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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.
FEATURED STORIES
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.
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.
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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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After previously failing studies in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, dalzanemdor’s latest stumble in Huntington’s disease has pushed Sage Therapeutics to pull the plug on the NMDA receptor modulator.
Readouts from Novo Nordisk and Viking Therapeutics at AASLD 2024 strengthen the argument for GLP-1 therapies as an emerging backbone of MASH treatment, with the potential to combine it with other drug classes to achieve deeper responses, according to BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman.
The selection of controversial TV personality Mehmet Oz to run the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid follows Trump’s pick of RFK Jr. to run its parent department, HHS.
Trump fingers Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the HHS, lupus and ATTR-CM dominate headlines this week, bluebird bio has a cash gap to leap and RegenxBio eyes Sarepta in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
A judge in the U.K. last month sided with Pfizer over GSK in a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine patent lawsuit, positioning both companies to compete for that market and laying down a marker for ongoing legal clashes in other parts of the world.
While the full impact of the Supreme Court decision remains unknown, the new regulatory landscape could be a net positive for drug developers.
A handful of billion-dollar deals in the rare disease space highlights the uptick in Big Pharma’s investment, but it’s still extremely low compared to the money flowing to more common indications.
After the unexpected success of their PHOENYCS GO study for dapirolizumab pegol in lupus earlier this fall, Biogen and UCB are planning a second late-stage trial by the end of the year to support a drug application.
Investigational CAR T therapies stole the spotlight at the American College of Rheumatology Convergence as data presented by Bristol Myers Squibb, Kyverna Therapeutics and more highlighted their potential to effectively treat lupus.
After failing to receive the RMAT designation from the FDA for its early-stage Batten disease gene therapy, Neurogene tells investors that it’s evaluating options for the program.