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Biogen touted an “unprecedented” drop in tau in a Phase 2 trial, backing the company’s decision to take diranersen to Phase 3 despite a missed primary endpoint and seemingly supporting the anti-tau approach.
FEATURED STORIES
As antibody-drug conjugates advance and move into earlier lines of treatment, drug developers have to build gentler therapies that don’t just extend survival but improve it.
FDA’s rare disease decisions are strongest when the patient community has a voice in advisory committee decisions.
The lineup at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference will provide critical insight into where the industry is headed with regard to targets being explored to vanquish the elusive neurodegenerative disease.
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Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
Congressional letters sent to the CEOs of Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, BMS and AbbVie this week voicing concerns about the pharmas’ clinical trials in China highlight an ongoing discrepancy in how government and industry think about the rise of the Asian country’s biotech industry.
THE LATEST
AbbVie launched a revamped version of its Allē loyalty program, which ultimately was not adopted by providers. The marketing misstep comes as the company’s aesthetics franchise faces broader pressures.
Several companies—including JCR Pharmaceuticals, Denali Therapeutics and Regenxbio—have products in the pipeline that could improve treatment options for this rare disease.
The rare disease space is awaiting two FDA verdicts in February, one for a genetic disease and another for a non-malignant tumor.
FDA
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—Trump’s pick for HHS secretary who endured confirmation hearings last week—has repeatedly criticized industry ties to the FDA, particularly financial links between the two, which could indicate trouble for the user-fee model.
After the Phase II failure of its lead asset from Cerevel, AbbVie is resetting expectations and narrowing the clinical program to an adjunct approach—for now.
ImmunityBio will part with 10 employees this quarter. Last fall, it cut 31 employees. The moves come as the biotech works to advance Anktiva in non-small cell lung cancer.
IRA
While the former Biden administration showcased the Inflation Reduction Act as a key victory in the fight over high drug prices in the U.S., Trump has so far been mum on how the controversial law could evolve in the coming years.
Fractyl Health is deprioritizing a type 2 diabetes trial in favor of a pivotal study of its endoscopy treatment Revita and parting with around 22 employees in an attempt to extend its runway into 2026.
Biogen’s effort to buy Sage against the board’s wishes and a long-time effort by investor Alcorn to scuttle Aurion’s IPO underscore the cutthroat nature of biopharma dealmaking.
The approval of Axsome Therapeutics’ Symbravo for migraine with or without aura came alongside the greenlight for Vertex’s non-opioid treatment Journavx.