Eli Lilly’s retatrutide exceeds expectations in Phase III, capping off a sparkling 2025 for the obesity titan; an internal FDA safety review finds no confirmed pediatric deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccines, and Commissioner Marty Makary says no black box warning will be attached to the shots; and BioSpace looks at six biotechs that could be pharma’s next buy.
Biotech’s slump may finally be over in 2026. In interviews with BioSpace, Zymeworks’ CEO Ken Galbraith and Zai Lab’s President and COO Josh Smiley explain what’s fueling the comeback.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla defended his company’s vaccine business as rhetoric from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drives a notable drop in COVID-19 sales.
Speaking on Bloomberg TV on Monday, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary contradicted recent reporting that suggested the agency was planning to add a black box label—its most serious warning—to COVID-19 vaccines.
The star of the agreement targets a specific type of tau protein, helping to prevent toxic accumulation in the brain while also preserving the function of healthy tau.
Kyverna plans to submit mivocabtagene autoleucel to the FDA for approval in the first half of 2026. If approved, it would be the first CAR T therapy for an autoimmune disease.
FEATURED STORIES
Innovative outcome measures coupled with a focus on patient-centered clinical differentiation can help the biopharma industry make meaningful progress in the highly complex area of neuroscience.
Days after Johnson & Johnson’s posdinemab failed to slow clinical decline in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Eisai Chief Clinical Officer Lynn Kramer expressed unwavering conviction in his company’s own anti-tau asset, while others suggest the Alzheimer’s field is heading in a completely different direction.
Nearly 90% of senior leaders who were at the FDA a year ago are no longer with the agency, a BioSpace analysis shows. None remain from the Office of the Commissioner.
Early decisions about manufacturing and supply chains could prove costly as a company reaches the commercial stage.
Venture capital flow to women-founded companies has stabilized in the post-pandemic environment. BioSpace looks back at five companies that have nabbed the most over the past two decades.
While the TrumpRx deals only cover Lilly and Novo for now, the agreements are good for any cardiometabolic biotechs waiting in the wings, according to a new 2026 preview report from PitchBook.
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
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.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
Year-over-year BioSpace data show there were fewer job postings live on the website in the fourth quarter of 2024, and the decrease was higher than the third quarter’s drop.
The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference started off with a flurry of deals that reinvigorated excitement across the biopharma industry. Johnson & Johnson moved to acquire Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14.6 billion, breaking a dealmaking barrier that kept Big Pharma’s 2024 biotech buyouts to under $5 billion.
In this deep dive BioSpace explores the opportunities and challenges presented by the FDA’s accelerated approval program.
DEALS
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Halda Therapeutics is developing oral assets for prostate and lung cancer. The deal comes after Johnson & Johnson set an ambitious goal for its oncology sales by 2030. -
The companies have yet to disclose how many programs they plan to collaborate on or what indications they will prioritize. -
A day after Pfizer closed its hotly contested Metsera deal, Lundbeck has made an unsolicited offer to steal Avadel Pharmaceuticals away from Alkermes. -
At $9.2 billion, the Cidara acquisition lands among the top 5 largest deals of the year. -
The back-heavy deal includes a $5 million upfront payment for two novel T cell engagers, though the companies have yet to disclose priority indications.
WEIGHT LOSS
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The drugmaker’s dominance of the obesity market is fueling predictions that years of growth lie ahead. -
If Eli Lilly’s obesity pill orforglipron is approved and priced around $200 per month, analysts at Truist predict patients will flock to it. -
Novo Nordisk goes “on the offensive” following Trump deal that also included rival Eli Lilly, putting an exclamation point on rapidly declining GLP-1 drug prices. Experts say the unusual situation makes it hard to predict what’s next. -
Speaking at a conference this morning, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla suggested that Metsera’s therapies could begin hitting the market in 2028. -
The decision to pause dapiglutide will help Zealand focus investment into assets that have “the greatest potential for clinical differentiation” in obesity.
POLICY
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Representatives from companies such as Sanofi and Forge Biologics point to the potential for PreCheck to drive activation of idle production capacity and help companies that are already building plants. -
Following restricted vaccine approvals and changes to CDC immunization schedules, Merck, Pfizer, GSK and Sanofi are all suffering revenue hits to their vaccine programs. -
The upheaval of the Health and Human Services workforce and leadership leaves much to be desired in terms of delivery, recently retired FDA Chief Information Officer Vid Desai tells BioSpace, but the regulatory agency is evolving to be more open to much needed change. -
According to reporting from Reuters, reviewers at the agency pointed to an inability to differentiate from placebo to justify rejecting the drug, but an FDA office director approved the drug anyway. -
Having seen Congress spend money to onshore semiconductor production, pharma groups are pushing for similar incentives for domestic drug manufacturing.
Learn about making the most of interview feedback, navigating bonus clawbacks and networking for niche roles.
Layoffs leave more than empty desks—they leave uncertainty, guilt and anxiety. Three simple steps will help you regain control of your work, well-being and career.
As they navigate a competitive job market, biopharma professionals are making four key interview mistakes, according to two talent acquisition experts. They discuss those errors and offer tips for how to get those critical conversations right.
Executive coaches can help executives take their game to the next level in four key ways, from improving their self-awareness to reshaping their thinking.
A BioSpace LinkedIn poll found that job ghosting and ghost jobs are the biggest pet peeves for applicants now. Recruitment Manager Greg Clouse offers advice on dealing with them.
Plus, how to use your network effectively and create job opportunities before they exist
HOTBEDS
REPORTS
Year-over-year BioSpace data shows there are fewer job postings live on the website and far more competition for them.
This report investigates anticipated job search activity and hiring outlook for the remainder of 2024.
CANCER
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The FDA’s docket in December includes decisions for two big biologic franchises: BMS’s Breyanzi and Amgen’s Uplizna. -
Imfinzi is the first immunotherapy approved for perioperative use to treat gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers. -
Tecvayli plus Darzalex led to an 83% boost to progression-free survival versus the current standard therapy in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, results analysts at Guggenheim Securities called “remarkable.” -
After GSK subsidiary Tesaro filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming that AnaptysBio breached “certain requirements” under their 2014 license agreement involving GSK’s Jemperli, Anaptys responded Friday morning. -
The nod brings Bayer face-to-face in the market with Boehringer Ingelheim and AstraZeneca, each of which has its own HER2 blocker for non-small cell lung cancer.
NEUROSCIENCE
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“We felt we had a responsibility to explore semaglutide’s potential, despite a low likelihood of success,” Martin Holst Lange, Novo’s R&D chief, said on Monday. -
NervGen will meet with the FDA early next year to align on a regulatory path forward for NVG-291 in chronic spinal cord injury. -
While expressing disappointment, William Blair analysts were unsurprised by the Phase II failure, having assigned the VISTA study a high level of risk given the “mixed” performance of a similar drug in a prior multiple sclerosis study. -
Aspen is now also considering the possibility of an initial public offering next year in an effort to bring its cell therapy to the market. -
The approvals come as a pleasant surprise for Regeneron, analysts say, helping bolster the overall product profile of high-dose Eylea despite outstanding manufacturing concerns.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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The FDA previously placed two clinical studies on hold, including the Phase III trial in which the liver toxicity occurred. Intellia is working with experts to create a risk management program for nex-z. -
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.
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The clinical hold comes days after Intellia voluntarily paused enrollment and dosing in the same two studies.
