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IPO
Around 25 companies have gone public this year, most of them in the early months. Most have tumbled from their original offer price.
By far, the largest acquisition of 2024 was Novo Holdings’ yet-to-be-closed buyout of manufacturer Catalent at $16.5 billion. Outside of that, the leading pharmaceutical companies kept to less than $5 billion per deal.
The darlings of the weight loss and diabetes spaces, GLP-1 receptor agonists have shown promise against Alzheimer’s in recent studies—with Phase III results expected next year from Novo Nordisk.
Job Trends
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
In a recent BioSpace LinkedIn poll, nearly half of respondents predicted the job market won’t turn around until 2027 or later. It’s easy to see why people are skeptical, especially when you consider recent hiring activity and layoffs.
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In the Phase III SERENA-6 trial, camizestrant—in combination with CDK-inhibitors—beat out current standard-of-care treatments in terms of progression-free survival, according to AstraZeneca.
As high prices and supply issues drive consumers to alternative markets for GLP-1s, physicians aren’t too interested in using these therapies to treat conditions like heart disease risk that have existing cheap standards of care.
Eikon’s lead candidate, EIK1001, is being tested for advanced melanoma. The candidate is currently in late-stage development, which the biotech will fund using Wednesday’s series D raise.
SpringWorks Therapeutics sprung out of Pfizer’s storeroom, when a rare disease advocacy group pushed to keep a program for neurofibromatosis alive. This method could work for “every rare disease under the sun,” advocates say.
SpringWorks Therapeutics is the perfect case study for rescuing a discontinued assets. It’s time to repeat the process for every rare disease, experts say.
As FDA seeks to rehire some fired employees, Donald Trump threatens to enact tariffs on pharma companies unless they reshore manufacturing; another lawsuit hits the complex GLP-1 compounding space as Eli Lilly offers expanded Zepbound options; and struggling gene therapy biotech bluebird bio goes private in an attempt to stay solvent.
While many industry players and observers have high hopes for the EPIC Act, some say budgetary headwinds could make it difficult for the current administration to make meaningful repeals or amendments to the IRA.
Kiniksa will now focus its development efforts on the IL-1 blocker KPL-387, which it is testing for recurrent pericarditis with Phase II/III trials planned for mid-2025.
Emalex is gearing up for a New Drug Application for ecopipam in Tourette syndrome later this year.
The latest Repare Therapeutics layoffs will include its chief medical officer and could leave the biotech with fewer than 35 employees as it works to advance two Phase I clinical programs.