News

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.
FEATURED STORIES
In Salt Lake City, biotech founders new and seasoned reflect on ways to ride out the industry’s challenges, such as sending cold emails to investors and learning to address leadership weaknesses.
ALS
Biogen’s Qalsody won FDA approval in 2023 to treat a rare, genetic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. On Tuesday, QurAlis presented interim Phase 2 data showing the potential of a similar drug to more broadly treat the neurodegenerative disease.
As Q1 earnings arrive, three biotechs have big quarters ahead, with two—Amylyx and Neumora Therapeutics—betting at least partly on novel assets for obesity.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
Neal and Azbee awards have validated our approach to reporting on the industry at a time of unprecedented shifts at the FDA and other federal agencies.
THE LATEST
While Zenas’ obexelimab hit the primary endpoint in the Phase III INDIGO study, it came far below the efficacy threshold set by Amgen’s B cell depleter Uplizna, approved by the FDA for IgG4-related disease last April.
The agreement, which BMO Capital Markets called a “mild positive” for Structure, appears to address Roche’s concerns about the composition of investigational weight loss drug CT-996.
OncoNano’s platform, called ON-BOARD, packages drugs in pH-sensitive micelles that ensure their specific delivery near tumors, while also preventing systemic exposure.
Next-generation automation is closing the gap between curative science and real-world demand, enabling faster development, global consistency and broader patient access to CAR T therapies.
IPO
After a strong open to the year, the public markets suffered a six-month drought that led to biotech’s tightest IPO window in years.
Only a handful of the top pharmas have signed Most Favored Nation drug pricing deals with the White House, while smaller biotechs continue to hang in limbo.
FDA
In a year that saw advisory committees placed under a particularly bright microscope at the FDA, the agency held fewer meetings than usual and agreed with its advisors only 57% of the time, Jefferies reported.
Industry leaders are focused on the resilience of key starting material supply and the knock-on effects of automation in the new year.
The fierce rivalry between Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly is alive and well, as the two companies are expected to face off with their new obesity pills this year.
After getting the crucial first-mover advantage with an FDA approval for a weight loss pill, Novo Nordisk looks to win the market before rival Lilly can arrive with its own oral option for obesity.