News

Takeda wanted to create something new in the cell therapy world by combining the technology with T cell engagers. A series of acquisitions in 2021 started the process.
FEATURED STORIES
While last week’s recommended changes by CDC advisors to the MMRV vaccine schedule are unlikely to have a tangible effect on Merck’s business, the company said the removal of choice for healthcare providers is “concerning.”
Small and large drugmakers alike have made big, proactive moves to secure the production capacity that will be vital to serving the weight loss market.
The FDA’s proposed Rare Disease Evidence Principles review process is a starting point for getting rare disease therapies across the finish line, but industry leaders say there are more concrete steps the regulator could take to help patients.
Job Trends
Health and Human Services employees aren’t the only ones out of work. Thousands of private-sector biopharma professionals lost their jobs in the first quarter.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
Despite hotly debated biomarkers and failed or delayed confirmatory trials, the accelerated approval program has a track record of propelling R&D for some of medicine’s most challenging illnesses.
THE LATEST
Looking for a biopharma job? Check out the BioSpace list of 12 top companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
At the heart of the agreement is Pfizer’s $70 billion commitment to U.S.-based manufacturing and an exemption from tariffs for three years. While the reaction was mostly positive from Wall Street, other observers noted that the benefits for patients are unclear at best.
As with recent rejections for Biogen and Scholar Rock, manufacturing issues stymied a regulatory bid from Fortress Biotech and Sentynl Therapeutics. Fortress said the FDA did not flag problems with the drug’s safety or efficacy.
Due to policies regarding industry user fees, the FDA will not be able to accept any new drug applications for the duration of the government shutdown, according to Leerink Partners.
The business separation, expected to be completed by the end of 2026, will result in two new companies, one focused on biopharma operations and the other on royalty management.
The first oral BTK blocker for chronic spontaneous urticaria, Rhapsido offers a more convenient treatment option for patients who still show symptoms after antihistamine treatment.
Novo Nordisk and Heartseed first partnered in 2021 to develop an investigational cell therapy for heart failure.
M&A headlined for a second straight week as Genmab acquired Merus for $8 billion; Pfizer strikes most-favored-nation deal with White House; CDER Director George Tidmarsh caused a stir with a now-deleted LinkedIn post; GSK CEO Emma Walmsley will step down from her role; and uniQure’s gene therapy offers new hope for patients with Huntington’s disease.
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.