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While drugmakers and other stakeholders want to see faster approvals, experts say the FDA’s Commissioner’s National Priority Review voucher program is still bereft of important details, with candidate selection and interference from the agency’s senior leaders topping the list.
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While agents like AbbVie’s Humira have transformed the treatment landscape, not all patients benefit equally from the drug. Better biomarker analysis and more investment in mechanistic trials can inform the development of more effective therapies with broader clinical value.
Precision science is ruling the M&A scene as pharmas prepare for loss of exclusivity on key products, PwC says in a new report. Biotechs should be prepared with a dual-track process with the IPO window now open.
While biopharma’s overarching mission is to develop innovative medicines to improve patient outcomes, for these six people, the motivation came from much closer to home.
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FDA veteran Peter Marks will now shape the future of Eli Lilly’s vaccines work after the buys of Curevo, LimmaTech Biologics and Vaccine Company for up to $3.8 billion total.
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Gilead’s layoffs include 72 employees at its Seattle location, which will close. Kite will shut down its Philadelphia facility. The layoffs are attributed to aligning resources with long-term strategic goals.
The November layoffs are the second known workforce reduction this year for Marinus Pharmaceuticals, which previously announced disappointing Phase III results for ganaxolone in two clinical trials.
Allogene is ceasing enrollment in a Phase I trial of cema-cel for patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia after Bristol Myers Squibb’s Breyanzi was approved in the indication earlier this year.
Despite recent enthusiasm around the PD-1/VEGF space, BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman noted that Merck’s pact with LaNova Medicines is more “conservativism” on the pharma’s part than confirmatory of recent data in the drug class.
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GSK is carving out a niche for Blenrep in the second-line multiple myeloma setting, for which it projects multi-blockbuster potential for the antibody-drug conjugate.
Following strong treatment response data for Adaptimmune’s lete-cel, the biotech is planning to initiate a rolling BLA submission to the FDA, set to start by the end of 2025.
The FDA has followed in the footsteps of its European counterparts and granted accelerated approval to PTC Therapeutics’ gene therapy Kebilidi for AADC deficiency. It is the first approved gene therapy to be delivered directly to the brain.
Following patient deaths in a lupus trial that led to the termination of that program, Kezar’s autoimmune candidate zetomipzomib faces a partial clinical hold barring four trial participants from continuing treatment in the open-label portion of the trial, though the trial itself will continue as planned.
Despite crowding in the next-gen weight loss space, Metsera has raised over $500 million since its April launch, indicating a continued appetite for these drugs.