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FDA
The UCSF professor and frequent YouTube poster has criticized COVID-19 vaccine mandates as well as the accelerated approval pathway and other FDA practices. Predictions of what his tenure might achieve are scattershot.
FEATURED STORIES
Biotech was starting to show signs of recovery after years of investor pullback—until new tariffs and economic uncertainty sent fresh shockwaves through an already fragile market.
Alnylam and BridgeBio are competing for people who are switching from Pfizer’s blockbuster ATTR amyloidosis drug tafamidis while all three companies are fighting for new patients.
FDA
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary last week announced a directive that would limit industry participation in the agency’s advisory committees. But not only do company reps serve only as non-voting members, a 1997 law actually requires industry involvement.
Job Trends
Being laid off is bad enough. When companies mishandle the layoff process, it can make the situation even worse. Four biopharma professionals share how some employers are getting it wrong.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
BioSpace Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong reflects on the year that was, and what’s to come in 2025.
THE LATEST
Following challenges with its drug candidate bexotegrast and announcement of a limited-duration stockholder rights program, Pliant is paring back its workforce.
No Patient Left Behind says that drug value assessments used in countries like Canada and Germany undervalue innovative medicines by 90% and mislead U.S. policymakers into thinking Americans are overpaying.
After multiple rounds of layoffs that cut Kronos down to just 10 people, the small molecule biotech has accepted a buyout offer from Kevin Tang’s Concentra Biosciences.
As the Trump administration—including HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—plays fast and loose with scientific studies and facts, there may be a more sinister force at play: censorship.
Some 20 travel staff at the FDA, who made arrangements for the regulator’s inspectors, will be getting their jobs back, as per the Associated Press. Some food scientists involved in testing will also be reinstated.
In an internal memo, the World Health Organization signaled its support for anti-obesity drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound, which the agency decided against listing in 2023, the last time the Essential Medicines list was updated.
Like fellow Big Pharmas Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson, Amgen is urging the Trump administration to consider tax policy instead of tariffs to promote domestic pharma manufacturing.
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks is confident that weight loss med Zepbound is gaining market share at the expense of Wegovy, even as its rival strikes deals with CVS and Hims & Hers pharmacies.
The new policy, revealed by the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday, would make vaccines “less available and less affordable,” according to vaccine expert Paul Offit. It could also further complicate the picture for companies like Novavax.
Announcing first-quarter results, Biogen CEO Chris Viehbacher admitted that tariffs are “a new topic for us,” but said he does not expect major impacts—at least for 2025.