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A surprising deal from Vertex Pharmaceuticals adds to Big Pharma’s acquisitive streak as Crinetics folds into the cystic fibrosis drugmaker. Meanwhile, IPOs and venture capital raises trend upward, but mostly for derisked companies. Plus, FDA decisions slow only slightly as the hunt for a permanent leader drags on.
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After debuting on the public markets with $256.3 million and raking in an additional $472 million, Veradermics has emerged as one of biotech’s biggest post-IPO standouts. CEO Reid Waldman credits the weight loss craze for establishing consumer-driven channels.
Molecular glue degraders are gaining traction in the clinic as well as funding from Big Pharma, with their potential to treat previously “undruggable” cancers and immunological diseases. Here are five clinical programs worth keeping an eye on.
Last month, the FDA launched TrialBlazer, intended to streamline the IND path and bring early clinical trials and medical innovation home to the U.S. It’s a start, but new agency leadership must see it through.
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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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After the FDA’s decision to reject a review of Moderna’s mRNA-1010 flu shot, executives explain what Americans will miss out on as other nations embrace the technology.
Jim O’Neill was deputy secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services and also acting director of the CDC after the abrupt ouster of Susan Monarez in August 2025.
The FDA in October 2025 granted bitopertin its Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher but after a shortened review time has decided the data did not support regulatory approval for treating erythropoietic protoporphyria.
Richard Pazdur had spent 26 years at the FDA before stepping down last year due to disagreements with Commissioner Marty Makary about lowering the number of clinical trials required for a new drug application, Pazdur told the media.
The current state of political affairs in the U.S. does not bode well for the direction of that turn. The country is at real risk of losing its long-held lead in biotech innovation.
Through its AI Consortium and global forums, DIA is translating high‑level AI guidance into concrete workflows that match oversight to risk, from low‑stakes automation to decision‑critical regulatory analyses.
Moderna will not commit to previous 2028 breakeven guidance as the ripple effects of the FDA’s refusal-to-file decision spread through its pipeline.
Following over a year of slow uptake, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics expect Casgevy revenues to nearly triple in 2026, as patient access to the sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia gene therapy grows.
Eli Lilly has long been gearing up for the launch of orforglipron, announcing as early as February 2024 that it was ramping up manufacturing investments for the weight-loss pill.
Analysts are keeping a close eye on Vertex’s kidney disease portfolio, anchored by the IgAN drug povetacicept, as its nonopioid painkiller Journavx is poised for “incremental” growth in the first half 2026, according to BMO Capital Markets.