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.
Before being discontinued, the P2X7 receptor blocker had cleared a master protocol study in chronic pain, though Eli Lilly said that results were not sufficient for advancement of the Asahi Kasei–partnered asset.
Gilead is actively looking for late-stage and de-risked assets for potential deals across various therapeutic spaces, including liver disease, cancer and immunology.
With the shutdown ongoing, Evommune plans to close its IPO on Nov. 5 via a Securities Act clause that allows registrations to come into effect after a certain window has passed.
CEO David Ricks wants Eli Lilly’s upcoming obesity pill to be accessible to patients who need it, but the company still needs to pay for the next generation of obesity medicines to come after that.
While the company’s sales outlook was otherwise rosy, Merck took sales hits on Gardisil, Proquad, Varivax and Vaxneuvance.
FEATURED STORIES
As the industry loses one of its key female leaders in GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, BioSpace profiles the women leading the industry’s smaller biopharmas.
Drug pricing criticism often fixates on a price at a single point in time but drug pricing is never static.
Cell and gene therapy experts question where the FDA designation fits in an environment that features a range of intersecting regulatory perks.
As industry leaders gather at the annual event in Phoenix, the cell and gene therapy space remains in a state of flux, with M&A activity and regulatory support signaling momentum while commercialization challenges continue to hinder broader investor interest.
Smarter design through targeted delivery and human-relevant testing can save the industry from costly safety failures.
While Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors are often hailed as the next big breakthrough in multiple sclerosis, Immunic Therapeutics and others are leveraging neuroprotective targets and remyelination to keep the disease at bay.
LATEST PODCASTS
The White House is clamping down on pharma’s ability to buy new molecules from Chinese biotechs; Sanofi, Merck and others abandon the U.K. after the introduction of a sizeable levy; Novo CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar lays off 9,000 while the company presents new data at EASD; Capsida loses a patient in a gene therapy trial; and CDER Director George Tidmarsh walks back comments on FDA adcomms.
This week’s release of the Make America Health Again report revealed continued emphasis on vaccine safety; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s faceoff with senators last week amounted to political theater; the FDA promises complete response letters in real time and shares details on a new rare disease framework; and Summit disappoints at the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Barcelona.
In this episode presented by Taconic Biosciences, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses how preclinical research companies are helping drug developers navigate the current challenging funding environment with Mike Garrett, CEO.
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 dissects the global obesity and diabetes markets along with the growing pipelines that aim to serve them.
For the second quarter of 2024, there were 25% fewer jobs posted live on BioSpace compared to the same quarter of 2023. The year-over-year job response rate rose from 14.6% to 15.3%.
The pace of mergers and acquisitions has accelerated. In this deep dive, BioSpace takes a closer look at the nature of recent deals and the players involved.
DEALS
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Regulatory documents show how 89bio’s board pushed Roche hard for a deal valued at $20 per share in upfront and milestone payments. -
J&J still holds the top deal of the year by value with its $14.6 billion buy of Intra-Cellular in January, but the next four biggest acquisitions came in the past four months. -
The two most historically deal-conservative Big Pharmas have the most money to play with for a major M&A transaction, according to a recent Stifel analysis. -
A new analysis from SRS Acquiom puts into perspective the headline values seen when a company announces a backloaded M&A deal. Biotechs have much on the line when they agree to deals with massive potential but little upfront. -
Novartis and Monte Rosa first partnered in October 2024 for a molecular glue asset for immune-mediated and autoimmune diseases. This time, the pharma is putting $120 million down upfront for more of the biotech’s AI-discovered degraders.
WEIGHT LOSS
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The acquisition of breakout obesity star Metsera should pump new life into Pfizer’s portfolio, which over the last two years has suffered from three discontinued assets. -
In this deep dive, BioSpace explores the next big thing in obesity. -
In letters to Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the FDA accused the companies of downplaying the risks of their GLP-1 weight loss drugs during a prime time special with Oprah Winfrey. -
The White House is clamping down on pharma’s ability to buy new molecules from Chinese biotechs; Sanofi, Merck and others abandon the U.K. after the introduction of a sizeable levy; Novo CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar lays off 9,000 while the company presents new data at EASD; Capsida loses a patient in a gene therapy trial; and CDER Director George Tidmarsh walks back comments on FDA adcomms. -
The over-representation of males and Hispanic patients in Eli Lilly’s Phase III ATTAIN-1 study could explain why orforglipron “underperformed” expectations in a previous readout, according to analysts at BMO Capital Markets.
POLICY
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After a tension-packed two days that saw recommended changes to the MMRV vaccine schedule and COVID-19 vaccine access, as well as a delayed hepatitis B vaccine vote, policy experts expressed concern with the reconstituted committee’s dearth of previous experience and understanding of their role. -
BMO Capital Markets analysts said the first day of the CDC vaccine advisory committee meeting Thursday had anti-vaccine overtones as the panel, which was revamped by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in June, voted to recommend that children under four receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine separately from a chickenpox vaccine. Today the advisors will vote on changing the childhood schedule for the hepatitis B and COVID-19 vaccines. -
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has cleared proposed legislation that could bring back the FDA’s rare pediatric priority review voucher program, which allows for expedited drug reviews. -
In this episode of Denatured, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis and Colin Zick, partner at Foley Hoag LLP, spend time discussing some of the points brought up in the Bioprocessing Summit last month. They explore the connections between hammers, AI, The Planet of the Apes and monoliths. -
During a hearing in front of the Senate’s HELP committee, Susan Monarez addressed her controversial firing and recalled a conversation where Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. allegedly said that “CDC employees were killing children and they don’t care.”
Learn how to leverage your end-of-year downtime to document achievements, update your professional presence and prepare for a successful 2025.
Based on how President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration handled immigration, experts are concerned about how his second term will impact foreign-born biopharma professionals. Two immigration attorneys discuss what may be ahead, including increased difficulty getting work visas.
At Drexel University’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies, graduate students and active professionals can take interdisciplinary, career-oriented programs designed to help launch their careers and take them to the next level.
Massachusetts’ increased investment in the life sciences industry includes boosting its life sciences tax incentive program by $10 million annually, aiding job creation in the state.
Many biopharma professionals view smaller companies as having the best flexibility and remote work options, but that doesn’t mean their larger counterparts are failing in that area. Several professionals, including Apogee Therapeutics and Insmed executives, share their insights.
Check out five New York companies hiring biopharma professionals like you, including 2025 Best Places to Work winners.
HOTBEDS
REPORTS
BioSpace’s 2024 Salary Report explores the average salaries and salary trends of life sciences professionals.
BioSpace’s Employment Outlook report investigates anticipated job search activity and hiring outlook in 2024 as well as how the current workforce is currently faring
If it feels like there has never been a tougher time to look for work, you’re not alone—and you’re likely not wrong.
CANCER
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For the last two years, Keytruda has reigned as the world’s top-selling drug—a distinction under threat with key patent protections expiring in 2028. -
Moving forward, Innate will focus on the clinical development of its antibody-drug conjugate IPH4502, the lymphoma candidate lacutamab and the AstraZeneca-partnered monalizumab. -
On the FDA’s docket for the back half of September is Merck’s proposed subcutaneous formulation of its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda. -
Cullinan Therapeutics and Taiho Oncology’s zipalertinib elicited promising response rates in two mid-stage studies of non-small cell lung cancer patients with typical and uncommon EGFR mutations. -
This week’s release of the Make America Health Again report revealed continued emphasis on vaccine safety; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s faceoff with senators last week amounted to political theater; the FDA promises complete response letters in real time and shares details on a new rare disease framework; and Summit disappoints at the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Barcelona.
NEUROSCIENCE
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VectorY Therapeutics will evaluate the use of SHP-DB1, a capsid developed by Shape Therapeutics, to deliver therapies to the brain, including VectorY’s developmental Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease treatments. -
LB Pharma landed on the Nasdaq Thursday, with 3 million additional shares sold than expected. -
Capsida has yet to disclose the exact cause of death. The patient had received the gene therapy CAP-002 for a type of epilepsy. -
Presenting at the World Sleep Congress 2025, the Dublin-based company’s Phase II study bested Takeda drug in both efficacy and safety. -
Shares of Rapport Therapeutics popped Monday morning after Phase IIa data for RAP-219 exceeded analyst and Wall Street expectations, reducing seizures by almost 78% in patients with drug-resistant focal onset seizures.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Takeda is looking to offload its cell therapy platform and preclinical assets to a yet-unidentified external partner. 137 employees will be let go as part of the move. -
M&A headlined for a second straight week as Genmab acquired Merus for $8 billion; Pfizer strikes most-favored-nation deal with White House; CDER Director George Tidmarsh caused a stir with a now-deleted LinkedIn post; GSK CEO Emma Walmsley will step down from her role; and uniQure’s gene therapy offers new hope for patients with Huntington’s disease.
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The AAV pullback comes amid Biogen’s aggressive cost-cutting campaign, which put some 1,000 jobs on the chopping block with the goal of generating $1 billion in savings by 2025. -
Three draft recommendation documents published on Wednesday are intended to guide drug sponsors and accelerate the development of cell and gene therapies. -
The FDA is hoping to repurpose GSK’s Wellcovorin for cerebral folate deficiency; Pfizer acquired fast-moving weight-loss startup Metsera for nearly $5 billion after suffering a hat trick of R&D failures; psychedelics are primed for M&A action and Eli Lilly may be next in line; RFK Jr.’s revamped CDC advisory committee met last week with confounding results; and Stealth secured its Barth approval.
