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In this episode of Denatured, you’ll hear from Jack Crawford, CEO of Demeetra, and Magnus Gustavsson, chief commercial officer at NorthX Biologics. We unpack the evolution of cell line development — CHO cells, targeted integration, transposases and the collaboration models speeding biologics from sequence to GMP.
FEATURED STORIES
Psychedelics are gaining momentum in depression, with one treating physician predicting that the drug class could “wipe out the SSRIs” if safety and durability hold up.
Saol Therapeutics is the latest biotech to resubmit for approval of a drug rejected under former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, following REGENXBIO and Replimune.
Even as FDA approvals for biologic therapies fell in the first half of 2026, regulatory experts are optimistic about a turnaround in the rare disease space after the departure of key leaders at the agency. Still, there will continue to be tension between science and politics.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
Congressional letters sent to the CEOs of Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, BMS and AbbVie this week voicing concerns about the pharmas’ clinical trials in China highlight an ongoing discrepancy in how government and industry think about the rise of the Asian country’s biotech industry.
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The 9% average salary increase from 2023 to 2024 was the largest for life sciences professionals since 2021. Several factors could be behind the spike, including companies providing higher pay because bonuses and stock compensation went down.
Led by alums from Takeda and Boston Pharmaceuticals, Hillstar Bio is working on treatments that remove harmful immune cells to relieve disease.
Merck joins a growing list of companies targeting lipoprotein(a), high levels of which are associated with an elevated risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs on pharmaceuticals “to come at some point,” per CNBC, as companies promise to build infrastructure in the U.S.
The Eylea franchise was in need of a win after an appellate court last week denied the pharma’s bid to block Amgen’s biosimilar from the U.S.
If confirmed, Susan Monarez will have her work cut out for her, facing a measles outbreak that has already killed two people—the first measles-related deaths in the U.S. since 2015.
The company, launched with help from ex-Novartis executives, is targeting glutamate signaling in the brain to help treat alcohol- and cocaine-use disorders, among other indications.
Novo will license UTB251, a triple hormone receptor agonist that in mid-2023 achieved 24% weight reduction at 48 weeks in a mid-stage study.
The investments come amid an ongoing insurance fraud probe into AstraZeneca’s former China head Leon Wang—and despite mounting pressure from President Trump for pharma companies to re-shore their manufacturing operations.