BMS is letting go of 68 employees in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The pharma has now cut over 1,000 employees there since April 2024 as part of its cost-cutting measures.
The rise of monoclonal antibodies brought back hope for stalling or reversing the devastating neurodegenerative disease. Big Pharma has taken notice with a handful of high-value deals, GlobalData reports.
Digging into a prespecified analysis for the mid-stage study, INmune Bio identified some clinical and biological benefits of its TNF inhibitor in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease who have at least two biomarkers of inflammation.
In an open letter addressing the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts to HHS, the executives urged Congress to continue “robust federal funding” for scientific research, which they say will help maintain U.S. biotech leadership globally.
In adults 50 and older, Moderna’s flu shot was more than 26% better than an unspecified commercial vaccine. In May, the company pulled its application for a combo flu/COVID-19 shot, saying it would refile following data from this Phase III trial.
As of Apr. 22, Sage had 338 full-time employees, all of whom will be laid off effective Aug. 22. The layoffs were announced a few weeks after Maryland’s Supernus Pharmaceuticals acquired Sage for up to $795 million.
FEATURED STORIES
Alnylam and BridgeBio are competing for people who are switching from Pfizer’s blockbuster ATTR amyloidosis drug tafamidis while all three companies are fighting for new patients.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary last week announced a directive that would limit industry participation in the agency’s advisory committees. But not only do company reps serve only as non-voting members, a 1997 law actually requires industry involvement.
Disruptive conditions are typical in non-Western markets. The U.S. industry, thrown into a period of significant change as the Trump administration overhauls HHS and considers implementing tariffs, could learn a thing or two by looking overseas.
Like they say about the weather in Iceland, if you don’t like an action taken by the new administration, wait five minutes; it’ll probably change. The markets, it seems, don’t react kindly to that kind of policymaking.
Analysts have had to throw out their assumptions for the biopharma industry’s recovery heading into the first quarter earnings period given the ongoing tariff drama.
Johnson & Johnson’s Joaquin Duato is no longer the highest paid CEO in pharma. Meanwhile, just two women make the top 10.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
The life sciences job market continues to shift. BioSpace’s Q2 2025 U.S. Life Sciences Job Market Report is now available, offering exclusive insights into the latest hiring trends, layoffs, and workforce dynamics across the life sciences industry.
LATEST PODCASTS
In the first podcast in a special series focused on BioSpace’s NextGen Class of 2025, Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong speaks with Dannielle Appelhans, CEO of COUR.
In this episode, presented by the Genscript Biotech Global Forum 2025, BioSpace’s Head of Insights Lori Ellis and Tom Whitehead continue to discuss the patient and caregiver experience, where Tom gives his insights to the future of CGTs.
Novartis, Eli Lilly and more put on their deal-making caps, Bristol Myers Squibb targets $2 billion in savings through 2027, sales continue to soar for Lilly and Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1s and Regeneron sues Sanofi over an alleged failure to provide adequate information about Dupixent sales.
Job Trends
The Switzerland layoffs are the latest in Bayer’s 2024 workforce reductions, which already include 1,500 people and nearly half of the executive leadership team.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
BioSpace did a deep dive into executive pay, examining the highest compensation packages, pay ratios and golden parachutes—what a CEO would get paid to leave.
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.
DEALS
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The agreement, in which Merck will pay the biotech an undisclosed initial sum to license drugs targeting a solid tumor, could net Epitopea up to $300 million down the line. -
A cautionary tale illustrates how forging a deal with a Big Pharma can have unexpected and far-reaching tax consequences. -
Back in 2023, Novo Nordisk committed up to $1.3 billion for a hypertension and kidney disease drug from KBP Biosciences. Now, the pharma giant claims to have been misled by the biotech’s founder—and a judge seems to agree. -
The pharma giant inked its third T cell engager deal of 2025 Wednesday—this time with Xilio Therapeutics for tumor-activated immunotherapies. -
Just a few months after Vir Biotechnology lost an emergency authorization for its COVID-19 antibody, Marianne de Backer stepped in as CEO to answer a critical question: What’s next?
WEIGHT LOSS
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The explosion of GLP-1 weight loss drugs is reminiscent of the early days of PD-1 inhibitors, but key market differences suggest history may not repeat itself. -
Under the terms of the agreement, OPKO will accept 60% of the development costs, while Entera will shoulder 40%. -
The company unveiled plans last week to test its GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist in alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related liver disease. -
As obesity drug developers compete for the highest weight-loss efficacy, experts contend that overall health outcomes—evidenced by successful studies in therapeutic areas like cardiovascular and sleep apnea—may prove a greater market advantage. -
The Maryland-based biopharma joins Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk in trialing a GLP-1 agonist for alcohol- and liver-related conditions.
POLICY
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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. -
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. -
The third cycle of the drug price negotiations will involve drugs under Medicare Part B. New prices are set to take effect in 2028. -
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.” -
While industry groups decried the Trump administration’s new drug pricing order, analysts say it lacked details and the teeth to make a major impact without an act of Congress.
It’s important to maintain anonymity when seeking your next executive role, as your departure could impact other employees and the organization.
Four executives with collective decades spent at BMS, Roche, Astellas, Eli Lilly and more gave their insights on navigating a biopharma career during a Monday DIA panel in San Diego.
Interviews can be difficult in any field, but especially in a competitive industry like the life sciences. Read on to discover the best way to answer salary interview questions in our guide.
Plus, what to do if your offer is paused and how to manage work anxiety.
If you overidentify with your job, there are ways to find self-worth outside of work, starting with using your transferable skills somewhere else.
Transitioning from team member to manager has its challenges, including managing ex-peers. There are a few ways you can make the change easier.
HOTBEDS
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law last week, reintroduces broader exemptions for orphan drugs from the IRA’s drug price negotiation program—a move welcomed by the biopharma industry. The new tax law also cuts Medicaid funding, posing a minimal risk to pharma’s bottomlines and potentially jeopardizing hospitals’ 340B status. It does not, however, include new rules for pharmacy benefit managers that had been in an earlier draft.
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
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Presentations at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research meeting could have a broad impact on the treatment landscape for head and neck and lung cancer, and implications for specific drug modalities like TIGIT and VEGF. -
Analysts at BMO Capital Markets expect Summit and Akeso’s HARMONi-6 readout to put some pressure on Merck and its blockbuster biologic Keytruda. -
Combining Trodelvy with Keytruda and pushing it into the frontline setting could “potentially double” the ADC’s market in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, according to analysts at Truist Securities. -
Analysts at Leerink Partners said in a Monday note that DESTINY-Breast09’s findings “could support an approval” for Enhertu in first-line HER2+ metastatic breast cancer. -
Future Pak—whose acquisition offer was rejected by Vanda Pharmaceuticals last summer—is offering to buy Theratechnologies for an unsolicited $255 million. The Canadian biotech is under an exclusivity agreement with another yet-to-be-disclosed potential purchaser.
NEUROSCIENCE
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The gene therapy world is in turmoil, but Arbor, armed with more than $1 billion in partnerships and raises, is going forward. -
Ionis and Ultragenyx are competing to develop oligonucleotide treatments for Angelman syndrome, but will Neuren’s peptide catch up? -
Days after suffering a rejection in Australia, the Alzheimer’s drug hit another roadblock in the U.K., which found the drug not cost-effective. -
Analysts do not believe the Phase III stumble for aticaprant will derail J&J’s broader neuroscience strategy, particularly given its recent $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapeutics and the success of Spravato for treatment-resistant depression. -
The new formulation of Keytruda, currently under FDA review, is sparking conflict with Halozyme, which makes enzymes that convert intravenous drugs into injectable versions.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Abecma made $406 million in 2024, of which BMS paid $43 million to 2seventy bio as part of their profit-sharing agreement. -
In this deep dive, BioSpace explores the diverse therapeutic modalities now in development, as well as the opportunities and battles for market dominance in this emerging space. -
On the agenda for the FDA this month are two RNA-based treatments for rare diseases. -
The search for a partner for zerlasiran is ongoing, according to Silence. In the meantime, the biotech will focus its resources on divesiran, which it is testing for polycythemia vera and other hematologic indications. -
ITF, IntraBio and Orchard are among the companies that have won FDA nods in the past year for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Niemann-Pick disease type C, metachromatic leukodystrophy and more.
