The White House may have struck a deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk last week to lower the costs of their weight loss drugs for patients, but knockoff versions of Zepbound and Wegovy still permeate the obesity market.
MeiraGTx Holdings is licensing a genetic eye disease medicine to Eli Lilly in a deal worth up to $475 million.
Ionis is planning a supplemental submission by the end of the year to expand Tryngolza into severe hypertriglyceridemia. If granted, William Blair expects the antisense drug to be “transformational” for this indication.
The deal is done. What happens next for Pfizer and Metsera—and Novo?
After a bidding war erupted between Pfizer and Novo Nordisk over the fledgling obesity drugmaker, Metsera sided with its original suitor in a final agreement announced late Friday evening.
During a press conference to announce a drug price deal for GLP-1s, President Donald Trump asked for more details about the ongoing bidding war between Novo Nordisk and Pfizer over obesity biotech Metsera.
FEATURED STORIES
Had Pfizer’s Freda Lewis-Hall not stepped in, SpringWorks’ rare disease treatment may never have reached patients. Pharmas can act now to help find the next Gomekli.
Having seen Congress spend money to onshore semiconductor production, pharma groups are pushing for similar incentives for domestic drug manufacturing.
Ensho Therapeutics CEO Neena Bitritto-Garg, recently named to BioSpace’s 40 Under 40, proved her mettle managing one of the toughest partnerships out there: the one between Eisai and Biogen that led to new Alzheimer’s drugs Aduhelm and Leqembi.
While the FDA continues to put out guidance documents and approve drugs, some companies are already reporting delays in dealings with the agency, while insiders warn of falling morale and a negative perception from the rest of the biopharma world.
Mergers and acquisitions are not just for Big Pharma. A new report from Leerink Partners takes a stab at identifying the small- to mid-cap pharmas best prepared to bolster their pipelines with a buyout.
The coming flu season is the clearest indication yet that biopharma’s long-standing assumptions about predictability, prevention and portfolio structure are no longer guaranteed.
LATEST PODCASTS
As third-quarter earnings continue to roll out, Novartis makes headlines with the second biggest acquisition of the year; Novartis’ CEO also downplayed the impact of Big Pharma pricing deals with the Trump administration; Regeneron continued the trend of dropping cell therapy assets; BioSpace takes a look at how the FDA is functioning mid-shutdown.
In this episode presented by Element Materials Technology, guests Dr. Jihye Jang-Lee and Dr. Khanh Courtney discuss how small biotechs face mounting pressure amid manufacturing uncertainties.
Novo Nordisk’s leadership gets another shake-up as President Trump promises to significantly slash prices for its GLP-1 drugs; Summit/Akeso, Exelixis and more present new data at ESMO 2025; Replimune pops as FDA accepts resubmitted BLA; FDA names first winners of Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program; and more.
Job Trends
BioSpace’s Q3 2025 U.S. Life Sciences Job Market Report reveals a turbulent quarter for biopharma hiring, with record declines in job postings, rising layoffs, and cautious employer sentiment shaping the industry’s employment landscape.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the second quarter of 2025, with increased pressure from further layoffs.
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.
DEALS
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Manifold will use its tissue-targeting shuttle technology to help Roche develop new therapeutics for diseases of the central nervous system. -
Pfizer has filed two separate lawsuits in an effort to stop Novo Nordisk’s unsolicited bid to acquire obesity biotech Metsera. -
Novo Nordisk, under new CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar, has a new attitude. It’s making Pfizer livid. -
Otsuka Pharmaceuticals could shell out over $400 million in total for the Asia-Pacific rights to 4D-150, which combines a VEGF-C inhibitory RNAi with Regeneron’s Eylea into a single ocular injection. -
Gilead is actively looking for late-stage and de-risked assets for potential deals across various therapeutic spaces, including liver disease, cancer and immunology.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Pressure from the FTC and Pfizer is building around Novo Nordisk’s bid to snatch obesity biotech Metsera. The antitrust watchdog has spotted issues with the structure of Novo’s bid, while its New York-based rival has put more money on the table. -
Pfizer and Novo Nordisk seem to want Metsera bad. Analysts are wondering, though: is the obesity biotech really worth this much effort? -
Investors got to hear Novo Nordisk’s side of the Metsera bidding war drama for the first time on Wednesday, as the company reported third-quarter earnings. A rough quarter underscored the stakes for the Danish pharma. -
Amgen remains confident in its obesity asset MariTide, for which it has launched a broad Phase III program. -
Due to the litigation Pfizer filed Friday and Monday against Metsera, Novo Nordisk and the biotech’s lead shareholder, CEO Albert Bourla was limited in what he could say. But he said Pfizer was the best fit for Metsera.
POLICY
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While the threat of tariffs dies down for the pharma industry, President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing a new investigation that could result in import taxes against U.S. trading partners that don’t pay enough for drugs. -
EMD Serono will offer its fertility treatments on TrumpRx at a steep discount, and Roche’s direct-to-consumer offering will cover its flu pill Xofluza. -
An unnamed source clarified that Sandra Retzky has not been fired from the FDA, but it remains unclear where she was reassigned. -
The last few months have been tumultuous for the CDC, which has seen the ouster of Director Susan Monarez and all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. -
A new version of the controversial bill removes the specific company names that were included in a previous iteration but still requires the industry to ditch Chinese biotech contractors in order to receive federal dollars.
It’s easy to get caught up in defending yourself against critique that feels unfair. Leadership coach Angela Justice recommends a different approach that can help you better align how you want to be seen with how you’re showing up.
Tapping into the hidden job market can be challenging but is important in today’s employer-driven market. Three talent acquisition experts share tips for accessing hard-to-find roles.
In the latest installment of his column, Kaye/Bassman’s Michael Pietrack shares five ways leaders can help their teams after a layoff, from acknowledging emotions to reestablishing culture.
Looking for a new opportunity in New Jersey? These nine companies have open roles that could be a great fit for you.
Whether you’re moving on or being moved out, how you leave can shape your reputation more than how you led.
Year-over-year BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the first quarter of 2025.
HOTBEDS
REPORTS
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.
The 9% average salary increase from 2023 to 2024 was the largest for life sciences professionals since 2021. Several factors could be behind the spike, including companies providing higher pay because bonuses and stock compensation went down.
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.
CANCER
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For $1.2 billion upfront and up to $10.2 billion in milestones, Takeda will gain access to a bispecific antibody fusion protein targeting both the PD-1 and IL-2 pathways, among other assets. -
Novo Nordisk’s leadership gets another shake-up as President Trump promises to significantly slash prices for its GLP-1 drugs; Summit/Akeso, Exelixis and more present new data at ESMO 2025; Replimune pops as FDA accepts resubmitted BLA; FDA names first winners of Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program; and more. -
With data from the Phase III STELLAR-303 study in the books, Exelixis is plotting a 2025 regulatory application for zanzalintinib. -
In May, Summit released early data from the Phase III HARMONi study showing that while the PD-1/VEGF inhibitor resulted in significant progression-free survival improvements, it fell short of the overall survival bar. -
To tailor cancer therapies to individual patients, Moderna, BioNTech and other companies are rethinking how they optimize manufacturing schedules and resources.
NEUROSCIENCE
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New interim data from a Phase III trial puts the company on track to file for FDA approval next year in an indication that not only lacks a disease-modifying treatment but suffered significant setbacks after a patient died in a clinical trial for Sarepta’s investigational gene therapy. -
Intellia earlier this year reported a similar grade 4 liver enzyme elevation associated with the gene therapy nexiguran ziclumeran, though analysts at BMO Capital Markets at the time brushed it off as a “non-concern.” -
The BioSpace 40 Under 40 winner opens up about his very personal career transformation from wealth management to biotech—and what it’s like to develop a drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia as a potential patient himself. -
Last month, “historic positive results” from uniQure’s gene therapy snapped the Huntington’s community out of years of failure. As the biotech prepares to submit for FDA approval, BioSpace looks at four more candidates on the near horizon. -
Pivotal results from uniQure’s gene therapy for Huntington’s disease have brought new light to patients who have known only disappointment in recent years—but one expert worries that communication of the results is creating “false expectations.”
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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As third-quarter earnings continue to roll out, Novartis makes headlines with the second biggest acquisition of the year; Novartis’ CEO also downplayed the impact of Big Pharma pricing deals with the Trump administration; Regeneron continued the trend of dropping cell therapy assets; BioSpace takes a look at how the FDA is functioning mid-shutdown.
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The takeover of its competitor, announced Sunday, could also bring some attention to Dyne Therapeutics, which has a similar RNA-based pipeline in rare muscle diseases. -
The cornerstone of the deal is Ixo-vec, an intravitreal gene therapy currently in Phase III development for wet age-related macular degeneration. Eli Lilly made another foray into genetic medicine in June, picking up Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3 billion. -
The discontinued CAR T therapy bbT369 came to Regeneron when the pharma bought all of 2seventy bio’s pipeline assets for $5 million upfront in January 2024. -
Galapagos at the start of the year had planned to split into two businesses, with one resulting entity focused on cell therapies. The biotech nixed these plans a few months later, instead choosing to put up for sale multiple cell therapy assets.
