FDA
The new framework was well-received by biopharma analysts, who say it “largely formalizes” current COVID-19 vaccination trends.
Drugmakers will be expected to commit to aligning U.S. prices with the lowest price set in a group of peer nations for all brand products across all markets that do not currently have generic or biosimilar competition.
Follow along as BioSpace tracks job cuts and restructuring initiatives throughout 2025.
The partnership with Sirius expands CRISPR Therapeutics’ modality toolkit, especially in the cardiovascular space.
The late-stage results come in advance of pivotal data that Ionis expects to provide for its antisense oligonucleotide Tryngolza in the third quarter, building up toward a regulatory submission in hypertriglyceridemia by year-end.
In an interview on Friday, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary threw his weight behind psychedelic therapies, noting that patients taking these substances experience significant benefits for various neuropsychiatric conditions.
The deal comes three months after Pfizer inked a PD-1/VEGF partnership with Summit Therapeutics, leading BMO Capital Markets to express confusion regarding the pharma’s overall strategy.
FEATURED STORIES
The largest Chinese licensing deal behind Pfizer’s is Novartis’ partnership with Shanghai Argo Biopharma, worth potentially more than $4 billion.
FDA
While sparking excitement among biopharma companies focused on rare and ultrarare indications, experts say FDA Commissioner Marty Makary’s proposal is light on details and raises potential concerns about safety, access and liability.
The Shift Toward Real-World, Patient-Centered Evidence
LATEST PODCASTS
President Donald Trump unwrapped a massive drug pricing policy as CMS prepares for the next round of Medicare drug price negotiations; Vinay Prasad to take the helm at the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research; Bayer cuts 2,000 more employees; Eli Lilly’s Zepbound scores again; and the Galapagos story turns again.
In this episode of Denatured BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses the public health consequences of vaccine hesitancy and the critical distinction between skepticism and cynicism with Paul Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
A new executive order aims to smooth the path for getting U.S. manufacturing facilities up and running; HHS says it will require placebo-controlled trials for all vaccine approvals; tariff threats hit BioNTech; Novo Nordisk’s FDA application for an oral version of Wegovy is accepted; and more.
Job Trends
Follow along as BioSpace tracks job cuts and restructuring initiatives throughout 2025.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
A new generation of checkpoint inhibitors is emerging, with some showing more promise than others. From recent TIGIT failures to high-potential targets like VEGF, BioSpace explores what’s on the horizon in immuno-oncology.
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.
DEALS
  1. The star of the acquisition is the enzyme replacement therapy INZ-701, being developed for the rare disease ENPP1 deficiency.
  2. After warnings that the dragged-out process was putting the cell therapy company at risk of bankruptcy, bluebird bio now has a new deal to offer shareholders.
  3. Currently trailing Eli Lilly and Structure Therapeutics in the oral weight loss space, Novo Nordisk strikes a deal with Septerna to put new discovery-stage programs into play.
  4. The ADARx Pharmaceuticals partnership, which could be worth “several billion dollars” in the end, adds to AbbVie’s existing work in the space after the $1.4 billion acquisition of Aliada Therapeutics in October 2024.
  5. GSK secures rights to Boston Pharmaceuticals’ efimosfermin alfa, which the pharma plans to develop for fatty liver diseases such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis and alcohol-related liver disease.
WEIGHT LOSS
  1. President Donald Trump unwrapped a massive drug pricing policy as CMS prepares for the next round of Medicare drug price negotiations; Vinay Prasad to take the helm at the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research; Bayer cuts 2,000 more employees; Eli Lilly’s Zepbound scores again; and the Galapagos story turns again.
  2. In addition to eliciting greater weight loss than Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, Eli Lilly’s Zepbound does not come at the expense of safety, according to newly released comprehensive tolerability data—findings that Leerink analysts say confirm the GLP-1 drug’s edge in the closely watched market race.
  3. Following a similar decision in case the trade group Outsourcing Facilities Association brought against FDA over its decision to declare the end of the shortage of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide, Judge Mark Pittman agreed that Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide is in sufficient supply, meaning compounding pharmacies can no longer sell the lucrative weight loss drugs.
  4. The FDA in February formally declared the end of the semaglutide shortage, which Novo Nordisk expects will help improve the market position of Wegovy. But Eli Lilly’s Zepbound is quickly gaining ground, with sales just $300 million behind Wegovy in Q1.
  5. A new executive order aims to smooth the path for getting U.S. manufacturing facilities up and running; HHS says it will require placebo-controlled trials for all vaccine approvals; tariff threats hit BioNTech; Novo Nordisk’s FDA application for an oral version of Wegovy is accepted; and more.
POLICY
  1. In a year when eradicated diseases are on the uptick in America, how will American children survive RFK Jr.’s vaccine scrutiny and inconsistency? Two experts call on pharma and regulatory bodies to rebuild trust.
  2. While the Trump administration has painted the jettisoning of staff and regulations as good for business, there are multiple reasons it’s unlikely to work out that way.
  3. At a sometimes-contentious U.S. Senate hearing, the Health and Human Services secretary was evasive on the rationale behind cuts being made to the department and his endorsement of the measles vaccine amid a rapidly growing outbreak.
  4. The third cycle of the drug price negotiations will involve drugs under Medicare Part B. New prices are set to take effect in 2028.
  5. The Most Favored Nation directive would allow drugmakers to directly sell their products to patients at a lower cost, cutting out what President Donald Trump called “the middlemen.”
CAREER HUB
Although the job market did not pick up in April, layoffs were down year over year and month over month, according to BioSpace tallies. Meanwhile, Amgen, Novartis, Regeneron and Roche announced U.S. manufacturing investments that are sparking job creation.
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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.
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
The FDA also approved the use of Zynyz as a monotherapy for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal who are intolerant to platinum chemotherapy or whose disease has progressed.
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. FDA
    As the FDA prepares for a busy Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting next week, an agency insider told BioSpace that volunteers with little training are scrambling to secure the required expertise after workforce cuts decimated the adcomm planning office.
  2. AbbVie’s Emrelis is the first non-small cell lung cancer therapy approved for patients with high c-Met expression levels who have received prior lines of treatment.
  3. Belrestotug showed underwhelming efficacy outcomes in mid-stage studies of non-small cell lung cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
  4. At the intersection of radiation and precision, Novartis, Bayer, AstraZeneca and more hope to cash in on a radiopharmaceuticals market that could top $16 billion by 2033.
  5. After losing its powerhouse partner, IGM Biosciences closed “most” of its labs and offices and initiated a strategic review of potential strategic alternatives and options for the business.
NEUROSCIENCE
  1. Analysts at BMO Capital Markets said in a weekend note that a non-invasive blood test could help boost uptake of Alzheimer’s disease therapies.
  2. The FDA also changed its tune and is now planning to convene an advisory committee to discuss Biohaven’s application.
  3. Azafaros will use the Series B haul to push lead asset nizubaglustat into late-stage studies for Niemann-Pick disease Type C and GM1/GM2 gangliosidoses later this year.
  4. To more effectively treat neurodegenerative conditions, we first need diagnostic tools that lend a more complete picture of protein aggregates in the brain.
  5. ALS
    The Alchemab deal will further strengthen Lilly’s early-stage pipeline for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, coming less than a year after the pharma licensed QurAlis’ antisense oligonucleotide to correct a specific protein alteration in ALS.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
  1. Taking center stage at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy meeting was the first-ever reported case of a personalized in vivo CRISPR editing therapy, which substantially eased the symptom burden in an infant.
  2. It’s another wild twist in the story of Galapagos, a company that has been around for more than 25 years but has yet to get a therapy approved.
  3. The cell engineering company, co-founded by oncologist and writer Siddhartha Mukherjee, does not see a path forward for its pipeline of early-stage cell therapies for two different types of cancer.
  4. CRISPR Therapeutics’ partner Vertex reported that more than 65 treatment centers have been activated for the gene therapy Casgevy. While Vertex handles the market, CRISPR has been focused on its clinical program.
  5. The cell and gene therapy space in recent months has hit several speedbumps, including layoffs, dropped drugs and discontinued partnerships.