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The first gene therapies approved to treat sickle cell disease in December 2023 are struggling on the market. But there are glimpses of forward momentum as Vertex and Genetix Bio provide updates.
FEATURED STORIES
Many scientists-turned-CEOs paradoxically abandon scientific principles when it comes to commercializing their innovations. But applying the scientific method to business decisions can help life science entrepreneurs avoid common pitfalls, attract investment and ultimately bring transformative technologies to market.
FDA vouchers are normally a coveted prize for biopharma companies, but a surprise rejection for Disc Medicine’s rare disease drug has biopharma reconsidering.
PitchBook’s 2025 biopharma VC analysis clocked $33.8 billion in capital dispatched in 2025, mainly to companies with later-stage programs ready to roll into the clinic.
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FDA
The FDA’s refusal to review Moderna’s mRNA-based flu vaccine is part of a larger communications crisis unfolding at the agency over the past nine months that has also ensnarled Sarepta, Capricor, uniQure and many more.
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Long a quieter, locally focused industry, Japanese pharma giants are increasingly looking to the rest of the world for deals.
After a series of unfortunate regulatory rejections and manufacturing issues surfaced, Regeneron’s shares dipped to $483 this summer—the lowest they’d been since early 2021. But they now sit higher than they did at the start of the year.
Saol Therapeutics received a complete response letter for its pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency treatment a week after the FDA unveiled its Rare Disease Evidence Principles program. On Dec. 18, in a Type A meeting, the biotech will attempt to convince the agency that its drug fits perfectly into the framework.
TERN-701 more than doubled the response rate of Novartis’ rival approved therapy in an early-stage trial, sending the biotech’s shares flying.
Pfizer apparently had more in the tank after the high-profile battle to acquire Metsera earlier this fall. The company has licensed a new GLP-1 from YaoPharma.
FDA
For traditional approval, CAR T therapies will need to establish superiority over current standard treatments, including already-approved CAR T products.
At the heart of the deal is Relation’s Lab-in-the-Loop platform, which uses AI models to improve understanding of diseases and guide clinical development programs.
Structure’s aleniglipron elicited over 11% weight loss in a Phase II trial, sending the biotech’s stock up nearly 103% as markets closed on Monday.
A mid-stage study for ABI-5366 will begin mid next year, while Assembly continues to assess the Phase II potential of ABI-1179.
The status could support staged transitions to new manufacturing processes, potentially mitigating some risks of high-stakes switches.