New York City has seen increased life sciences employment during the past decade as public funding and key projects like JLABS @ NYC have given the area a boost. A Partnership Fund for New York City executive discusses the city’s strengths and a notable challenge facing businesses.
Capsida has yet to disclose the exact cause of death. The patient had received the gene therapy CAP-002 for a type of epilepsy.
New draft guidelines suggest the FDA is open to exercising regulatory flexibility for non-opioid drugs being developed for chronic pain.
Analysts at BMO Capital Markets expect the lack of other exon-44-skiping therapies to facilitate a “smooth” approval process for Avidity’s del-zota.
Claiming that the domestic market undervalues pharma innovation, Merck has decided to pull the plug on all of its R&D efforts in the U.K.
Jefferies analysts expect a regulatory filing for rocatinlimab later this year, with a product launch in 2026.
FEATURED STORIES
It can cure deadly diseases, save long-term healthcare costs and transform lives. But the U.S. insurance system still isn’t ready to pay for it.
Blank check deals dwindled after a crazy 2021. Now, biotechs are starting to turn to special purpose acquisition companies again as an easy route to the public markets.
Some of the biggest SPACs from the industry’s pandemic-fueled heyday are no longer on the market.
After spinning out of BridgeBio in May 2024, BBOT had an eye on another round of fundraising in 2025. A SPAC quickly emerged as the best option.
Aside from the rare disease market, Novo Nordisk also scored a key regulatory win last month for its blockbuster GLP-1 drug Wegovy, which can now be used to treat patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.
After a demoralizing period punctuated by the withdrawal of one of the few marketed therapies for ALS, investment in new biotechs, state-backed collaborative initiatives and buzz at BIO2025 suggest a new day in drug development for one of medicine’s most intractable diseases.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
Elisa Cascade, CPO at Advarra explains why addressing the challenges faced by clinical research sites is vital for improving patient trust and the overall viability of clinical trials.
LATEST PODCASTS
In this episode presented by Cresset, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses the emerging geopolitical battle for AI supremacy and global AI governance with Mutlu Dogruel, VP of AI and Mark Mackey, CSO of Cresset.
George Tidmarsh takes over temporarily at CBER following Vinay Prasad’s abrupt departure; Replimmune trial leaders protest rejection reportedly driven by FDA’s top cancer regulator Richard Pazdur; Merck’s $3 billion savings push claims 6,000 jobs; and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla addresses President Donald Trump’s new threats around Most Favored Nation drug pricing.
In this episode presented by IQVIA, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses the concerns and opportunities of patient data driving AI tasks with Louise Molloy, associate director medical information and pharmacovigilance.
Job Trends
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.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
In this deep dive BioSpace explores the opportunities and challenges presented by the FDA’s accelerated approval program.
Year-over-year BioSpace data shows there are fewer job postings live on the website and far more competition for them.
On election day, Tuesday, November 5, Americans will choose between former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris for their next president. The election will also see the rearrangement of Congress.
DEALS
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The partnership with Matchpoint Therapeutics gets Novartis global rights on all molecules for several unannounced inflammatory diseases identified through the biotech’s discovery platform. -
What will Boston Pharmaceuticals CEO Sophie Kornowski do now that the company is selling off its pipeline and winding down operations? Whatever it is, data will take her there. -
The deal, which involves a $700 million upfront payment, gives AbbVie access to ISB 2001, a clinical-stage first-in-class trispecific antibody currently being tested for certain kinds of multiple myeloma as well as autoimmune indications. -
The deal gives AstraZeneca’s rare disease unit Alexion access to specialized capsids developed by the Japanese biotech JCR Pharmaceuticals for use in up to five of Alexion’s gene therapies. -
In the second biggest acquisition of the year, Merck gains the commercial COPD drug Ohtuvayre, which could help offset the loss of revenue when Keytruda’s patent expires later this decade.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Closely watched data from Eli Lilly and Viking Therapeutics this month have reignited the discussion around oral weight-loss drugs—and their ultimate place within the anti-obesity medication market. -
The mad rush for safe and effective obesity drugs has winners—including Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy—and losers. Here are five molecules that never made it to the market. -
While it’s impossible to make apples-to-apples comparisons of the many obesity candidates with so many differences across clinical trials, we at BioSpace are giving it our best shot. -
With results from highly anticipated trials of Eli Lilly’s orforglipron and Viking Therapeutics’ VK2735 “underwhelming” investors, William Blair’s Andy Hsieh predicts weight loss pills will play a bigger role in low- and middle-income countries than in the U.S. -
A draft copy of an upcoming MAHA report reveals a strategy in lockstep with recent HHS actions such as reviving the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines; Viking Therapeutics reports robust efficacy from mid-stage oral obesity candidate but is tripped up by tolerability concerns; Novo Nordisk wins approval for Wegovy in MASH; and Lilly takes a pricing stand.
POLICY
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The new additions would bring ACIP membership to 14 total. Several of the proposed members have taken part in anti-vaccine activity or made anti-vaccine statements. -
YouTube has shut down a channel containing hundreds of videos of comments made by doctors and other influencers—including CBER Director Vinay Prasad, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya—during the pandemic. This comes as Prasad reveals further details about last week’s updated COVID-19 approvals. -
Albert Bourla heralded the president’s COVID-19 leadership and Operation Warp Speed initiative as a Nobel Prize–worthy achievement and said that Pfizer stands by the integrity of the data already shared. -
In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he will roll chronic disease programs into a new Administration for a Healthy America. -
Paul Offit, longtime member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee and an outspoken critic of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was recently informed by the Department of Health and Human Services that his services are no longer required.
Looking for a biopharma job in New Jersey? Check out the BioSpace list of eight companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Turn your career aspirations into reality with this step-by-step guide to creating and implementing a strategic professional development plan for 2025.
Being laid off is bad enough. When companies mishandle the layoff process, it can make the situation even worse. Four biopharma professionals share how some employers are getting it wrong.
Job postings in California took a dip in December during the holiday period, but activity is expected to pick up in January.
As market values increase for computational biology and data science, biopharma companies are looking to hire R&D professionals in those areas. A biotech talent acquisition expert shares his insights on these in-demand roles.
Gratitude, a key part of stoicism, can benefit those working in—and being served by—the pharmaceutical industry.
HOTBEDS
REPORTS
Landing a job remains challenging for life sciences professionals, according to a new BioSpace report. While 59% of surveyed organizations are actively recruiting, nearly half of unemployed survey respondents had been out of work for at least six months, and 20% of surveyed employers expect to lay off employees this year.
This report investigates anticipated job search activity and hiring outlook for the remainder of 2024.
CANCER
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The recent announcement of RFK Jr.’s termination of mRNA vaccine contracts is the latest effort to undermine this promising technology at the federal level. Pharmaceutical companies and private investors must fill the gap and ensure that research into this critical resource continues. -
Arguably the FDA’s most anticipated decision this month is for a subcutaneous induction formulation of Biogen and Eisai’s Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, which, according to Eisai, could “help reduce the burden on healthcare professionals and patients.” -
Strand Therapeutics’ lead asset is STX-001, an intra-tumor self-replicating mRNA therapy that carries a payload expressing the immunomodulatory protein IL-12. -
The small molecule drug, acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals in its $935 million Chimerix pick-up this spring, is intended for relapsed adult and pediatric patients with H3 K27M mutations. -
Terns, once a rising star in obesity and the MASH space, will refocus on cancer and partner out a handful of obesity assets.
NEUROSCIENCE
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The deal extends AbbVie’s commitment to the psychedelics space and depression, after emraclidine’s high-profile flop in schizophrenia last November. -
The platform strategy of using one molecule to target an underlying biological pathway to address many different diseases can be a goldmine for smaller companies. But it also has a unique set of challenges. -
The small molecule, vatiquinone, had already flunked a Phase III trial, but the company pushed ahead with an approval bid anyway. -
Waltham, Massachusetts–based Skyhawk Therapeutics has been collecting collaborations with larger companies in spades since launching in 2018. -
Praxis’ vormatrigine reduced seizures by 56.3%, an effect size that, according to analysts at Truist Securities, exceeds that of its closest competitors.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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The primary focus in scaling up production should first be the adoption of lean manufacturing principles used in virtually every other industry. -
The pivotal Phase II trial is testing Allogene’s CAR T candidate cemacabtagene ansegedleucel for large B-cell lymphoma. ALLO-647 was being used as a preparative lymphodepletion therapy. -
The FDA greenlit multiple new drugs this month and issued some notable label expansions, including for Eli Lilly’s Kisunla. Meanwhile, the regulator turned away a cell therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and a gene therapy for the rare disease Sanfilippo syndrome. -
As analysts parsed news of Vinay Prasad’s ouster, worries over drug approval delays, cell and gene therapy impacts and more were top of mind. -
The swift FDA action removes an overhang from Sarepta and allows Elevidys to return to the market without another safety study, as had been feared, Jefferies analysts said Monday.
