Drug Development

FEATURED STORIES
A handful of billion-dollar deals in the rare disease space highlights the uptick in Big Pharma’s investment, but it’s still extremely low compared to the money flowing to more common indications.
Investigational CAR T therapies stole the spotlight at the American College of Rheumatology Convergence as data presented by Bristol Myers Squibb, Kyverna Therapeutics and more highlighted their potential to effectively treat lupus.
In this deep dive BioSpace explores the opportunities and challenges presented by the FDA’s accelerated approval program.
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With an eye toward advancing a novel antibody-drug conjugate for gastrointestinal cancers, ArriVent is the latest biopharma player to ink a deal with a Chinese biotech.
Biopharma executives shared their thoughts on the potential impacts of the new administration; Annalee Armstrong recaps JPM and her talks with Biogen, Gilead, Novavax and more; Wegovy’s higher dose induces more weight loss; AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Dato-DXd scores its first FDA approval.
Computational research conducted by scientists from Washington University in St. Louis shows that GLP-1 agonists can have mental and cognitive health benefits but may also harm the kidneys and pancreas.
The funding, which follows the $176 million the government awarded Moderna in June 2024, aims to get mRNA vaccines ready before bird flu strains currently circulating in the wild and on farms can potentially cause human outbreaks.
Traditionally carrying a dire prognosis, the treatment paradigm for multiple myeloma is changing, with CAR T therapies, bispecifics and more contributing to multifaceted regimens unique to each patient’s needs.
Even before the FDA’s recent approval of Dato-DXd in breast cancer, analysts predicted sales of the antibody-drug conjugate could hit $5.9 billion in 2030. However, the asset faced a series of setbacks in 2024.
As the year gets underway, analysts and biotech executives highlight cell therapy’s pivot from oncology to autoimmune diseases, a continued appetite for next-generation obesity drugs and an increased focus on neuromuscular, kidney and cardiovascular diseases.
There are currently no treatments available for celiac disease beyond a gluten-free diet. Several late-phase companies aim to change the paradigm and deliver hope and progress soon.
FDA
The conversion of Calquence’s accelerated approval in mantle cell lymphoma comes a day before the drug was listed among the 15 products to be subject to IRA-prescripted price negotiations for Medicare this year.
The data suggest the high dose nearly closes the efficacy gap with Zepbound.