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After a patient safety signal and then death, the FDA in October 2025 placed holds on two of the company’s CRISPR programs for hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis.
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Some 200 rare disease therapies are at risk of losing eligibility for a pediatric priority review voucher, a recent analysis by the Rare Disease Company Coalition shows. That could mean $4 billion in missed revenue for already cash-strapped biotechs.
Together with robust data-driven modeling, rethinking regulation and data use could push forward a notoriously challenging field.
From opening new therapeutic mechanisms to repairing neuronal damage, investigational molecules from Ventyx Therapeutics, AC Immune, Gain Therapeutics and more could shape the future of Parkinson’s disease treatment.
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The FDA’s rare pediatric disease priority review voucher program missed reauthorization at the last minute in 2024; advocates have been fighting to get it back ever since.
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The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee recently voted to narrow the label for checkpoint inhibitors Keytruda and Opdivo in stomach and esophageal cancers based on PD-L1 expression levels—but the high unmet need in these patient populations should also be considered.
On the agenda for the FDA this month are two RNA-based treatments for rare diseases.
Marty Makary, likely FDA commissioner under President Trump, appeared before Congress this week as the agency he’s set to lead continues to be rocked by sweeping changes and about-faces.
While Congress is renewing the priority review voucher program for rare pediatric diseases, the FDA should be required to keep public records of the passes changing hands, too.
Despite comments made by a Novo Nordisk official this week, the company confirmed to BioSpace that it has no additional clinical trials of its GLP-1 drugs in addiction beyond a Phase II trial testing semaglutide and two other drugs with alcohol use as a secondary endpoint.
Imfinzi is one of AstraZeneca’s key growth drivers for 2025, with potential approvals in stomach and bladder cancers. The PD-L1 blocker brought in over $4.7 billion in sales last year.
Days after suffering a rejection in Australia, the Alzheimer’s drug hit another roadblock in the U.K., which found the drug not cost-effective.
Analysts at Jefferies see Makary as a positive for the rare disease space, given his support for accelerated approvals and openness to “customizing regulatory pathways for rare diseases.”
Analysts do not believe the Phase III stumble for aticaprant will derail J&J’s broader neuroscience strategy, particularly given its recent $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapeutics and the success of Spravato for treatment-resistant depression.
A new Pitchbook report found $4.3 billion in funding to women-fronted biotech companies across 121 deals. The increase comes as sociopolitical headwinds slam into initiatives to support women and minorities.