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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.
THE LATEST
The FDA is looking at a slew of label expansions this month, including one that could open up home-based treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
The new plant will give Novartis end-to-end capabilities centered on North Carolina, where it plans to have five facilities across three sites.
CEO Stéphane Bancel expressed confidence in Moderna’s first quarter, touting the revenue numbers as a sign of the company’s return to prosperity.
Amgen has launched a late-stage program to test the feasibility of switching patients from weekly GLP-1 injections to its own investigational obesity asset MariTide, which could open up monthly or more infrequent dosing schedules.
Alzheimer’s disease agitation could mean peak sales of over $2.1 billion for Axsome’s Auvelity, according to analysts at William Blair.
Corcept Therapeutics’ amyotrophic lateral sclerosis drug was linked to an 87% reduction in the risk of death, a result the biotech hopes to replicate in an upcoming Phase 3 trial.
FDA
Katherine Szarama, who has served as Prasad’s deputy at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research since December, joins a long list of temporary leaders at the Department of Health and Human Services.
On the heels of several big buys, Merck still has eyes for M&A—particularly in the oncology, immunology and cardiometabolic spaces—as the quest continues for a candidate that can top Keytruda.
Foundayo became available on April 9 and has already reached 20,000 patients as Eli Lilly builds its marketing machine for the weight loss pill.
UniQure plans to submit AMT-130 to the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the third quarter of 2026 based on Phase 1/2 data showing a 75% slowing of disease—the same data the FDA has deemed unacceptable for a biologics license application.