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In an internal memo, the World Health Organization signaled its support for anti-obesity drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound, which the agency decided against listing in 2023, the last time the Essential Medicines list was updated.
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FDA
As Marty Makary nears the end of his first month on the job, the FDA Commissioner sat down for two interviews, offering statements that alternatively contradict and jibe with reported events.
Presentations at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research meeting could have a broad impact on the treatment landscape for head and neck and lung cancer, and implications for specific drug modalities like TIGIT and VEGF.
Executives don’t just get paid big bucks to operate a company. Sometimes they get paid millions to walk away.
Job Trends
Less than two months after two FDA-related setbacks, Atara Biotherapeutics is again cutting its workforce in half. This time, it’s also hitting pause on two CAR T programs, including one affected by an FDA clinical hold in January.
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Our CEO accidentally started a book club. Now we’re all dreaming of mega pharma mergers.
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The American Association for Cancer Research’s annual conference featured updates from several companies on key candidates and assets, including Merck’s Keytruda and GSK’s Jemperli.
At the heart of the acquisition is Regulus’ farabursen, an miRNA-targeting oligonucleotide in early-stage development for rare autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.
GSK’s dealmaking will be “cautious and disciplined” under the current trade war, but the pharma will focus on looking for “opportunities created” amid these tensions, according to CEO Emma Walmsley. The company also reported a 4% earnings bump for the quarter.
It’s been a fraught road for the proposed merger between Acelyrin and Alumis, with Tang Capital’s Concentra Biosciences in February threatening to upend the deal with a proposed $3-per-share acquisition of Acelyrin.
The drug, a small molecule protein inhibitor, brought in $132 million in the first quarter, missing consensus estimates by 17%.
As Q1 2025 earnings season continues, tariffs remain top of mind for pharma CEOs and investors. Meanwhile, the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual event kicks off this year’s oncology conference season. Plus, will the FDA become politicized under HHS Secretary RFK Jr.?
What a CEO makes can be staggering from the seat of a rank-and-file employee, whose pay is typically in the five-to-six digit range.
Policy uncertainties are impacting biopharma dealmaking from continent to continent, with companies being asked to walk a tightrope on their relations with China.
Nevertheless, Albert Bourla has been lobbying the U.S. government—as high as President Donald Trump himself—to skip the pharmaceutical industry tariffs, which Trump has threatened, in part as a way to shore up U.S. national security.
Despite executing perfectly, Octagon confronted a “scientific no-go,” CEO Isaac Stoner said in his LinkedIn post announcing the company’s impending closure.