Last week, The Trump administration reversed a Biden-era proposal for Medicare coverage of anti-obesity treatments. But on Monday, HHS suggested it is open to future policy considerations toward this end.
Stifel analysts said that Lexeo’s data showing reduced size and thickness of the heart’s left ventricle are “supportive of a drug effect” for the company’s gene therapy in Friedreich’s ataxia cardiomyopathy.
Senators Bill Cassidy and Bernie Sanders asked HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to make good on a pledge to appear before the committee regularly. It is not clear if or when the hearing, which was scheduled for Thursday, will take place.
After moving the manufacturing of a CAR T drug that was part of its ImmPACT Bio acquisition to Washington, Lyell Immunopharma is closing its Los Angeles manufacturing facility, eliminating dozens of jobs there.
Stifel analysts were bullish on the data, which showed a 16.5% drop in body-mass index among patients with damage to the hypothalamus taking Rhythm Pharmaceuticals’ Imcivree.
GSK is paying to access ABL Bio’s Grabody-B platform, which potentially enables therapies to cross the blood-brain barrier.
FEATURED STORIES
Jay Ferro, EVP, CIO, CPO & CTO at Clario discusses safety, trust and what keeps him up at night.
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?
As the Q4 2024 pharma earnings period rolls on through the first month of President Donald Trump’s second term, executives find themselves faced with policy questions ranging from the Inflation Reduction Act to RFK Jr.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
While Quantum computing has been reported to be five years away for many years now, companies are preparing for it by setting foundations with AI in development.
LATEST PODCASTS
Amylyx looks to the future after Relyvrio withdrawal, ADCs continue to attract investment and the drug shortage persists in the U.S.
While women’s clinical trial participation has increased, clinical trials still largely are not designed for women. In this episode, we discuss the many areas where trials can be improved, such as human and historical diagnosis and screening biases, accessibility, data capturing, and more
Plus, how the geopolitical tensions with China will affect U.S. biopharma
Job Trends
Eli Lilly and Company announced that data from studies of Verzenio®, Retevmo®, olomorasib and imlunestrant will be presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting taking place May 31 – June 4 in Chicago.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
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.
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.
DEALS
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Johnson & Johnson’s deal for Numab Therapeutics’ bispecific antibody NM26, slated to enter Phase II studies, comes on the heels of J&J’s $850 million Proteologix bispecific antibody acquisition. -
The potential purchase by the Japanese conglomerate could secure access to Calliditas’ IgA nephropathy therapy Tarpeyo, which won the FDA’s full approval in December 2023. -
Recent M&A activity indicates a potential resurgence in the appetites of larger companies for psychiatric drug development, but experts say the space may not offer a sufficient risk-reward proposition for R&D. -
As we near the end of second quarter of 2024, the initial public offerings among biotechs have slowed, but the market is still going strong. -
Orna Therapeutics announced Thursday it is acquiring ReNAgade Therapeutics, which launched in May 2023 with $300 million in Series A financing and is on BioSpace’s NextGen Class of 2024 startups to watch this year.
WEIGHT LOSS
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A recent study estimated that Wegovy’s label expansion beyond obesity could push Medicare spending to $145 billion annually, but analysts remain dubious of the estimate. -
A study published Tuesday in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that children between the ages of six and 12 who took liraglutide for just over a year experienced a significant reduction in body mass index compared to placebo. -
BioMarin’s new business strategy leaves investors with questions; Lykos CEO steps down; Terns releases compelling data on oral weight loss candidate; and more. -
Phase I data for TERN-601 suggests Terns’ oral GLP-1 candidate for obesity could be a contender in the market next to big names like Lilly, Pfizer and Roche. -
Terns Pharmaceuticals will advance TERN-601 into Phase II after early-stage data showed the oral therapy led to weight loss of 4.9%, comparable with weight loss pills Lilly and Pfizer are developing, according to analysts.
POLICY
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The adjusted guidelines will provide drugmakers with more opportunities to engage with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding the initial maximum fair price offers, according to the agency. -
Faced with potential monetary fines, Johnson & Johnson said Monday it is abandoning a proposed 340B rebate plan for hospitals involving two of its blockbuster drugs, Stelara and Xarelto. -
Women are already underrepresented in clinical trials; the new abortion and IVF laws could make it worse. -
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ aggressive targeting of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy pricing, and not Eli Lilly’s rival drugs, is not fair. -
Despite the settlement, the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday sued Cassava Sciences in the Western District Court of Texas, claiming that the company misled investors regarding the Phase IIb performance of its Alzheimer’s disease drug candidate.
According to a survey by CareerBuilder, 23% of hiring managers spend less than 30 seconds reading a resume. Make the most of those seconds with these five tips to make your resume stand out.
We spoke with Alison Senkovich O’Sullivan, Senior Director of Human Resources at Athersys, about how to ace an interview and what candidates can do to prepare.
BioSpace spoke with Annick Deschoolmeester, Head of Human Resources at Pharvaris, about some of the ways she’s noticed small companies differ from large ones.
We sat down with Associate Director of Talent Acquisition Jennifer Metivier and Chief People Officer Jennifer Peterson of Obsidian Therapeutics to discuss what type of candidates they prefer.
If you’re considering a career change from pharma to biotech, you’ll be happy to hear that according to industry experts, the transition is more common than you might think.
Keep reading to take a look at some of the best pharma jobs for travelers. These jobs will allow you to see different parts of the world while working in an exciting and fast-paced industry.
HOTBEDS
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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While some of the initial excitement around immunotherapies has waned, companies—particularly smaller biotechs—are developing newer iterations that will take cancer care to the next level. -
Offsetting Merck’s growth in the third quarter were disappointing revenues from its HPV vaccine Gardasil and type 2 diabetes pill Januvia, with the company on Thursday narrowing its 2024 sales and adjusted profit outlooks. -
Scemblix was granted accelerated approval by the FDA for the treatment of certain patients newly diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. The expanded indication increases the eligible patient population by approximately four times, according to Novartis. -
Jefferies analyst Kelly Shi in a Sunday note to investors said that both data drops for Revolution Medicines’ experimental RAS inhibitors are positive and could be “synergistic” in the first-line setting for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. -
Bank of America analysts said prior to Thursday’s readout that Tyra Biosciences’ TYRA-300 could rival Johnson & Johnson’s kinase inhibitor Balversa, which has suffered from safety concerns and poor tolerability.
NEUROSCIENCE
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The positive readout in patients with non-relapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis comes on the heels of back-to-back failures in which tolebrutinib was unable to improve relapse rates in patients with relapsing MS. -
Launched in 2020 to more quickly bring to market an effective medicine for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the HEALEY Platform Trial has generated disappointing results for many but also continuing programs from Clene and Prilenia. -
The FDA has six target action dates ahead to round out September as drugs for gastroparesis, Niemann-Pick disease type C and more await decisions. -
BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said luvadaxistat’s inconsistencies between mid-stage trials raise questions about Neurocrine Biosciences’ developmental efforts moving forward. -
The next generation of Alzheimer’s therapeutics is moving away from amyloid plaques and tau tangles, offering multiple approaches to slow cognitive decline.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Interius BioTherapeutics has received approval from Australia’s Human Research Ethics Committee to begin the first-in-human trial of an investigational in vivo CAR-T therapy designed to treat B-cell malignancies.
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Following a disappointing readout last year, uniQure on Tuesday posted promising Phase I/II data for its investigational gene therapy AMT-130 and nabbed the first-ever Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation from the FDA in Huntington’s disease. -
The groundwork being done in 2024 is building the foundation for global collaboration in the future. -
Johnson & Johnson and Legend Biotech’s Carvykti cell therapy significantly improved survival in patients with multiple myeloma when used in the second-line setting, the companies announced on Tuesday.
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Rocket Pharmaceuticals’ gene therapy Kresladi has been hit with an FDA Complete Response Letter requesting additional chemistry, manufacturing and controls information to complete its review.
