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The vibe at BIO 2026 in San Diego last week was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees observing noticeable changes at the FDA and an uptick in dealmaking and IPOs. Plus, a top medical journal this week retracted a pivotal study for Amgen’s rare disease drug Tavneos, which has been in the FDA’s crosshairs since January.
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At the BIO International Convention in San Diego, attendees marked the 50th anniversary of original biotech Genentech, reflecting on the immense challenges facing companies as China becomes a powerhouse innovator.
A recent FDA reversal sparked new hope for patients with Huntington’s disease. Flying under the radar, Skyhawk Therapeutics revealed 12-month functional data from a midstage trial of its own candidate showing improvements on a key disease measurement scale.
Recent approvals for Corcept Therapeutics and Merck have injected momentum into the space, where GSK, Allarity Therapeutics, OSE Immunotherapies and others are advancing their own candidates.
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In its 2025 full year and fourth-quarter earnings call, Merck executives touted the merits of recent deals and what CEO Robert Davis called “probably the broadest and widest pipeline we’ve had in years.”
With data from a mid-stage trial showing weight loss of up to 12.3% at 28 weeks in patients treated with PF’3944, “Pfizer is moving full speed into obesity clinical development,” BMO Capital Markets said Tuesday.
DS-9606 was supposed to be the first antibody-drug conjugate in Daiichi Sankyo’s line of anti-cancer assets to use a modified pyrrolobenzodiazepine payload.
The alliance will add to Roche’s RNAi efforts, which include the hypertension candidate zilbesiran, partnered with Alnylam under a July 2023 agreement.
While CagriSema bested Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy on blood sugar control in a late-stage trial, the next-gen weight loss drug still has not met the pharma’s 25% weight loss goal.
After advancing in lockstep through the pandemic, the fortunes of the biotechs have diverged as their use of COVID-19 windfalls has taken shape.
After suffering in the wake of expired tax incentives for pharmas, the island is trying to take advantage of geopolitics to grow its drug manufacturing sector.
While GSK did not provide a specific reason for returning Wave Life Sciences’ WVE-006, the decision comes after the asset in September 2025 came below analyst expectations in a Phase Ib/IIa AATD study.
The facility, which is part of Lilly’s $50 billion reshoring drive, will make obesity drugs such as tirzepatide and retatrutide when it starts operations in 2031.
Sanofi will take venglustat to regulators for Gaucher disease but an application for Fabry disease is less clear after the failure of a Phase III trial.