Drug Development
BioSpace examines how the FDA approval of Eli Lilly’s oral obesity drug Foundayo has ignited a key race with Novo Nordisk.
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After years of suffering from a bear market and more than 14 months of geopolitical turmoil shaking the macroenvironment, biotech appears to be moving on.
New guidelines from two leading medical associations suggest that efforts to reduce bad cholesterol should focus on maintaining low levels of two key lipoproteins. Big pharma is all in, looking to improve on the standard statins to help vanquish America’s number one killer: heart disease.
Biogen’s Qalsody won FDA approval in 2023 to treat a rare, genetic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. On Tuesday, QurAlis presented interim Phase 2 data showing the potential of a similar drug to more broadly treat the neurodegenerative disease.
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Asundexian’s Phase III win could also bode well for Bristol Myers Squibb, which is also developing a Factor XIa inhibitor called milvexian for stroke prevention, analysts said.
Mixed headlines have plagued the cell and gene therapy space of late. We believe that a renewed case of optimism is not only warranted but essential if these therapies are to reach their full potential.
While expressing disappointment, William Blair analysts were unsurprised by the Phase II failure, having assigned the VISTA study a high level of risk given the “mixed” performance of a similar drug in a prior multiple sclerosis study.
The CRO market in the APAC region is thriving, particularly in China, due to intense clinical trial and innovation development, with Western investors and pharma leaning in.
Merck has made a $9.2 billion play for Cidara, and there’s another bidding war afoot, this one for sleep biotech Avadel. Meanwhile, Rick Pazdur has taken the helm at CDER while tensions run high between FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Health Secretary RFK Jr.
Winrevair yielded significant and meaningful clinical benefits for patients with combined post- and precapillary pulmonary hypertension, an indication that, according to BMO Capital Markets, has few treatment options.
With positive data from the Phase III HERIZON-GEA-01 study, Zymeworks and Jazz Pharmaceuticals will file an approval application for Ziihera in the first half of 2026 for the treatment of gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.
Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson will continue to test the asset in stroke and atrial fibrillation.
Gilead’s investigational drug combo bic/len could help lower the pill burden in patients with virologically suppressed HIV who are on complex treatment regimens, according to BMO Capital Markets.
Through substantial leadership turnover and workforce cuts, the FDA has continued to support the advanced therapy sector, actively working to remove obstacles to innovation.