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FDA
The FDA greenlit 26 novel therapies in the first half of 2026, including four for cancer and six for orphan indications. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson took home a combined 11 of the agency’s 79 total approvals, including supplemental nods.
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Even as FDA approvals for biologic therapies fell in the first half of 2026, regulatory experts are optimistic about a turnaround in the rare disease space after the departure of key leaders at the agency. Still, there will continue to be tension between science and politics.
Early-stage financing rounds are on track to hit their lowest dollar value in years as funders continue to eschew risky investments, experts told BioSpace.
A mostly black box since emerging with more than a billion dollars in hand, Xaira Therapeutics is slowly pulling back the curtain, revealing plans to find partners and validate its pipeline.
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Congressional letters sent to the CEOs of Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, BMS and AbbVie this week voicing concerns about the pharmas’ clinical trials in China highlight an ongoing discrepancy in how government and industry think about the rise of the Asian country’s biotech industry.
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FDA
Lined up for the FDA in the coming weeks are a cell-based gene therapy for a rare skin disease and two product expansions for Regeneron, one with partner Sanofi.
Health and Human Services employees aren’t the only ones out of work. Thousands of private-sector biopharma professionals lost their jobs in the first quarter.
As the biopharma industry grapples with the uncertain macro environment brought on by the new administration, CEOs, regulators and many others speak out.
According to analysts at Jefferies, legislation such as the newly proposed bills that aim to streamline regulatory processes would be a positive for the biotech industry.
Novartis plans to build seven new facilities in the U.S., touting the creation of up to 1,000 new jobs at the company. The new facilities will include a biomedical research hub in California, two radioligand plants, and four manufacturing sites.
FDA
Analysts at William Blair expect drug developers will continue to perform “at least some animal testing” on their investigational products. Though the process to phase out animal testing will begin “immediately,” no specific timetable was given.
Biotech companies are already seeing regulatory delays and plenty of uncertainty after around 3,500 FDA employees were cut by the Trump administration.
Pharma stocks went on a wild ride Wednesday amid whiplashing tariff threats from the U.S. president.
According to Tempest, its options include a partnership or licensing deal, as well as a merger or an acquisition.
In this episode presented by DIA, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses the underrepresentation of women in clinical trials with Martin Hodosi, partner at Kearney and Melissa Laitner, director of strategic initiatives at the National Academy of Medicine.