News

The Denton site is part of a network of manufacturing plants Novartis is building across the U.S. to make cancer drugs that must be shipped to patients quickly.
FEATURED STORIES
IPO
LB Pharma needed $350 million to advance a promising schizophrenia candidate at a time when the biotech markets were locked up tight. Fortunately, it wasn’t CEO Heather Turner’s first rodeo.
Rare disease drug developers struggle to survive in a biopharma investment market that prioritizes large patient populations. Initiatives like the Orphan Therapeutics Accelerator are attempting to solve what CEO Craig Martin says is not a science problem, but a math problem.
Eli Lilly’s win in a head-to-head trial drove Novo Nordisk’s market cap to pre-Wegovy levels not long after the victor became the first pharma company to top a $1 trillion valuation. It seems one company can do no right, while the other can do no wrong.
Job Trends
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
FDA
Following the FDA’s refusal to review Moderna’s investigational mRNA flu vaccine last week, Commissioner Marty Makary faced questions from the U.S. president about the agency’s handling of vaccines. It’s a clear signal that the tension long brewing at the drug regulator has now gone all the way to the top.
THE LATEST
Nerandomilast, an oral phosphodiesterase 4B inhibitor, hit the primary endpoint in a Phase III trial in progressive pulmonary fibrosis—nearly six months after achieving a similar feat in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Boehringer plans to submit for FDA and other global approvals in both indications.
The intravenous antibiotic Emblaveo, a combination of aztreonam and avibactam approved in Europe last year, was developed in partnership with Pfizer. AbbVie acquired its share of the asset as part of its $63 billion buyout of Allergan.
Adding a new indication for the CAR T cell therapy could help BMS offset the loss-of-exclusivity headwinds it faces in the coming years.
The carve-out acquisition will allow Bain to capitalize on the “promising signs for growth” in the Japanese life sciences market, recently revitalized by more industry-friendly policy changes from the government.
It is unclear why an independent data safety monitoring board recommended the suspension of Pliant’s Phase IIb/III BEACON-IPF study in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
AceLink is advancing a small-molecule treatment option for Fabry disease that could provide a more convenient alternative to the current enzyme replacement therapy standard.
Novo Nordisk’s bispecific antibody Mim8 prevented bleeding events and caused no adverse safety events in the Phase III FRONTIER3 trial. The company plans to file for approval this year, hoping to compete in the hemophilia A space with Roche’s blockbuster Hemlibra.
If the attention generated by BioSpace’s coverage of this landmark approval is any indication, Americans are hungry for non-opioid pain treatments that could help quell the still raging opioid epidemic.
Leqembi’s sales in the U.S. continue to underwhelm, overshadowed by its growth in international markets.
Novo Nordisk shares tumbled last year when obesity candidate CagriSema failed to clear a weight loss bar of 25%. Now, executives are taking another look at the data but steering clear of making hard bets.