cancer drugs granted the status are especially likely to be approved.
Takeda wanted to create something new in the cell therapy world by combining the technology with T cell engagers. A series of acquisitions in 2021 started the process.
As the industry loses one of its key female leaders in GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, BioSpace profiles the women leading the industry’s smaller biopharmas.
Drug pricing criticism often fixates on a price at a single point in time but drug pricing is never static.
Cell and gene therapy experts question where the FDA designation fits in an environment that features a range of intersecting regulatory perks.
LATEST PODCASTS
Sarepta Therapeutics faces serious FDA action after news broke of a third patient death, the FDA gets a new top drug regulator in George Tidmarsh, a handful of new drugs get turned away from the market and pharma companies continue to commit billions to reshoring manufacturing.
In this episode presented by Eclipsebio, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis continues the discussion on mRNA and srRNA with Andy Geall of Replicate Bioscience and Alliance for mRNA Medicines and Pad Chivukula of Arcturus Therapeutics.
In this episode presented by IQVIA, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses the evolving role of local qualified persons for pharmacovigilance with Ana Pedro Jesuíno, global head local QPPV network at IQVIA.
Job Trends
The headcount reduction will save money that the company will use in developing mavorixafor, its CXCR4 antagonist that last year received FDA approval to treat WHIM syndrome, in the larger patient population with chronic neutropenia.
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
-
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. -
Sarepta’s troubles had nothing to do with Arrowhead’s assets, and yet both companies have seen their stock prices decline this past month. BioSpace caught up with Arrowhead’s Chris Anzalone to talk about the biotech’s role as an RNAi pipeline savior. -
Out-licensing drugs to multinational corporations is a natural step for Chinese biotechs, but the recent rise in deals is only scratching at the surface of partnership-ready biotechs in the region. -
The German giant is looking to develop new drugs for undisclosed eye diseases using Re-Vana’s extended-release injectable platform to supply drugs to the eye for months at a time. -
The star of GSK’s Hengrui partnership is the COPD candidate HRS-9821, which will complement the pharma’s respiratory pipeline that’s anchored by the anti-asthma drug Nucala.
WEIGHT LOSS
-
Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are eyeing regulatory advancements for their obesity blockbusters as the European Association for the Study of Diabetes’ annual conference continues this week. -
While Eli Lilly’s orforglipron is top of mind heading into the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting this week, experts told BioSpace the conference will also provide important insights into the therapeutic benefits of incretin therapies beyond weight loss. -
As Novo Nordisk cuts 9,000 people from its organization in a restructuring effort, BioSpace looks back on the Danish pharma company’s rise. -
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. -
Suddenly one obesity asset has come to define Amgen but executives see a fuller portfolio that will bring the big biotech into the future.
POLICY
-
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.” -
The new additions would bring ACIP membership to 14 total. Several of the proposed members have taken part in anti-vaccine activity or made anti-vaccine statements. -
YouTube has shut down a channel containing hundreds of videos of comments made by doctors and other influencers—including CBER Director Vinay Prasad, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya—during the pandemic. This comes as Prasad reveals further details about last week’s updated COVID-19 approvals.
Companies will look at job candidates’ LinkedIn profiles, so make sure yours is strong, from the summary of your expertise and qualifications to testimonials from colleagues.
After more than 20 years at Eli Lilly, Leslie Sam moved into independent consulting. To prepare for the transition, she focused on becoming technically deep and earning industry recognition.
Employed and unemployed biotech and pharma professionals are thinking about job hunting in other fields amidst a challenging labor market.
When you don’t get the promotion you wanted, it’s important to assess your company and yourself so you can improve your odds in the future.
Looking for an automation engineer job? Check out these seven companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Career support is the No. 2 driver of employee engagement while learning and development is No. 3, according to a new Right Management report. A recent BioSpace survey supports those findings.
HOTBEDS
REPORTS
The 2021 Salary Report is significant in more ways than one. This year, BioSpace analyzed salary data through two key lenses: the impact of the pandemic, and for the first time, race and ethnicity.
BioSpace’s 2022 Salary Report explores the average salaries and salary trends of life sciences professionals. Though movement in the labor market slowed during the pandemic, recovery has been swift and employers are once again having to cope with a highly competitive talent market.
BioSpace has created guidelines on how biopharma organizations, large and small, can effectively support employee resource groups (ERGs), encouraging both their creation and ongoing participation.
CANCER
-
VantAI will use its machine learning capabilities to identify novel target-effector pairs that Halda can use in designing its bifunctional small-molecule drugs. -
The Department of Health and Human Services’ mRNA pullback only applies to their use in upper respiratory disease, according to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -
After two patients who received the investigational CDC7 blocker died, pushing forward with SGR-2921’s development would be “difficult,” according to Schrödinger, whose stock dropped 17.5% before the opening bell on Thursday. -
For $1.3 billion in aggregate—including upfront and milestone payments—Bayer will get exclusive global access to Kumquat Biosciences’ small-molecule KRAS G12D blocker. -
Phase Ib data show Hernexeos can elicit a confirmed objective response rate of 44% in patients with HER2-mutated NSCLC who had previously been treated with a directed antibody-drug conjugate.
NEUROSCIENCE
-
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. -
Rick Doblin, the founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which founded Lykos, bemoaned a “moving of the goal posts” in Lykos’ rejection but looked for positives in the newly released complete response letter. -
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.
-
Some of the biggest SPACs from the industry’s pandemic-fueled heyday are no longer on the market.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
-
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.
-
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. -
Sarepta did not hold an investor call for its second-quarter earnings report or provide an updated full-year revenue outlook.
