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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.
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The total of 52 mergers and acquisitions for the first half of 2026 reflects what analysts, industry watchers and executives are saying over and over: M&A is back.
At the BIO International Convention in San Diego, attendees marked the 50th anniversary of original biotech Genentech, reflecting on the immense challenges facing companies as China becomes a powerhouse innovator.
A recent FDA reversal sparked new hope for patients with Huntington’s disease. Flying under the radar, Skyhawk Therapeutics revealed 12-month functional data from a midstage trial of its own candidate showing improvements on a key disease measurement scale.
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If cell and gene therapy makers are going to achieve their mission to improve patients’ lives, the industry must come together to share information across stakeholders, from regulators to manufacturers to payers.
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Contineum Therapeutics joined the 2024 initial public offering class on Friday with an SEC filing. The biotech will use the IPO proceeds to complete a Phase II trial for its most mature candidate targeting multiple sclerosis.
FDA
With its FDA approval last week and first-to-market advantage, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ Rezdiffra will set the standard for other metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis candidates in development.
By votes of 11-0 and 8-3, respectively, an FDA advisory committee Friday deemed the risks of early death for both Johnson & Johnson’s Carvykti and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Abecma acceptable.
Asgard Therapeutics, a Swedish gene therapy biotech, has closed a $32 million Series A round with help from prominent pharma players as it prepares for a 2026 IND.
Bayer will co-create a novel target identification platform that leverages Aignostics’ artificial intelligence technology and proprietary multimodal patient cohorts.
The Chinese biotechs are broadening their collaboration. Hansoh Pharma is licensing Biotheus’ anti-EGFR/cMet bispecific antibody to develop antibody-drug conjugates.
After forging a partnership last year, Astellas is ending the pact with Cartesian Therapeutics and stopping the development of a Pompe disease candidate.
The PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda significantly improved overall survival in a late-stage trial when used with chemoradiotherapy to treat patients with newly diagnosed advanced cervical cancer.
FDA
The FDA approved Bristol Myers Squibb’s Breyanzi for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic leukemia prior to Friday’s adcomm for the company’s other CAR-T therapy, Abecma.
Despite skepticism from FDA reviewers, the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee on Thursday strongly supported Geron’s imetelstat for the treatment of anemia in patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes.