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With the latest round, Roche’s Genentech will have racked up nearly 450 layoffs in California over the last year amid ongoing restructuring. At the same time, the biotech is joining forces with Astex Pharmaceuticals in a deal that could surpass $490 million.
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FDA
Significant leadership instability at the FDA—compounded by continued workforce attrition—led to a slight slowdown in overall regulatory productivity in the first half of this year, but the agency has been catching up of late.
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 total of 52 mergers and acquisitions for the first half of 2026 reflects what analysts, industry watchers and executives are saying over and over: M&A is back.
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Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
If cell and gene therapy makers are going to achieve their mission to improve patients’ lives, the industry must come together to share information across stakeholders, from regulators to manufacturers to payers.
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Panel interviews can play a major role in getting jobs. Two career coaches discuss what to do before and during the interview, including identifying how to differentiate yourself, engaging in true conversations and not overlooking a key panel member.
Biotech R&D job postings live on BioSpace rose for the fourth straight month in April, and a CBRE report shared similar findings for employment. The head of CBRE’s U.S. life sciences practice discusses what’s behind the growth and the current job market.
Opportunities increased by the end of the first quarter, according to BioSpace data.
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.
Sanofi’s investment will support a Canadian site’s efforts to apply AI to drug production, while Amgen has unveiled the second expansion of its Puerto Rico plant in quick succession.
FDA
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s health department has consistently touted radical transparency as being key to its mission. Recent instances—the FDA’s decision not to disclose the recipients of three Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers and FDA and CDC choices not to publish vaccine-related papers—call this intent into question.
Analysts and investors alike had been eagerly awaiting sales figures for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill. The answer blew past expectations by 86%.
Pfizer-backed cancer company CellCentric will use the cash to support the launch of a pivotal myeloma trial testing its potentially first-in-class oral treatment this year.
For $300 million upfront, Bayer is purchasing Perfuse Therapeutics to advance an eye implant for glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, marking the company’s first pharma acquisition since 2021.
Viridian Therapeutics’ elegrobart normalized the degree of eye protrusion and improved double vision in a Phase 3 study. The company plans to file for approval in the first quarter of 2027.