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The explosion of GLP-1 weight loss drugs is reminiscent of the early days of PD-1 inhibitors, but key market differences suggest history may not repeat itself.
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While biopharma professionals cited age discrimination as an issue in a new BioSpace report, it’s not the only factor affecting older and younger people’s job searches.
The weight-loss drug bonanza continued in the first quarter of 2024 for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, as Amgen also posted strong results, while Biogen and BMS struggled early in the financial year.
Crackdowns on drug pricing have forced one major insulin out of the market. Are more to come?
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Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) shared today it has broadened its portfolio of respiratory vaccines recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) following a favorable vote for ABRYSVO™ [Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine], the company’s bivalent RSV prefusion F (RSVpreF) vaccine, as a maternal immunization.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—along with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and CBER Director Vinay Prasad—argued against vaccine mandates, partly because they limited medical choice. This week, the FDA under their leadership approved updated COVID-19 vaccines with restrictions that do the same.
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As market values increase for computational biology and data science, biopharma companies are looking to hire R&D professionals in those areas. A biotech talent acquisition expert shares his insights on these in-demand roles.
Roche has once again returned to China to bolster its antibody-drug conjugate pipeline, this time striking a licensing deal with Innovent for $1 billion in biobucks.
FDA
Regulators squeezed in two final approvals before the calendar change with the UK approval of Merck’s Winrevair and the FDA’s greenlight for an injectable formulation of BMS’s cancer blockbuster.
In a highly anticipated readout for the kappa opioid receptor class in major depressive disorder, Neumora’s navacaprant failed to meet the primary and key secondary endpoint in the first of three identical Phase III studies.
Sangamo is on course to run out of money within months and has now lost access to up to $220 million in milestone payments from Pfizer.
While layoffs slowed in the second half of 2024, biopharmas including Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson cut hundreds or even thousands of employees over the course of the year.
Other notable greenlights this year include Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy, the first novel therapeutic for schizophrenia in 35 years, and Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ Rezdiffra, the first-ever treatment for MASH.
The new combination, dubbed Alyftrek, is designed to improve on the Trikafta, a product that generated sales of $8.9 billion in 2023. It’s welcome good news for Vertex following last week’s subpar clinical results for its non-opioid analgesic.
The mega-blockbuster weight loss GLP-1 drug is now also approved to treat obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity, in combination with diet and exercise.
High profile failures and long timeframes for revenue have shifted investment away from Phase I, as VCs seek to mitigate risk, Pitchbook said in its 2025 outlook.