Drug Development

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With Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla launching onto the market, the 2024 Clinical Trials of Alzheimer’s Disease conference focused on the role these drugs might play, as well as combination therapies and innovative new treatment options.
Multiple players are exploring whether modalities designed to combat B cell malignancies can be repurposed against lupus, myasthenia gravis and other conditions traced to misdirected immune response.
This year has seen several biopharma companies drop Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease programs, but experts say plenty are still chasing these multi-billion-dollar markets.
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By mid-2025, the biotech will split into two entities: a new, as-yet-unnamed innovative medicines specialist and a cell therapy company, the latter of which will inherit the Galapagos name.
BioSpace presents 25 noteworthy biopharma startups in ’25; analysts forecast stronger M&A as the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference kicks off next week; GLP-1s continue to expand their reach as Novo, Lilly fight against compounders; and a look ahead to five key FDA decisions in Q1.
FDA
Amid recent backlash stemming from market withdrawals and trial delays, the FDA seeks to further clarify its requirements for confirmatory trials for therapies seeking the shortened path to market.
Months after posting weight loss of 7.5% at 36 days for patients taking MET-097i, Metsera releases mid-stage results of just over 11% average body weight reduction at 12 weeks, with no plateau and a promising safety profile.
ALS
Denali’s failure on Monday continues biopharma’s losing streak against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. PTC Therapeutics and Amylyx have seen similarly disappointing results.
From ADCs and radiopharmaceuticals to cell and gene therapies, eager young startups are betting on advances in biopharma’s most competitive therapeutic spaces—and attracting dollars from Big Pharma.
Eli Lilly and Company has invested more than $20 billion in its manufacturing capabilities since 2020 to help meet high demand for its medicines. Its recently announced Lilly Medicine Foundry—which will support research and development efforts—is just the latest example of the ability to research new ways of producing medicines, while also scaling up manufacturing of medicines for clinical trials.
Expanding volumes of data point to mechanisms beyond weight loss and blood sugar control that contribute to cardiovascular benefits in the world’s fastest-growing drug class.
Effectively treating and preventing this common form of dementia will require a cocktail of drugs and a combination of approaches, as well as a drive toward early detection.
With two earlier trials meeting their primary endpoints, Axsome claimed it has the data to support a filing for FDA approval in the second half of 2025.