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This week’s release of the Make America Health Again report revealed continued emphasis on vaccine safety; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s faceoff with senators last week amounted to political theater; the FDA promises complete response letters in real time and shares details on a new rare disease framework; and Summit disappoints at the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Barcelona.
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After spinning out of BridgeBio in May 2024, BBOT had an eye on another round of fundraising in 2025. A SPAC quickly emerged as the best option.
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.
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.
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Spruce Biosciences is cutting over half of its employees as it looks to secure accelerated approval of a Sanfilippo syndrome therapy it recently acquired from BioMarin.
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Biogen’s effort to buy Sage against the board’s wishes and a long-time effort by investor Alcorn to scuttle Aurion’s IPO underscore the cutthroat nature of biopharma dealmaking.
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Despite hitting its efficacy targets in the Phase III COAST-1 study, Sanofi’s amlitelimab remains “meaningfully inferior” to Dupixent, according to analysts at Leerink Partners.
Hengrui Pharmaceuticals has been busy this year, signing a nearly $2 billion cardio contract with Merck in March and a 12-asset agreement with GSK in July worth up to $12 billion.
In coordination with the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Gilead will make its twice-yearly HIV prophylactic Yeztugo available to resource-limited countries “at no profit.”
Perhaps the most interesting of the pile of FDA rejection letters was for Lykos Therapeutics’ MDMA therapy. Letters sent to Stealth BioTherapeutics, Regeneron and more were also released as the agency also promised future CRLs “promptly after they are issued to sponsors.”
The new additions would bring ACIP membership to 14 total. Several of the proposed members have taken part in anti-vaccine activity or made anti-vaccine statements.
Generous severance packages, getting out of toxic workplaces and finding a better job with better pay are a few reasons respondents to a recent BioSpace survey felt that being laid off was for the best.
As more and more groups call for the health secretary’s removal from office, senators will question Kennedy on his recent moves, including the controversial firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez.
In this episode presented by Taconic Biosciences, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses how preclinical research companies are helping drug developers navigate the current challenging funding environment with Mike Garrett, CEO.
The reprioritization effort will help AC Immune extend its cash runway through the third quarter of 2027.
While the new framework signals continued flexibility at the FDA regarding rare disease approvals, some analysts and advocates question what tangible impacts the new guidelines will have.