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Four of this year’s biggest acquisitions topped 11-figure figures. One was 2025’s messiest bidding war.
FEATURED STORIES
Of all the stories we published this year, these deep dives by BioSpace editors stand out as relevant re-reads going into the New Year.
The second half finished strong after two tumultuous years. What will 2026 bring for the biotech sector?
Policy initiatives have come fast and furious at the FDA this year. While guidances on rare diseases and vaccines have consumed most of the ink, policy shifts aimed at improving FDA efficiencies and reshoring U.S. manufacturing also got some attention. Here, BioSpace rounds up more than a dozen initiatives relevant to the biopharma industry.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
With five CDER leaders in one year and regulatory proposals coming “by fiat,” the FDA is only making it more difficult to bring therapies to patients.
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Acadia Pharmaceuticals was testing the drug, an intranasal formulation of the oxytocin analogue carbetocin, for its potential to ease hyperphagia in the rare neurological condition.
Sanofi Ventures, which now has $1.4 billion in total assets, will focus its investment efforts on early players working in immunology, rare diseases, neurology and vaccines.
If approved, uniQure’s gene therapy AMT-130—which slowed disease progression by 75%—would be the first genetic treatment for Huntington’s disease. A BLA submission is planned for the first quarter of 2026.
The issues the regulator found include the failure to comprehensively review complaints and product defects.
Lilly expects to open 615 high-wage roles in Texas in connection with its new facility, plus around 4,000 construction roles.
The regulatory action marks the second rejection for a spinal muscular atrophy therapy this week after Scholar Rock’s apitegromab was issued a complete response letter on Tuesday, similarly on manufacturing grounds.
The FDA is hoping to repurpose GSK’s Wellcovorin for cerebral folate deficiency; Pfizer acquired fast-moving weight-loss startup Metsera for nearly $5 billion after suffering a hat trick of R&D failures; psychedelics are primed for M&A action and Eli Lilly may be next in line; RFK Jr.’s revamped CDC advisory committee met last week with confounding results; and Stealth secured its Barth approval.
While last week’s recommended changes by CDC advisors to the MMRV vaccine schedule are unlikely to have a tangible effect on Merck’s business, the company said the removal of choice for healthcare providers is “concerning.”
In its rejection letter, the FDA flagged problems at a third-party fill-finish site owned by Novo Nordisk. Issues at this site have previously been investigated by the regulator.
The agency also pointed to the use of Tylenol and other acetaminophen products during pregnancy as being potentially linked to neurological and developmental defects in children, following a press conference Monday in which President Donald Trump did the same.