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A surprising deal from Vertex Pharmaceuticals adds to Big Pharma’s acquisitive streak as Crinetics folds into the cystic fibrosis drugmaker. Meanwhile, IPOs and venture capital raises trend upward, but mostly for derisked companies. Plus, FDA decisions slow only slightly as the hunt for a permanent leader drags on.
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After debuting on the public markets with $256.3 million and raking in an additional $472 million, Veradermics has emerged as one of biotech’s biggest post-IPO standouts. CEO Reid Waldman credits the weight loss craze for establishing consumer-driven channels.
Molecular glue degraders are gaining traction in the clinic as well as funding from Big Pharma, with their potential to treat previously “undruggable” cancers and immunological diseases. Here are five clinical programs worth keeping an eye on.
Last month, the FDA launched TrialBlazer, intended to streamline the IND path and bring early clinical trials and medical innovation home to the U.S. It’s a start, but new agency leadership must see it through.
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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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Sangamo and Pfizer’s hemophilia A gene therapy candidate scored a Phase III victory last week. However, with the genomic medicine company soon to run out of cash, Sangamo’s short-term prospects look bleak but not unsalvageable, analysts say.
After more than 20 years at Eli Lilly, Leslie Sam moved into independent consulting. To prepare for the transition, she focused on becoming technically deep and earning industry recognition.
The BIOSECURE Act’s prohibition on doing business with China-based companies may have implications for biotech and biopharma markets on both sides of the Pacific.
The advantages of using circular RNAs—including increased durability, enhanced protein expression and substantially lower manufacturing costs compared to linear mRNAs—have driven a spate of investment in this technology.
Second-quarter revenues were better than analysts expected as Merck reported 16% growth for its blockbuster cancer treatment Keytruda, while Pfizer benefited from its ongoing cost-cutting efforts and sales of its COVID-19 antiviral Paxlovid.
Cognitive function in the liraglutide cohort declined 18% slower than in the placebo arm over one year of treatment, researchers announced Tuesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.
BioNTech and Regeneron will face off against Merck and Moderna, which are advancing their investigational cancer vaccine mRNA-4157/V940 in combination with Keytruda, in advanced melanoma.
Adding to growing evidence of its benefits beyond glucose control and weight loss, Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic could also potentially help diabetics quit smoking, according to new research.
AstraZeneca is seeking a fixed-duration approval for Calquence, which will allow patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia to take breaks from the therapy and prevent excessive toxicities and drug resistance.
Back-to-back failures in psoriasis and Crohn’s disease have forced Ventyx Biosciences to abandon the development of its investigational oral TYK2 inhibitor VTX958.