In this discussion, our guests give their observations and recommendations on how companies can navigate within the United States market and beyond. Watch now.
FDA
Last month, investors’ hopes were dashed as Replimune suggested alignment had not yet been reached with the FDA on RP1’s future. Now, the regulator has accepted a refiled application after all.
Ivonescimab’s progression-free survival data in non-small cell lung cancer bode well for an upcoming overall survival readout, according to Truist analysts, who noted that “OS is likely to be statistically significant” in favor of the PD-1/VEGF bispecific.
Several sources are speculating that the potential buyer could be Eli Lilly, despite the breakdown of the pharma’s partnership with Nektar over atopic dermatitis therapy rezpeg.
Rybelsus can now be used as a primary or secondary prevention pill to lower the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in at-risk patients with type 2 diabetes.
Glaukos’ Epioxa allows cross-linking therapy for keratoconus without requiring an incision. The biotech expects to launch the drug early next year.
CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz clarified that a deal has not yet been sealed with the manufacturer of semaglutide, Novo Nordisk, or any other GLP-1 drugmaker.
FEATURED STORIES
Wegovy and Zepbound are just the latest drug dyads to face-off in the competitive pharma market, continuing a legacy of rivalry that includes blockbuster drugs Keytruda, Humira and Eliquis.
Billions in market cap are being shed as the markets reel over President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war. Eli Lilly’s value has dropped more than $95 billion in just one month.
Long considered resistant to economic downturns, the pharmaceutical industry may face a greater challenge this time around as GLP-1s dominate and the population grows older.
Akero Therapeutics, 89bio, Boston Pharmaceuticals and more are working to bring novel treatment options for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis to a market that could reach $16 billion by 2033.
Researchers in pharma and beyond have historically glommed onto a limited number of disease targets, limiting innovation. AI could change that.
While it’s not unusual for certain positions to turn over with a new administration, the number of senior-level FDA staffers who have recently left the agency is unprecedented. The lack of communication, transparency and human decency is as well.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
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.
UPCOMING EVENTS
LATEST PODCASTS
DEI
This week on Denatured, Head of Insights Lori Ellis and guests discuss the persisting challenges of diversity, equity and inclusion when designing clinical trials.
This week’s news ranged from BioSpace’s on-the-ground updates from DIA to safety concerns in clinical trials to BIOSECURE Act updates to new projections that the GLP-1 market could top $100 billion within 10 years.
BioSpace’s ⁠Lori Ellis⁠ and ⁠Chantal Dresner⁠ bring live updates from ⁠the first day of #DIA2024⁠ in San Diego.
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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
  1. Sanofi will join Big Pharma peers Novartis, BMS and Eli Lilly in radioligands, striking a $110 million licensing deal with RadioMedix and Orano Med to develop AlphaMedix for neuroendocrine tumors.
  2. Under a multi-year agreement announced Wednesday, Eli Lilly will leverage Haya Therapeutics’ proprietary RNA-guided genome platform to identify drug targets to address the chronic conditions.
  3. Not all licensing deals are successful. Here, BioSpace examines a few noteworthy assets that Big Pharma returned in the last 12 months.
  4. Belgium-based biopharma UCB is selling its Chinese neurology and allergy business to Singapore asset management firm CBC Group and Abu Dhabi investment company Mubadala.
  5. Venture capital in the sector hit $9.2 billion in the second quarter of 2024, up from $7.4 billion in Q1, while exits fell on a slower M&A cycle and picky IPO market.
WEIGHT LOSS
  1. Following an appeal by the Danish Medicines Agency, the European Union’s drug regulator will review two new studies that have strengthened the link between Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster GLP-1 and a rare eye disease.
  2. Suddenly the hottest thing in biopharma isn’t a new indication, disease target or modality—it’s manufacturing, and all of pharma is going to be vying for capacity and talent.
  3. The Hansoh deal will let Merck compete in the crowded oral GLP-1 space alongside fellow pharma giants Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Roche.
  4. The letters come amid the Outsourcing Facilities Association’s ongoing lawsuit against the FDA over the regulator’s decision to end the shortage for tirzepatide.
  5. Now that they’ve received the go-signal from both U.S. and EU anti-trust regulators, Novo Holdings and Catalent expect to wrap up their deal in the coming days.
POLICY
  1. The Health and Human Services Secretary said that he will find and eliminate the cause of autism by September, an idea that suggests how little he knows about the condition.
  2. GeoVax was using its HHS contract to develop its next-generation multi-antigen COVID-19 vaccine, which is in Phase IIb development.
  3. Despite these cuts, the FDA should be able to stay above a “trigger” level that would prevent it from collecting fees from the pharma industry and deprive it of approximately half of its annual funding, according to The Washington Post.
  4. In the wake of unprecedented workforce cuts at the FDA, former Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and an unnamed former CBER director spoke to analysts about potential implications for drug review timelines and agency morale.
  5. Playing both sides of trade war, pharma companies are asking for certain compensations for scientific innovation and a smoother regulatory framework.
CAREER HUB
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.
What is the culture like at your company? Are employees motivated to do their best work? Is your company using employee engagement strategies to improve productivity?
Discover the pros and cons before you hire an independent contractor (IC). These include freelancers, consultants, seasonal workers, and other temporary professionals.
Getting job-hunting and career advice is hard, especially when you get it from those who have worked for decades. Some advice is still helpful today, like making a good impression, but others are considered counter-productive.
The salary expectation question is one of the most difficult questions asked during a job interview. Here’s how you can answer the question perfectly.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that has ravaged across the globe has demanded more experts in microbiology, particularly jobs in virology.
BioSpace’s Pharm Country Hotbed ranges from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
HOTBEDS
Where are the Best Places to Work in life sciences? BioSpace’s annual Best Places to Work list demonstrates a company’s desirability in the recruitment marketplace - find out who made the list this year.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Merck has made a $9.2 billion play for Cidara, and there’s another bidding war afoot, this one for sleep biotech Avadel. Meanwhile, Rick Pazdur has taken the helm at CDER while tensions run high between FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Health Secretary RFK Jr.
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
  1. Kuro Oncology and partner Kyowa Kirin are on track for an NDA submission for ziftomenib in the second quarter of this year.
  2. Despite significant dips in its vaccines sales, the British pharma narrowly beat consensus estimates for Q4 2024 and raised 2031 sales projections to just over $50 billion.
  3. Faced with the encroaching threats of patent expirations and generics, biopharma companies in 2024 invested 33% more in licensing deals, on average, than in 2023 with an eye toward enriching their pipelines with novel and potentially more effective therapies.
  4. Topline data on a combo including Pfizer’s kinase inhibitor Braftovi point to improved progression-free survival and pave the way for its full approval for the treatment of certain colorectal cancers, according to the company.
  5. Novartis was among the most prolific pharma dealmakers in 2024, a trend that it expects to continue with more bolt-on deals this year to set up for sustainable long-term growth.
NEUROSCIENCE
  1. With two earlier trials meeting their primary endpoints, Axsome claimed it has the data to support a filing for FDA approval in the second half of 2025.
  2. In a highly anticipated readout for the kappa opioid receptor class in major depressive disorder, Neumora’s navacaprant failed to meet the primary and key secondary endpoint in the first of three identical Phase III studies.
  3. This year saw lofty highs and devastating lows for neuroscience drug developers like Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and AbbVie, following the predictable pattern of successes and failures that characterizes this space.
  4. Already established as cornerstone therapies in diabetes and obesity, GLP-1 receptor agonists also show potential in several other indications, including cancer, addiction and neurodegenerative diseases.
  5. BioArctic received $100 million upfront with another $1.25 billion in potential milestone payments on the line for two pyroglutamate-amyloid-beta antibodies.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
  1. Truist Securities analyst Asthika Goonewardene in an investor note said data for anito-cel—particularly its safety profile—will help differentiate the CAR T therapy from Legend Biotech and J&J’s entrenched Carvykti in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.
  2. In our anniversary episode, we discuss a rare earnings miss for Eli Lilly, a pivotal metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis victory for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, growing excitement about CAR Ts for autoimmune disease and the ongoing controversy over HeLa cells.
  3. In a tough fundraising space, cell therapy biotechs pursuing autoimmune indications review staffing to ensure the right expertise is in place to tackle the new disease area.
  4. BEAM-101 seems to be competitive with approved sickle cell treatments, William Blair analysts said in a note to investors, but a patient death underscores the need for less-toxic preconditioning treatments.
  5. Multiple players are exploring whether modalities designed to combat B cell malignancies can be repurposed against lupus, myasthenia gravis and other conditions traced to misdirected immune response.