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Pressure from the FTC and Pfizer is building around Novo Nordisk’s bid to snatch obesity biotech Metsera. The antitrust watchdog has spotted issues with the structure of Novo’s bid, while its New York-based rival has put more money on the table.
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While the FDA continues to put out guidance documents and approve drugs, some companies are already reporting delays in dealings with the agency, while insiders warn of falling morale and a negative perception from the rest of the biopharma world.
Mergers and acquisitions are not just for Big Pharma. A new report from Leerink Partners takes a stab at identifying the small- to mid-cap pharmas best prepared to bolster their pipelines with a buyout.
The coming flu season is the clearest indication yet that biopharma’s long-standing assumptions about predictability, prevention and portfolio structure are no longer guaranteed.
Job Trends
Due largely to CSL, Merck and Novo Nordisk’s reorganizations that could total about 19,350 people, Q3 cuts rose significantly year over year and quarter over quarter, based on BioSpace tallies.
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The HHS secretary recently canceled $500 million worth of BARDA contracts around mRNA vaccine research. But the U.S. government has already spent billions on this work, which has saved millions of lives.
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Arena launched with $500 million in early 2024 to fund basic biological research, from which it planned to spin out dedicated companies to focus on drug development.
Harmony Biosciences has paused a mid-stage trial of ZYN002 in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome after the THC-free cannabinoid drug failed to significantly improve social avoidance in a late-stage study in fragile X Syndrome.
Amgen remains confident in its obesity asset MariTide, for which it has launched a broad Phase III program.
Due to the litigation Pfizer filed Friday and Monday against Metsera, Novo Nordisk and the biotech’s lead shareholder, CEO Albert Bourla was limited in what he could say. But he said Pfizer was the best fit for Metsera.
Both companies have submitted revised bids, with Novo’s coming in $1.9 billion higher than Pfizer’s.
The potential approval of Vertex’s IgAN therapy povetacicept in 2026 comes amid launch headwinds for the company’s non-opioid pain medicine Journavx and gene therapy Casgevy.
Sarepta nevertheless plans to push for full FDA approval of Vyondys 53 and Amondys 45 based on what it said are “encouraging trends” in efficacy.
Kygevvi is indicated for patients with thymidine kinase 2 deficiency whose symptoms arise by 12 years of age. The disease manifests as muscle weakness and can become life-threatening in severe instances.
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.