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HIV
At the 2026 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Gilead and Merck demonstrated that their respective daily oral HIV drugs can match current therapies in keeping the virus at bay.
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IPO
LB Pharma needed $350 million to advance a promising schizophrenia candidate at a time when the biotech markets were locked up tight. Fortunately, it wasn’t CEO Heather Turner’s first rodeo.
Rare disease drug developers struggle to survive in a biopharma investment market that prioritizes large patient populations. Initiatives like the Orphan Therapeutics Accelerator are attempting to solve what CEO Craig Martin says is not a science problem, but a math problem.
Eli Lilly’s win in a head-to-head trial drove Novo Nordisk’s market cap to pre-Wegovy levels not long after the victor became the first pharma company to top a $1 trillion valuation. It seems one company can do no right, while the other can do no wrong.
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Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
FDA
Following the FDA’s refusal to review Moderna’s investigational mRNA flu vaccine last week, Commissioner Marty Makary faced questions from the U.S. president about the agency’s handling of vaccines. It’s a clear signal that the tension long brewing at the drug regulator has now gone all the way to the top.
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The Cambridge-based biotech was co-founded by Atlas Ventures and CEO Alex Lugovsky to develop agonist antibodies for rare diseases, with a lead program in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia.
The four highest doses of Eli Lilly’s blockbuster diabetes treatment Mounjaro will be in short supply through the rest of the month due to strong demand, according to the regulator.
Acorda Therapeutics becomes the latest biotechnology company in 2024 to go bankrupt and shutter its business, following years of financial difficulty. Merz Therapeutics will acquire two commercial medicines from Acorda for $185 million.
FDA
After sustaining a regulatory defeat in insomnia, Vanda Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday won the FDA’s approval for its atypical antipsychotic Fanapt for the treatment of manic or mixed episodes in adults with bipolar I disorder.
Genmab announced Wednesday it is buying ProfoundBio and its pipeline of next-generation antibody-drug conjugates being developed for gynecologic cancers and other solid tumors.
With second-generation antibody-drug conjugates, Eli Lilly, Daiichi Sankyo and others look to reduce toxicity and improve the magnitude and duration of response.
The new Cambridge, Mass.–based facility is about 460,000 square feet. Labs occupy nearly 50% of the space.
Read the latest overview of people coming and going from executive positions at biopharma companies that BioSpace covers.
FDA
Plus, another big buy points to strength of CDMO market and a new treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension
Under the agreement, Ipsen nabs exclusive global rights for development and commercialization of Sutro Biopharma’s STRO-003, an antibody-drug conjugate which is completing the final stages of preclinical development.