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Replimune is axing 144 employees at its Woburn headquarters and 80 at its Framingham manufacturing site. The cuts follow the FDA’s second rejection of the biotech’s advanced melanoma candidate.
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Doubling survival in pancreatic cancer, a long-fought rare disease approval, a massive IPO and ambitious biotech entrepreneurs have BioSpace Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong feeling upbeat about the biotech scene.
After Replimune’s advanced melanoma drug was rejected for a second time, CEO Sushil Patel slammed the FDA for failing to exercise regulatory flexibility, while other experts bemoaned the agency’s lack of consistency. With new safety guidelines for gene editing therapies, the FDA has taken a first step toward fixing both problems.
The Merck update, which will shed light on a $588 million bet to succeed Keytruda, is part of a roster of presentations that could shape the future of ADCs, protein degraders and KRAS-targeted therapies.
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Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy has a few months’ head start on Eli Lilly’s newly approved pill. While the Indianapolis pharma has come from behind the Danish rival in the weight loss space before, last time it clearly had the better drug.
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With inspections always on the table, LOTTE Biologics is pushing a proactive, quality first culture across its dual hubs in Syracuse and Songdo, backing its new single‑use ADC facility with rigorous training, self‑audits and real‑time regulatory surveillance.
BioSpace’s 2025 Q4 U.S. Life Sciences Job Market update highlights early signs of stabilization in biopharma hiring, with modest gains in job postings, slowing layoffs, and cautiously improving sentiment heading into 2026.
Following the hard-won success of early anti-amyloid drugs, a new generation of Alzheimer’s modalities—from tau-targeting gene silencers to blood-brain barrier delivery platforms—is entering the pipeline to anchor future combination therapies.
As biotechs faced investors at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference this week, they emphasized agreement with the FDA on clinical trial design and regulatory pathways to approval. Atara, meanwhile, lamented the agency’s “complete reversal of position” after its therapy for a rare surgical complication was rejected.
After J.P. Morgan, biotech’s bold promises meet real-world challenges. In 2026, success starts with a CDMO partner who accelerates timelines and anticipates every manufacturing hurdle. Learn how AGC Biologics offers tailored cell line solutions for complex molecules.
Less than six months after cutting 20% of its employees, Vedanta Biosciences has again laid off staff. According to one affected staffer, half of the Cambridge, Massachusetts–based biotech’s workforce is being cut while most of the rest are furloughed.
Following rusfertide’s triumphant Phase III trial last year, Protagonist must decide how involved to be in future development. Hundreds of millions of dollars are on the line.
Ocular Therapeutix’s lead asset is Axpaxli, being developed for wet age-related macular degeneration. A Phase III study is underway, with data expected this quarter.
Speaking on the sidelines of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Novo business development executive Tamara Darsow said the company is gunning for obesity and diabetes assets.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation’s funds will go toward supporting early-stage companies working in “human health, planetary health and societal resilience.”