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FDA
It’s official: FDA Commissioner Marty Makary is out at the FDA after reports of his ouster emerged late last week; Sanofi is reportedly having challenges with one of the FDA’s new signature programs; and biopharma CEOs’ multimillion-dollar salaries ticked up again this year. Who made the most in 2025?
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Three pharma CEOs joined the $30 million compensation club in 2025 but Eli Lilly’s David Ricks exceeded his nearest peer by more than $4 million.
IPO
After years of suffering from a bear market and more than 14 months of geopolitical turmoil shaking the macroenvironment, biotech appears to be moving on.
New guidelines from two leading medical associations suggest that efforts to reduce bad cholesterol should focus on maintaining low levels of two key lipoproteins. Big pharma is all in, looking to improve on the standard statins to help vanquish America’s number one killer: heart disease.
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The Department of Health and Human Services is spinning its wheels, unable to establish steady leadership at three major divisions—the CDC and the FDA’s two primary review units.
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Gilead plans to go straight to Phase III studies for once-yearly lenacapavir, while GSK and ViiV will push forward with their long-acting antivirals after touting positive early-stage results.
According to Judge Kenneth Bell, there is a lack of evidence to conclude that Merck willingly misrepresented the safety of its HPV vaccine Gardasil to patients and prescribers.
Roche and Zealand plan to study petrelintide as a monotherapy and in combination with CT-388, a dual agonist of the GLP-1 and GIP receptors that Roche picked up in its recent acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics.
Ionis will receive $280 million upfront and could get up to $660 million in future milestone payments. Ono will take charge of late-stage development as well as regulatory and commercialization activities.
BioSpace remembers COVID-19 five years after the pandemic was declared, Novo Nordisk’s CagriSema again misses expectations as the company joins a lawsuit filed by drug compounders against the FDA, Viking secures ample supply of its investigational obesity medication, J&J strikes out in depression, and Makary and Bhattacharya near confirmation.
Facing declining valuations and funding challenges, public biotechs like bluebird bio are going private to restructure, reduce regulatory burdens and refocus on long-term growth.
Johnson & Johnson has been fighting thousands of lawsuits over its now-discontinued talc products for 16 years. A pending judge’s ruling could finally put the issue to bed once and for all.
Analysts acknowledged the long-term manufacturing deal could dull Viking’s takeout prospects but hailed it as a smart move to ensure supply.
Vepdegestrant did not improve progression-free survival broadly but saw improvements in one specific patient cohort. Arvinas’ stock took a 43% tumble on the news, and analysts are downcast on the drug’s prospects.
As we reflect on five years of COVID-19, it’s clear that the impacts are still unfolding. The life sciences—and we as individuals—will never be the same again.