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LB Pharma needed $350 million to advance a promising schizophrenia candidate at a time when the biotech markets were locked up tight. Fortunately, it wasn’t CEO Heather Turner’s first rodeo.
Rare disease drug developers struggle to survive in a biopharma investment market that prioritizes large patient populations. Initiatives like the Orphan Therapeutics Accelerator are attempting to solve what CEO Craig Martin says is not a science problem, but a math problem.
Eli Lilly’s win in a head-to-head trial drove Novo Nordisk’s market cap to pre-Wegovy levels not long after the victor became the first pharma company to top a $1 trillion valuation. It seems one company can do no right, while the other can do no wrong.
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Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
FDA
Following the FDA’s refusal to review Moderna’s investigational mRNA flu vaccine last week, Commissioner Marty Makary faced questions from the U.S. president about the agency’s handling of vaccines. It’s a clear signal that the tension long brewing at the drug regulator has now gone all the way to the top.
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As Congress considers a bill that aims to distance U.S. biopharma from five Chinese companies, the industry must emphasize the importance of prioritizing patient care over power plays.
Bispecific antibodies and anti-TIGIT therapies both appear to be writing comeback stories as cancer experts head to Barcelona for the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress. Radioligand therapies and synthetic lethality assets are also attracting attention.
Astellas Pharma’s new life sciences center houses its first U.S.-based SakuLab, an incubator space for external partners, as well as its engineered small molecules unit.
Roche’s fenebrutinib this week scored a mid-stage win in relapsing multiple sclerosis, while Sanofi’s tolebrutinib met the primary endpoint in a Phase III trial for progressive MS but flopped in two late-stage relapsing MS studies.
If approved in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Nucala will compete with Verona’s Ohtuvayre and—pending a potential approval later this month—Sanofi and Regeneron’s blockbuster Dupixent.
Amy Emerson is stepping down on the heels of the FDA last month rejecting Lykos Therapeutics’ MDMA-based therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and the company laying off three-quarters of its staff.
With the regulator’s traditional green light in IgA nephropathy, Filspari is up against Novartis’ Fabhalta—which won accelerated approval last month—and Calliditas’ Tarpeyo, which was approved in December 2023.
Thursday’s announcement comes after the insurance giant last week said it would remove AbbVie’s Humira from its major formularies starting in 2025, replacing the blockbuster with more affordable biosimilars.
BioMarin executives sought to calm an anxious investor base Wednesday with a public address and pledge to achieve a nearly 50% bump in annual revenue by 2027. But analysts were left wanting.
Facing financial challenges, IN8bio is looking to preserve cash resources through a pipeline prioritization and layoffs at its New York City and Birmingham, Alabama, sites.