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FDA
A coordinated national effort is emerging to bring alternatives to animal testing into routine preclinical use, backed by a fresh FDA roadmap and a global coalition of scientific and industry partners. 
FEATURED STORIES
Had Pfizer’s Freda Lewis-Hall not stepped in, SpringWorks’ rare disease treatment may never have reached patients. Pharmas can act now to help find the next Gomekli.
Having seen Congress spend money to onshore semiconductor production, pharma groups are pushing for similar incentives for domestic drug manufacturing.
Ensho Therapeutics CEO Neena Bitritto-Garg, recently named to BioSpace’s 40 Under 40, proved her mettle managing one of the toughest partnerships out there: the one between Eisai and Biogen that led to new Alzheimer’s drugs Aduhelm and Leqembi.
Job Trends
About a year after cutting staff by 29%, Sana Biotechnology will trim its workforce as it increases investment in its type 1 diabetes program and looks to extend its cash runway.
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Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
With five CDER leaders in one year and regulatory proposals coming “by fiat,” the FDA is only making it more difficult to bring therapies to patients.
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Priority voucher awardees and regulators could feel pressure to “meet the moment” as FDA watchers question the intent and feasibility of the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program.
Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson will continue to test the asset in stroke and atrial fibrillation.
Bayer has let go of about 13,500 employees, including around 5,000 managers, since implementing a new operating model in early 2024. CEO Bill Anderson said in a recent earnings call that he expects a slower rate of headcount reduction moving forward.
“As the future chair I will attend to the interests of not only the Novo Nordisk Foundation but all shareholders of the company,” incoming chair and former Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Rebien Sørensen said at the meeting held Friday.
A day after Pfizer closed its hotly contested Metsera deal, Lundbeck has made an unsolicited offer to steal Avadel Pharmaceuticals away from Alkermes.
At $9.2 billion, the Cidara acquisition lands among the top 5 largest deals of the year.
HIV
Gilead’s investigational drug combo bic/len could help lower the pill burden in patients with virologically suppressed HIV who are on complex treatment regimens, according to BMO Capital Markets.
A BioNTech spokesperson downplayed the news, insisting that the two companies remain “close” and have a “strong collaboration.”
Through substantial leadership turnover and workforce cuts, the FDA has continued to support the advanced therapy sector, actively working to remove obstacles to innovation.
Speaking at a conference this morning, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla suggested that Metsera’s therapies could begin hitting the market in 2028.