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UniQure and REGENXBIO are both dealing with FDA setbacks for their respective gene therapies, as regulatory experts question the FDA’s decision-making processes; CBER director Vinay Prasad is under probe for allegedly fostering a toxic workplace; Sarepta CEO Doug Ingram is stepping down after several years of tumult at the top of the muscular dystrophy–focused company; and Eli Lilly again tops Novo Nordisk in a weight loss trial.
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Poplar Therapeutics is seeking a “step change” in the treatment of food allergy and other atopic conditions, with $95 million raised to date, including a $45 million series A extension that closed Tuesday.
Infrastructure and location have helped make Holly Springs a future hub for obesity drug production, with Amgen and Roche planning to manufacture GLP-1 therapies there to compete in the growing market.
Here’s how drug developers can best approach interactions with the agency following last year’s seismic changes to its leadership, workforce and policies.
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Eli Lilly’s win in a head-to-head trial drove Novo Nordisk’s market cap to pre-Wegovy levels not long after the victor became the first pharma company to top a $1 trillion valuation. It seems one company can do no right, while the other can do no wrong.
THE LATEST
George Tidmarsh has only been at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research for nine days, but will now add supervision of a second FDA division to his portfolio after Vinay Prasad’s sudden departure.
FDA
As analysts parsed news of Vinay Prasad’s ouster, worries over drug approval delays, cell and gene therapy impacts and more were top of mind.
Madrigal will study SYH2086 in combination with Rezdiffra for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, aiming for clinical trials in early 2026.
Long-term data presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference show Leqembi can help patients stay in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s disease as compared to the condition’s natural progression.
CDC
Monarez is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate under a new 2023 law and will be the first person without a medical degree to assume leadership of the agency in more than 70 years.
Sarepta’s Elevidys is back on the market for ambulatory patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly plans to dissolve the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and “fix” the vaccine injury compensation program, Merck, AstraZeneca and more report Q2 earnings, Novo names a new leader and Roche’s trontinemab impresses at AAIC25.
CEO Emma Walmsley maintained that continued investment in the U.S. is a priority for the pharma to ensure its medicines for the country are supplied domestically.
Against steep odds and well-established paradigms, these four companies have successfully been commercializing their products on their own.
Though nerves abound for funders and founders in the industry, money continues to flow into startups, sometimes in eye-popping numbers. BioSpace rounds up the biggest raises so far this year.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, medications with the same active ingredient will be treated as the same drug for price negotiation purposes—even if approved by the FDA under a separate application—disincentivizing companies from investing time and money in gaining approval for new formulations and indications.