FDA
Policymaking at FDA has been anything but business as usual under the Trump administration, but former regulators cite the agency’s new investigational new drug pilot program as a sign of normalcy.
The approval of Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ Tryngolza for severe hypertriglyceridemia could spur “substantial growth” for the product, according to William Blair.
Gilead’s Trodelvy can now be used as a monotherapy and in combination with Merck’s Keytruda to treat certain patients with triple-negative breast cancer.
Looking for a new role in and around San Francisco? Check out these companies hiring across all disciplines.
Recent BioSpace industry conference conversations point to sponsors pushing earlier on safety, quality and performance data, leading to demand for nitrosamine analysis, IVRT/IVPT and microbiome database capabilities.
Follow along as BioSpace tracks job cuts and restructuring initiatives.
Jubilant HollisterStier received a warning letter over problems that the FDA said necessitate an immediate and comprehensive assessment of the contract manufacturing organization’s global operations.
FEATURED STORIES
A judge in the U.K. last month sided with Pfizer over GSK in a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine patent lawsuit, positioning both companies to compete for that market and laying down a marker for ongoing legal clashes in other parts of the world.
While the full impact of the Supreme Court decision remains unknown, the new regulatory landscape could be a net positive for drug developers.
A handful of billion-dollar deals in the rare disease space highlights the uptick in Big Pharma’s investment, but it’s still extremely low compared to the money flowing to more common indications.
Investigational CAR T therapies stole the spotlight at the American College of Rheumatology Convergence as data presented by Bristol Myers Squibb, Kyverna Therapeutics and more highlighted their potential to effectively treat lupus.
In this deep dive BioSpace explores the opportunities and challenges presented by the FDA’s accelerated approval program.
With the failure of AbbVie’s emraclidine in two mid-stage trials, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy is ‘sole muscarinic winner.’
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
Intellia Therapeutics’s Senior Vice President Maria Natale discusses why the most successful launches are shaped long before approval, with strategy, structure and patient insight at the core.
UPCOMING EVENTS
LATEST PODCASTS
In this episode of Denatured, as part of our series on the European life sciences investment ecosystem, you’ll hear from Hakan Goker, managing director at M Ventures and Maina Bhaman, partner at Sofinnova Partners. We explore the UK biotech ecosystem: from the Golden Triangle’s evolving role to the challenges of scaling companies, unlocking pension capital and staying globally competitive.
AbbVie scooped up immunology player Apogee Therapeutics for nearly $11 billion in one of the year’s top deals to-date, while Sanofi made a big play to survive its upcoming Dupixent patent cliff; FDA uncertainty continues as the agency changes direction on gene therapies by uniQure and REGENXBIO; and Jef Akst and Annalee Armstrong report back from San Diego.
In this episode of Denatured, you’ll hear from Mark Lowdell, CSO & co-founder at INmuneBio Inc. and Vishwas Seshadri, CEO & director at Abeona Therapeutics. We explore how recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa has become a defining case study for gene and cell therapy and what this ultra‑rare disease reveals about the future scalability of advanced therapies.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
BioSpace examines how the FDA approval of Eli Lilly’s oral obesity drug Foundayo has ignited a key race with Novo Nordisk.
Opportunities increased by the end of the first quarter, according to BioSpace data.
FDA
BioSpace looks back at 2025 and where the FDA is going in 2026.
DEALS
  1. Novartis and Antares Therapeutics are shooting for the stars, launching a joint mission to develop small molecule oncology therapies.
  2. Lilly has already spent more than $25 billion in potential business development commitments this year, including the $6.3 billion buyout of Centessa Pharmaceuticals that closed today.
  3. AbbVie scooped up immunology player Apogee Therapeutics for nearly $11 billion in one of the year’s top deals to-date, while Sanofi made a big play to survive its upcoming Dupixent patent cliff; FDA uncertainty continues as the agency changes direction on gene therapies by uniQure and REGENXBIO; and Jef Akst and Annalee Armstrong report back from San Diego.
  4. While merger and acquisition activity has been robust of late, frequent changes in guidance and leadership at the regulator add risk to any transaction.
  5. As Sangamo runs out of cash, Eli Lilly and Astellas have emerged as stalking horse bidders for key assets, including a Fabry gene therapy currently being submitted for potential FDA approval.
WEIGHT LOSS
  1. Eli Lilly’s weight-loss franchise—including the tirzepatide products Mounjaro and Zepbound, and the weight-loss pill Foundayo—is projected to account for nearly half of the total sales of the top 10 drugs in 2032.
  2. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals’ Imcivree reduced fat—while boosting muscle—in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome.
  3. After suffering the market withdrawal of its only product, Amylyx is gearing up for a pivotal Phase 3 readout in post-bariatric hypoglycemia. But the company’s driving ethos is still to treat “debilitating, devastating” neurodegenerative diseases, co-CEO Justin Klee told BioSpace.
  4. Novo Nordisk said that the information affected by the breach shouldn’t allow third parties to “identify participants in our clinical trials” despite “unauthorized access” to patients’ personal data.
  5. Eli Lilly and obesity rival Novo Nordisk stole the show at the American Diabetes Association conference, though plenty of other companies also had data to show for their own weight loss assets; GSK strikes the biggest traditional pharma buyout of 2026; and FDA initiatives still lack clarity.
POLICY
  1. A few short days after announcing an FDA pivot on a separate asset, REGENXBIO is planning to test the agency’s apparent newfound rare disease outlook on another late-stage gene therapy.
  2. Former FDA, CDC and NIH leaders convene at the BIO International Convention to discuss the dismantling of the Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration—and where we go from here.
  3. Having stuck with local production in the years when offshoring to lower-cost locations was in fashion, Aquestive’s CEO is well placed to explain what the recent reshoring drive means for manufacturers.
  4. The U.S. government has argued that it pays too much of biopharma R&D costs, demanding that other high-income countries contribute fairly to global innovation efforts.
  5. Weeks after Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly retracted billions of dollar in German commitments, the nation’s government is reportedly changing a contentious element of its planned healthcare reforms.
CAREER HUB
Even something as simple as “Tell me about yourself” can trip up biopharma professionals during job interviews. Two recruiting experts discuss what candidates should and shouldn’t say when answering five specific questions.
Three experts discuss whether biotech and pharma professionals should try to convince employers to adjust employment offers, mistakes people make during the process and tips for getting it right.
The people most trusted to deliver are not always the ones invited to shape direction. Executive coach Angela Justice examines why the habits that build a career can eventually limit advancement.
Scientists who focus only on generating data risk missing their role in shaping strategy and driving innovation.
Panel interviews can play a major role in getting jobs. Two career coaches discuss what to do before and during the interview, including identifying how to differentiate yourself, engaging in true conversations and not overlooking a key panel member.
Over one-third of BioSpace LinkedIn poll respondents have done free work while interviewing for jobs. A recruiting expert and career coach discuss why employers make work requests and how biopharma professionals should evaluate and respond to them.
Finding the right people for critical open roles can be difficult even for biopharma leaders. In this column, Kaye/Bassman’s Michael Pietrack discusses four pitfalls executives face during the hiring process, starting with confusing scientific brilliance with leadership ability.
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
FDA
The resubmission for RGX-121, expected in the third quarter, comes as the FDA has deemed REGENXBIO’s existing data “sufficient” to support an accelerated filing. It immediately follows a similar reversal of position regarding uniQure’s embattled Huntington’s disease gene therapy.
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. Despite an overall survival miss, Leerink Partners said Pfizer’s antibody-drug conjugate showed “promising” signals of efficacy in a subgroup of patients who had undergone only one prior line of treatment.
  2. Following the mid-stage readout, Verastem Oncology has decided to move away from its investigational pancreatic cancer drug combo, instead putting resources behind its KRAS inhibitor pill for solid tumors.
  3. Elicio Therapeutics’ investigational cancer immunotherapy failed to meet the primary endpoint of disease-free survival in a Phase 2 trial—a result the company attributed mostly to a disproportionate number of patients with higher residual disease.
  4. Eli Lilly’s new JAK2 inhibitor—which it obtained from the recent acquisition of Ajax Therapeutics—reduced spleen volume by more than a third in 70% of patients with myelofibrosis.
  5. HIV
    While Merck and Gilead Sciences reported back-to-back late-stage victories for their weekly HIV pill, the partners also discontinued a Phase 3 program for their cancer combo after disappointing lung cancer survival data.
NEUROSCIENCE
  1. As uniQure prepares its closely watched Huntington’s disease gene therapy for FDA review, the biotech is also making waves in chronic epilepsy with another gene therapy that Stifel says is off to a “promising start.”
  2. Eli Lilly plans to use BioArctic’s technology to shuttle an undisclosed drug candidate into the brain. The pharma hasn’t specified which neurodegenerative disease it will target.
  3. Insilico Medicine and SK Biopharmaceuticals will use generative AI to develop novel therapies for unspecified neuroimmune disorders.
  4. ALS
    Nura Bio will use the series B financing to carry two neuroprotective drug candidates through early- to mid-stage clinical studies, one targeting ALS and the other for a broader neurological profile.
  5. After a regulatory odyssey that delayed a filing for what would be the first genetic medicine for Huntington’s disease, the FDA has agreed that three-year data from uniQure’s Phase 1/2 trial are sufficient to support an accelerated biologics license application.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
  1. If cell and gene therapy makers are going to achieve their mission to improve patients’ lives, the industry must come together to share information across stakeholders, from regulators to manufacturers to payers.
  2. Be Biopharma’s terminated trial is the latest setback in the hemophilia space, where companies like Pfizer and BioMarin have opted to pull their respective products from the market after weak traction.
  3. Instead of using viral vectors, SonoThera’s genetic medicines are delivered through an ultrasound-mediated technology that could help sidestep key safety issues with conventional delivery methods.
  4. All six non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients on Legend Biotech’s CAR T therapy responded to treatment—findings that could make the biotech an attractive takeover target, according to analysts at Oppenheimer.
  5. ALS
    For Peter Pitts, a former associate commissioner at the FDA, the appointment to the board of BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is an opportunity to fulfill a promise he made long ago to a patient with ALS.