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Replimune is axing 144 employees at its Woburn headquarters and 80 at its Framingham manufacturing site. The cuts follow the FDA’s second rejection of the biotech’s advanced melanoma candidate.
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Doubling survival in pancreatic cancer, a long-fought rare disease approval, a massive IPO and ambitious biotech entrepreneurs have BioSpace Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong feeling upbeat about the biotech scene.
After Replimune’s advanced melanoma drug was rejected for a second time, CEO Sushil Patel slammed the FDA for failing to exercise regulatory flexibility, while other experts bemoaned the agency’s lack of consistency. With new safety guidelines for gene editing therapies, the FDA has taken a first step toward fixing both problems.
The Merck update, which will shed light on a $588 million bet to succeed Keytruda, is part of a roster of presentations that could shape the future of ADCs, protein degraders and KRAS-targeted therapies.
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Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy has a few months’ head start on Eli Lilly’s newly approved pill. While the Indianapolis pharma has come from behind the Danish rival in the weight loss space before, last time it clearly had the better drug.
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A new report found that 85% of pharma respondents are increasing their artificial intelligence investments, and 70% see AI as an immediate priority. Two experts discuss how biopharmas are implementing and adopting AI, including their increased use of external help with the process.
George Tidmarsh has only been at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research for nine days, but will now add supervision of a second FDA division to his portfolio after Vinay Prasad’s sudden departure.
As analysts parsed news of Vinay Prasad’s ouster, worries over drug approval delays, cell and gene therapy impacts and more were top of mind.
Madrigal will study SYH2086 in combination with Rezdiffra for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, aiming for clinical trials in early 2026.
Long-term data presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference show Leqembi can help patients stay in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s disease as compared to the condition’s natural progression.
Monarez is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate under a new 2023 law and will be the first person without a medical degree to assume leadership of the agency in more than 70 years.
Sarepta’s Elevidys is back on the market for ambulatory patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly plans to dissolve the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and “fix” the vaccine injury compensation program, Merck, AstraZeneca and more report Q2 earnings, Novo names a new leader and Roche’s trontinemab impresses at AAIC25.
CEO Emma Walmsley maintained that continued investment in the U.S. is a priority for the pharma to ensure its medicines for the country are supplied domestically.
Against steep odds and well-established paradigms, these four companies have successfully been commercializing their products on their own.
Though nerves abound for funders and founders in the industry, money continues to flow into startups, sometimes in eye-popping numbers. BioSpace rounds up the biggest raises so far this year.