News

Novartis will still be on the lookout for early-stage deals under $2 billion, and later-stage agreements around a product that could reach the market within five years, CEO Vas Narasimhan said Wednesday.
FEATURED STORIES
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.
AstraZeneca’s $15 billion pledge to its China operations highlights the country’s advantages. But other regions are also hoping to host more clinical studies.
Job Trends
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
Phacilitate’s annual event dawns as cell and gene therapies reach a new tipping point: the science has hit new heights just as regulatory and government policies spark momentum and frustration.
THE LATEST
The New York-based pharma reported at ASH that odronextamab had an 80% objective response rate, with 73% of patients experiencing a complete response.
Patients treated with the investigational sickle cell therapy saw an increase in hemoglobin levels and improved red blood cell parameters.
The investigational allogeneic CAR-T therapy P-BCMA-ALLO1 appears to be more effective following strong immunosuppressive preconditioning.
FDA
Friday’s FDA approval of Vertex-CRISPR’s Casgevy and bluebird bio’s Lyfgenia has immediately revealed startling differences between these two gene therapies: price and a black-box warning.
FDA
Along with CRISPR/Cas9-based Casgevy—developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics—the regulator on Friday approved bluebird bio’s Lyfgenia, a second gene therapy for sickle cell disease.
Another Flagship-founded company is shutting down its operations, according to an SEC filing. Axcella Health, which was focused on the development of a long COVID therapeutic, is no more.
Plexxikon, which was acquired by Daiichi Sankyo, and Novartis have agreed to settle a patent case involving the cancer drug Tafinlar and its sale in the U.S.
As Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics’ exa-cel and Verve Therapeutics’ VERVE-101 move forward, questions remain about possible drawbacks of such therapies.
The private placement from existing and new investors extends the company’s cash runway into the second half of 2026 and will help take two candidates for inflammatory bowel disease into the clinic in 2024.
For the second time in as many days, Merck has reported a Phase III failure for its blockbuster PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda, this time as a first-line treatment with Eisai’s Lenvima for cancer in the uterus lining.