News
Later this month, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s revamped CDC vaccine advisory committee will discuss RSV vaccination guidelines for the newly approved patient group, high-risk adults 18 through 49. Analysts and other experts have warned that the new panel includes some who have documented anti-vaccine sentiments as well as those who have spoken out against mRNA technology specifically.
FEATURED STORIES
Jefferies has predicted more small tuck-in deals to come, as biotechs struggle to access capital despite key clinical milestones on the horizon.
The overturning of the FDA’s lab-developed tests rule is just the tip of the iceberg. With the loss of Chevron deference, power has shifted from federal agencies to the courts, with potential implications for everything from the FDA shortage list to CMS drug price negotiations.
Arguably the most notable of the FDA’s upcoming decisions is that regarding Gilead’s twice-yearly HIV prophylaxis lenacapavir.
Job Trends
California-based Tempest Therapeutics is laying off 21 of its 26 full-time employees. The cuts come while the biotech is exploring strategic alternatives, including a merger or acquisition, as it tries to move its investigational PPARα antagonist into late-stage development.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
While Congress is renewing the priority review voucher program for rare pediatric diseases, the FDA should be required to keep public records of the passes changing hands, too.
THE LATEST
The layoffs will heavily affect Vertex’s operations in Rhode Island, where the biotech will consolidate three facilities into one.
Guggenheim Partners called Insmed’s Phase IIb readout “impressive across the board,” with an efficacy profile that positions TPIP to be best-in-class in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
For $812 million, Novo Nordisk will enlist Deep Apple to discover and develop a non-incretin therapy for obesity, months after the Danish pharma’s amylin efforts underwhelmed investors.
The deal is Lilly’s second obesity tie-up in a week, after sinking up to $870 million into an agreement with Camurus to develop long-acting versions of molecules against GLP-1 and other incretins.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made waves this week, firing the remaining members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; Metsera’s amylin drug produced weight loss of 8.4% at 36 days; and FDA leaders gathered last week to discuss the future of cell and gene therapy, a sector that has been in turmoil since the ousting of CBER Chief Peter Marks.
Some companies’ preferences for people who already have industry experience and the tough job market are among the hurdles those just starting out in biopharma must navigate, two recruitment experts told BioSpace.
Despite substantial investments in groundbreaking treatments, companies struggle to communicate value early and to the right audience. Here’s how they can do better.
Looking at licensing deals struck in the past 10 years, Jefferies found that many Big Pharmas do not ultimately follow through with M&A after earning a right of first negotiation. Sanofi, on the other hand, almost always does, as it did with Vigil recently.
Gene therapies have ridden investor mania to huge valuations but commercialization challenges have pushed market caps to the floor. At a roundtable last week, FDA leaders promised faster approvals and broad support to the industry.
BioSpace did a deep dive into executive pay, examining the highest compensation packages, pay ratios and golden parachutes—what a CEO would get paid to leave.