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Brepocitinib remains “ahead of competition” in the dermatomyositis space, according to analysts at Leerink, who projected that the drug candidate could hit $2 billion in sales in 2032.
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Here are five oral obesity candidates that, according to Mizuho’s Graig Suvannavejh, could change the weight loss game.
FDA
Arguably the FDA’s most anticipated decision this month is for a subcutaneous induction formulation of Biogen and Eisai’s Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, which, according to Eisai, could “help reduce the burden on healthcare professionals and patients.”
Out-licensing drugs to multinational corporations is a natural step for Chinese biotechs, but the recent rise in deals is only scratching at the surface of partnership-ready biotechs in the region.
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Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) invites investors and the general public to listen to a webcast of a discussion with Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, at the Goldman Sachs 45th Annual Global Healthcare Conference on Monday, June 10, 2024 at 11:20 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
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Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
After Emma Walmsley steps down as GSK CEO in January, Vertex Pharma’s Reshma Kewalramani will be the sole female CEO at a top-20 pharma company. Still, there are many prominent women in pharma that could someday break through again.
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Vertex Pharmaceuticals commits $45 million upfront to leverage Enlaza Therapeutics’ War-Lock platform to create drug conjugates and T cell engagers for autoimmune diseases and gentler conditioning for sickle cell/beta thalassemia gene-editing therapy Casgevy.
The French giant is gaining access to darovasertib, a small molecule protein kinase C inhibitor already in Phase II/III trials, with rights for the whole world besides the U.S.
Novartis is licensing ARO-SNCA, a preclinical siRNA therapy for synucleinopathies, a group of neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease.
The OMass partnership will boost Roche’s strategy in inflammatory bowel diseases, currently led by afimkibart, an anti-TL1A therapy the pharma obtained from its $7.1 billion acquisition of Telavant in 2023.
Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy has been on a winning streak as of late, with a metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis approval last month and prime position in the oral obesity race.
While the approval of Leqembi Iqlik bodes well for Biogen and Eisai’s planned application for a subcutaneous induction regimen next year, its financial impact remains “uncertain,” as potentially higher revenues from the injection could be offset by steeper costs of production, according to Jefferies.
While Eli Lilly’s orforglipron is full speed ahead for a regulatory filing this year, the pharma is also pushing forward with one more Phase II study of naperiglipron, which uses the same scaffold as Pfizer’s failed obesity drugs danuglipron and lotiglipron.
Aside from the rare disease market, Novo Nordisk also scored a key regulatory win last month for its blockbuster GLP-1 drug Wegovy, which can now be used to treat patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.
ALS
After a demoralizing period punctuated by the withdrawal of one of the few marketed therapies for ALS, investment in new biotechs, state-backed collaborative initiatives and buzz at BIO2025 suggest a new day in drug development for one of medicine’s most intractable diseases.
With a flurry of recent Big Pharma investment in radiopharmaceutical therapeutics, the FDA issued draft guidance last month in a move former FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn sees as the regulator “trying to get ahead on a new set of therapy that they see becoming very important for cancer.”