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In the midst of regulatory and political upheaval, biopharma’s R&D engine kept running, churning out highs and lows in equal parts. Here are some of this year’s most glorious clinical trial victories.
With notable therapies from Biogen, Sarepta and MacroGenics failing to show efficacy in pivotal or confirmatory trials, experts question the use of biomarker evidence for approval while one former regulator insists that a “failed trial is not a failed drug.”
Coming up in the back half of December, the FDA will issue a verdict on Vanda Pharmaceuticals’ gastroparesis drug tradipitant, which it rejected last September, triggering a very public dispute with the company.
Job Trends
In this bonus episode, BioSpace’s Vice President of Marketing ⁠Chantal Dresner⁠ and Careers Editor ⁠Angela Gabriel⁠ take a look at Q3 job market performance, layoffs and wider employment trends and policies impacting the biopharma workforce.
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Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—along with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and CBER Director Vinay Prasad—argued against vaccine mandates, partly because they limited medical choice. This week, the FDA under their leadership approved updated COVID-19 vaccines with restrictions that do the same.
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These deals radically reshaped the biopharma world, either by one vaccine rival absorbing another, a Big Pharma doubling down after another failed acquisition or, in the case of Pfizer and Novo, two heavyweights duking it out over a hot obesity biotech.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla defended his company’s vaccine business as rhetoric from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drives a notable drop in COVID-19 sales.
Speaking on Bloomberg TV on Monday, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary contradicted recent reporting that suggested the agency was planning to add a black box label—its most serious warning—to COVID-19 vaccines.
The star of the agreement targets a specific type of tau protein, helping to prevent toxic accumulation in the brain while also preserving the function of healthy tau.
Kyverna plans to submit mivocabtagene autoleucel to the FDA for approval in the first half of 2026. If approved, it would be the first CAR T therapy for an autoimmune disease.
Analysts at Jefferies called the approval “highly significant,” estimating it could add $2 billion to $3 billion to peak Enhertu sales.
Ambros Therapeutics’ non-opioid bisphosphonate analgesic, already approved in Italy, will soon begin a pivotal test in the U.S.
FDA
Johnson & Johnson, which did not apply for the national priority voucher, was granted the ticket based on results from a Phase III study testing Tecvayli plus Darzalex in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
Representatives of companies including AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson and Merck have voiced concerns about the FDA’s approach to pre-approval inspections.
Varegacestat, a gamma secretase inhibitor, significantly improved progression-free survival while also meeting all key secondary endpoints in the pivotal RINGSIDE trial. Immunome is planning an FDA application for the second quarter of 2026.