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New data on Hengrui Pharma and Kailera Therapeutics’ investigational oral GLP-1 have validated the late-stage weight loss asset and paved the road for a regulatory submission in China, but analysts pointed to high rates of nausea and vomiting that could challenge the ongoing U.S. study.
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Molecular glue degraders are gaining traction in the clinic as well as funding from Big Pharma, with their potential to treat previously “undruggable” cancers and immunological diseases. Here are five clinical programs worth keeping an eye on.
Last month, the FDA launched TrialBlazer, intended to streamline the IND path and bring early clinical trials and medical innovation home to the U.S. It’s a start, but new agency leadership must see it through.
FDA
Significant leadership instability at the FDA—compounded by continued workforce attrition—led to a slight slowdown in overall regulatory productivity in the first half of this year, but the agency has been catching up of late.
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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 agreement, which BMO Capital Markets called a “mild positive” for Structure, appears to address Roche’s concerns about the composition of investigational weight loss drug CT-996.
OncoNano’s platform, called ON-BOARD, packages drugs in pH-sensitive micelles that ensure their specific delivery near tumors, while also preventing systemic exposure.
Next-generation automation is closing the gap between curative science and real-world demand, enabling faster development, global consistency and broader patient access to CAR T therapies.
IPO
After a strong open to the year, the public markets suffered a six-month drought that led to biotech’s tightest IPO window in years.
Only a handful of the top pharmas have signed Most Favored Nation drug pricing deals with the White House, while smaller biotechs continue to hang in limbo.
FDA
In a year that saw advisory committees placed under a particularly bright microscope at the FDA, the agency held fewer meetings than usual and agreed with its advisors only 57% of the time, Jefferies reported.
Industry leaders are focused on the resilience of key starting material supply and the knock-on effects of automation in the new year.
The fierce rivalry between Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly is alive and well, as the two companies are expected to face off with their new obesity pills this year.
After getting the crucial first-mover advantage with an FDA approval for a weight loss pill, Novo Nordisk looks to win the market before rival Lilly can arrive with its own oral option for obesity.
J&J paid Numab Therapeutics $1.25 billion upfront for the asset in 2024 based on the belief that its dual mechanism of action could improve on existing therapies.