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The FDA greenlit 26 novel therapies in the first half of 2026, including four for cancer and six for orphan indications. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson took home a combined 11 of the agency’s 79 total approvals, including supplemental nods.
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Even as FDA approvals for biologic therapies fell in the first half of 2026, regulatory experts are optimistic about a turnaround in the rare disease space after the departure of key leaders at the agency. Still, there will continue to be tension between science and politics.
Early-stage financing rounds are on track to hit their lowest dollar value in years as funders continue to eschew risky investments, experts told BioSpace.
A mostly black box since emerging with more than a billion dollars in hand, Xaira Therapeutics is slowly pulling back the curtain, revealing plans to find partners and validate its pipeline.
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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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“I don’t like established science,” ACIP chairperson Kirk Milhoan said in an interview on the Why Should I Trust You? podcast. “Science is what I observe.”
The partnership will allow BMS to advance a T cell–based therapy that is only activated once in the vicinity of a tumor.
The U.S. regulator shared the roadmap for implementing the program, first proposed in August 2025, and teased changes made in response to industry feedback.
The company also stands to gain from recent regulatory FDA guidance aimed at streamlining the development of non-opioid painkillers, Jefferies analysts suggested.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that the main thing getting in the way of changing vaccine discussions in the U.S. is the Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
In this episode of Denatured, BioSpace editorial team members, Senior Editor, Annalee Armstrong, and News Editor, Dan Samorodnitsky, discuss their post-JPM takeaways and 2026 forecasts after speaking to a range of pharma and biotech executives and investors last week.
Fueled by advances in biomarkers, brain mapping, and AI, investment in neuro and CNS innovation shows no signs of slowing, even amid costly setbacks. BioSpace spoke to investors at JPM26 to get their take on recent bets in new therapies and neurotech.
Competition for biotech and pharma employment picked up year over year and remains strong, according to BioSpace data. A survey late last year showed that 64% of employed/contract and 96% of unemployed respondents will actively look for work in 2026.
Looking for a research and development job? Check out the BioSpace list of 12 companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Reporting Q4 and full year earnings on Wednesday, J&J executives hailed growth across the healthcare giant’s portfolio while standing fast on its talc lawsuit and tariffs.