News

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.
FEATURED STORIES
IPO
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.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
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.
THE LATEST
The FDA previously placed two clinical studies on hold, including the Phase III trial in which the liver toxicity occurred. Intellia is working with experts to create a risk management program for nex-z.
Darzalex Faspro’s approval for smoldering multiple myeloma could allow for earlier intervention and reduce the risk of progression to active disease.
The nausea and other gastrointestinal side effects of weight loss drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy or Eli Lilly’s Zepbound will limit how much these drugs can help patients and stunt the overall obesity market unless we approach the problem head on.
The FDA awards a second round of Commissioner’s National Priority vouchers to six larger biopharma companies. And this time, with the exception of Eli Lilly’s orforglipron, the vouchers are for drugs that are already on the market.
The agreement will also secure a $150 price for future weight loss pills from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly—at least initially.
The company reported $200 million in net losses for the third quarter, but an aggressive and highly successful cost-cutting campaign is helping to stem the downward trend.
The highest dose of Eli Lilly’s eloralintide led to 20.1% weight loss after 48 weeks in a Phase II trial, exceeding analyst expectations and highlighting a “potentially best in class profile,” according to BMO Capital Markets.
In this episode presented by PII, BioSpace’s head of insights discusses how to relieve clinical trial patients of technological burden to improve compliance with guests Oliver Eden and Travis Webb.
In an investor call Thursday, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot outlined his company’s approach to obesity drug development based on “the medical aspect” of weight loss, including driving down visceral fat.
FDA
The search continues for a new leader for the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research after George Tidmarsh resigned on Sunday. Deputy Director Mike Davis is in the running, along with Mary Thanh Hai, currently head of the Office of New Drugs.