The last few years have been tough for the insulin market, with recent policies and high-level pressure forcing companies to lower drug prices.
Pfizer reacts to Donald Trump’s tariff threats on big pharma, another regulatory meeting is canceled under RFK Jr., AbbVie and Eli Lilly strike mid-sized deals in obesity and molecular glues, priority review vouchers set to take a hit and immuno-oncology matures.
Less than two months after two FDA-related setbacks, Atara Biotherapeutics is again cutting its workforce in half. This time, it’s also hitting pause on two CAR T programs, including one affected by an FDA clinical hold in January.
The approval for the first-line treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma comes shortly after a label expansion for the drug in gastric and gastroesophageal cancers as BeiGene also pushes forward a pipeline of novel cancer therapies.
TNKase is the first stroke drug to win FDA approval in nearly three decades.
Last week, Eli Lilly also responded to the President’s tariff warnings by investing $27 billion to construct four manufacturing facilities across the U.S. in five years.
FEATURED STORIES
CEO Roberto Iacone admitted in an interview that the market remains tough, even for a biotech in the red-hot ADC world. But Alentis is targeting an IPO as early as 2025.
The past four years have brought disappointment for the Huntington’s community, but optimism is growing as companies including Prilenia and Wave Life Sciences eye paths to approval of therapies that could address the underlying cause of the disease.
A fatal, highly hereditary illness with no disease-modifying treatments, Huntington’s is long overdue for a therapeutic win. Here, BioSpace looks at five candidates that could change the trajectory for patients.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
In a year when eradicated diseases are on the uptick in America, how will American children survive RFK Jr.’s vaccine scrutiny and inconsistency? Two experts call on pharma and regulatory bodies to rebuild trust.
LATEST PODCASTS
President Donald Trump unwrapped a massive drug pricing policy as CMS prepares for the next round of Medicare drug price negotiations; Vinay Prasad to take the helm at the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research; Bayer cuts 2,000 more employees; Eli Lilly’s Zepbound scores again; and the Galapagos story turns again.
In this episode of Denatured BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses the public health consequences of vaccine hesitancy and the critical distinction between skepticism and cynicism with Paul Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
A new executive order aims to smooth the path for getting U.S. manufacturing facilities up and running; HHS says it will require placebo-controlled trials for all vaccine approvals; tariff threats hit BioNTech; Novo Nordisk’s FDA application for an oral version of Wegovy is accepted; and more.
Job Trends
Amolyt Pharma, a global, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in developing therapeutic peptides for rare endocrine and related diseases, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement for AstraZeneca to acquire Amolyt Pharma at a purchase price of $800 million upfront and a potential milestone payment of $250 million.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
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.
Year-over-year BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the first quarter of 2025.
DEALS
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has joined the mounting antitrust scrutiny of Illumina’s acquisition of the cancer diagnostics company, according to an SEC filing by the DNA sequencing giant. -
Amid record sales of its obesity treatment Wegovy, as well as diabetes drugs Ozempic and Rybelsus, Novo is buying Canadian biotech Inversago Pharma to further boost its weight-loss pipeline. -
The acquisition will bring gene therapy company Decibel Therapeutics into Regeneron’s fold after a six-year partnership, targeting different forms of congenital and monogenic hearing loss. -
Following difficult recent months for EQRx, the biotech is being bought by Revolution Medicines in an all-stock transaction that secures $1 billion in additional capital for the oncology company. -
Biogen’s $7.3 billion Reata acquisition and layoffs dominated this week’s news, while BMS and Roche reported second-quarter earnings and BioSpace looked at 12 late-stage neuro companies.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Studies presented Monday at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting show semaglutide has positive impact on outcomes for total hip arthroplasty patients. -
The startup will use the money to fund a Phase II trial in combination with Eli Lilly’s Zepbound in the hopes of increased weight loss results, while attempting to protect body composition from muscle wasting. -
Analysts say Novo Holdings made the right decision last week in scooping up the CDMO to increase manufacturing capacity for Novo Nordisk’s diabetes and weight-loss drugs. -
Two Florida courts have sided with Novo Nordisk against Ekzotika and Effinger Health, agreeing that their compounded versions of semaglutide are against the law. The Danish pharma has reached confidential settlements with both companies.
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Biopharma’s latest earnings season was, in a word, predictable. Companies are consistently beating Wall Street earnings and revenue estimates as they set low expectations for investors.
POLICY
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Experts say approval of Lykos Therapeutics’ MDMA capsules for post-traumatic stress disorder would open the door to further research into psychedelic-assisted therapies. -
Amgen on Tuesday secured the FDA’s green light for the first interchangeable biosimilar to AstraZeneca’s Soliris to treat two rare diseases: paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome. -
Flagging a risk of hypoglycemia, the FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee on Friday did not recommend the approval of Novo Nordisk’s once-weekly insulin icodec for type 1 diabetes. -
An appellate court ruled on Tuesday that pharmaceutical companies can lawfully impose restrictions on covered drugs under the 340B Drug Pricing Program. -
In advance of Friday’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting, the FDA has raised concerns about hypoglycemia linked to Novo Nordisk’s insulin icodec, according to a briefing document.
Once you’ve made initial meaningful contact with a hiring manager – through an interview, online or phone inquiry, informational interview or networking experience – the best way to turn that encounter into opportunity is through sustained follow-up.
Here are four ways to improve your productivity while working from home!
You can apply these career-planning and goal-setting techniques to establish career goals that are just as exciting as those you dreamed about as a kid.
The interview goes both ways and in order to choose a perfect workplace, you must analyze a few things. Here are a few interview red flags to watch out for during an interview.
Questions about the future are not uncommon in job interviews and represent an opportunity for careful preparation.
It’s common to feel overwhelmed or stressed about a major career change. There are a few things you can do to position yourself as the right person for the job.
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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Bouncing back from a previous rejection, ImmunityBio on Monday secured the FDA’s green light for its IL-15 superagonist Anktiva for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. -
Roche’s subsidiary Genentech has successfully expanded the label of Alecensa to include the adjuvant treatment of anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive, early-stage non-small cell lung cancer following resection. -
The FDA will close out April with five target action dates around indications that include pediatric seizures and a neurological cancer in children. -
As its lead oral targeted protein degrader moves through Phase III in partnership with Pfizer, Arvinas signs a licensing deal handing over all rights and responsibilities to Novartis. -
Roche said Monday that its bispecific T cell engager Columvi improved survival in a Phase III lymphoma trial, clearing the drugmaker to seek a full, expanded label that could drive sales growth.
NEUROSCIENCE
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Following a controversial Rett Syndrome trial last year, Anavex Life Sciences’ blarcamesine has claimed another clinical victory—this time in an Alzheimer’s disease Phase IIb/III study. -
With a potential combined market value of $30 billion, BioSpace takes a deep dive into the Phase III data supporting Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi and Eli Lilly’s investigational donanemab. -
With a recent study yielding positive results, experts say GLP-1 drugs are making headway in treating Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. -
With new Alzheimer’s drugs receiving—and expected to receive—FDA approval, the market for diagnostic biomarker tests is set to expand. -
The companies partnered to develop the antibody transport vehicle in late 2021, but will continue their 2018 agreement to pursue other drugs in preclinical development.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Taking center stage at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy meeting was the first-ever reported case of a personalized in vivo CRISPR editing therapy, which substantially eased the symptom burden in an infant. -
Since Elevidys’ accelerated approval in 2023, experts have been clamoring for more data, particularly in older and non-ambulatory children. New results, presented Friday, show mobility improvements in 8- to 9-year-old patients after one year of follow-up. -
Lilly will use Rznomics’ proprietary ribozyme technology to develop RNA editing therapies for congenital hearing loss. -
After warnings that the dragged-out process was putting the cell therapy company at risk of bankruptcy, bluebird bio now has a new deal to offer shareholders. -
It’s another wild twist in the story of Galapagos, a company that has been around for more than 25 years but has yet to get a therapy approved.
