News
        For $1.2 billion upfront and up to $10.2 billion in milestones, Takeda will gain access to a bispecific antibody fusion protein targeting both the PD-1 and IL-2 pathways, among other assets.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    FEATURED STORIES
        
        
        
    
        Following up on previous, dimly received issuances, a new set of ideas published by the FDA to streamline regulatory pathways for cell and gene therapies ‘for small populations’ is receiving a warmer welcome—but experts warn it will take more to turn the tide for the fraught therapeutic space.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        J&J still holds the top deal of the year by value with its $14.6 billion buy of Intra-Cellular in January, but the next four biggest acquisitions came in the past four months.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        The two most historically deal-conservative Big Pharmas have the most money to play with for a major M&A transaction, according to a recent Stifel analysis.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    Job Trends
        
        
        
    
        Roche’s reorganization of Spark Therapeutics is coming more into focus, with nearly 300 employees being let go by the end of this year. Spark also trimmed its staff in 2024.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    FROM OUR EDITORS
        
        
            Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
        
        
    
        With the failure of AbbVie’s emraclidine in two mid-stage trials, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy is ‘sole muscarinic winner.’
    
        
    
        
    
        
    THE LATEST
    
    
        Due largely to CSL, Merck and Novo Nordisk’s reorganizations that could total about 19,350 people, Q3 cuts rose significantly year over year and quarter over quarter, based on BioSpace tallies.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        Novo Nordisk strikes another deal, this time with Omeros, amid a broader pipeline restructuring that recently claimed its cell therapy work.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        After beating Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide last month, Lilly’s much anticipated oral candidate orforglipron has taken down AstraZeneca’s Farxiga in a head-to-head trial.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        Despite announcing a broad pivot to siRNA earlier this year, Sarepta is following through with an investigational gene therapy: its limb-girdle muscular dystrophy candidate. But the treatment’s path forward, analysts say, is highly uncertain.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        The company is pursuing a Phase III trial for its topical stem cell-rejuvenating molecule that aims to reactivate hair growth.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        2025 has been a busy year for Boehringer Ingelheim, which has so far inked at least five hefty partnerships—including its latest one with South Korea’s AimedBio for an antibody-drug conjugate therapy for cancer.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        Bristol Myers Squibb and insitro first partnered in 2020 to develop induced pluripotent stem cell models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Last December, BMS exercised its option for an ALS target.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        The acquisition will give BioCryst an investigational injectable drug for hereditary angioedema, potentially complementing its FDA-approved oral drug Orladeyo.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        After the FDA revoked Sarepta Therapeutics’ platform designation in July, Krystal Biotech is “poised to be the first major beneficiary” of this program, according to analysts at William Blair.
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        Johnson & Johnson has yet to make a drug pricing deal with Trump; Novo makes more moves under new CEO; more than 1,000 laid off from CDC, though many immediately hired back; the BIOSECURE Act is back and more.
    
        
    
        
    
        
     
         
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
