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While increases in the interest rate from the Federal Reserve are usually bad for biotech, the sector at this moment is poised to withstand the blow, according to analysts, though earlier stage companies may be left in the lurch.
Last month, biotech and pharma companies making or planning workforce cuts included three whose reductions will more than halve their workforces. Blueprint Medicines’ layoffs will affect the most employees.
The co-development deal comes after Pfizer reported a late-stage failure for a Seagen asset and the discontinuation of another investigational therapy developed by the company as a subsidiary of the pharma.
AstraZeneca and Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ data drop divulging more details from its highly watched Phase 3 transthyretin silencer trial “further confuses the picture” for Wainua when combined with the standard of care for ATTR-CM, analysts say.
Current leaders Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have cornered the early market for weight loss therapeutics, but several other players, large and small, are bidding for a piece of the potential $200 billion pie.
The industry has been abuzz since the weekend when talks of a potential mega-merger between Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca were reported. Meanwhile, Pfizer, Merck and others release second quarter earnings, with some disclosing pipeline discontinuations and cost-cutting measures. Finally, all eyes turn to the FDA in the wake of heated advisory committee meetings for Capricor Therapeutics and Replimune.
Asked on a second quarter earnings call if Pfizer could direct more money to M&A amid a feeding frenzy across the pharma industry, CEO Albert Bourla defended his strategy.
The additional cuts, which will primarily occur between 2027 and 2029, will cost some $6 billion as the pharma tries to ride out a post-COVID headache while facing stiff patent headwinds for major products like the blood thinner Eliquis.
Biotechs that announced series B financing this year and are looking for employees as they grow include one that received over $100 million and another that has a partnership with a Big Pharma company.
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