Drug Development
Despite the definitive failure of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide in Alzheimer’s, biotech executives, analysts and other industry experts see potential in more testing of GLP-1s for the neurodegenerative disease, particularly in a combination approach.
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In the midst of regulatory and political upheaval, biopharma’s R&D engine kept running, churning out highs and lows in equal parts. Here are some of this year’s most glorious clinical trial victories.
Every year in biopharma brings its share of grueling defeats, and 2025 was no different, especially for companies targeting neurological diseases. Some failures split up partners, and one particularly egregious case even led to the demise of an entire company.
The R&D pipeline for depression therapies faced a demoralizing 2025 as five high-profile candidates, including KOR antagonists by Johnson & Johnson and Neumora Therapeutics, flunked late-stage clinical trials, underscoring the persistent challenges of CNS drug development.
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Formerly known as AbGenomics Holding, AltruBio on Tuesday said it will use the funds to push its ulcerative colitis asset into a Phase IIb trial with an anticipated readout in 2026.
Late-stage results from the NOTUS trial showed Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent lowered moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations by 34% and led to significantly better lung function.
Until compelling surface targets for lung cancer are developed, antibody-drug conjugates will fail to treat most patients with lung cancer, experts told BioSpace.
Following a series of clinical failures, optimism builds for the first disease-modifying treatment.
Seladelpar, which Gilead acquired when it bought CymaBay in February for $4.3 billion, showed positive results for reducing pruritus in primary biliary cholangitis patients and reducing inflammation.
The European Patent Office last week upheld one of Moderna’s key patents, handing the biotech an important victory in its protracted COVID-19 vaccine battle with Pfizer and BioNTech.
While Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk currently dominate the GLP-1 receptor agonist space, there are more than 50 candidates in clinical development for obesity and type 2 diabetes, according to analytics firm GlobalData.
Bayer on Thursday provided additional data on late-stage studies of its rival drug to Astellas’ Veozah, which met all primary endpoints.
Disappointed with Phase I/II results for two Ionis-partnered programs, one for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and another for Angelman syndrome, Biogen has opted to not proceed with their development.
A Senate health committee report published Wednesday forecasts spending on prescription drugs to hit $1 trillion a year in 2031, unless the prices of GLP-1 medicines such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy are cut.