Drug Development
Analysts said the outcome is disappointing because there are no approved treatments for dyskinetic cerebral palsy, but the setback had little impact on Neurocrine’s valuation.
FEATURED STORIES
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.
Subscribe to ClinicaSpace
Clinical trial results, research news, the latest in cancer and cell and gene therapy, in your inbox every Monday
THE LATEST
Cell and gene therapy investment rebounds; WuXi Biologics and other companies named in BIOSECURE Act mull options; Bayer, J&J and Pfizer’s recent layoffs; updates from the weight loss space.
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks is confident his company and peer Novo Nordisk are years ahead in the weight loss space, as biotechs press on with compelling data.
On the heels of Keytruda’s success in a Phase III perioperative trial for a disease where it had previously failed to improve event-free survival, Merck touts an I&I deal with UK biotech Mestag.
Sage has decided to discontinue the development of dalzanemdor in Alzheimer’s disease. A study of the candidate in Huntington’s is ongoing, with early data expected later this year.
Tim Hunt, CEO of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, said Monday at the 2024 Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa that investments reached $10.9 billion in the first half of this year—outpacing 2019’s $9.8 billion total—but far below the pandemic peak.
With Monday’s data from SAPPHIRE, Scholar Rock is building toward regulatory submissions for apitegromab in spinal muscular atrophy in the first quarter of 2025.
J&J has recently pulled back from the infectious diseases space, including winding down R&D activity in this area in August 2023.
After several high-profile failures, including BMS’ $1.5B breakup with Agenus, anti-TIGIT therapies are generating cautious optimism.
After psychological side effects doomed the first generation of cannabinoid receptor 1–targeting drugs for weight loss, Novo Nordisk, Corbus Pharmaceuticals and Skye Bioscience are betting that a new mechanism of action will improve the safety profile.
While a JAMA study found a decline in mpox antibody responses after vaccination, a University of Oxford expert cautioned that there is still not enough evidence to determine if this decline also leads to waning protections.