News

Viatris, which Pfizer created in 2020, voluntarily withdrew extended-release products made at a plant in Ireland after an analysis revealed an issue that could affect bioavailability.
FEATURED STORIES
FDA
After Replimune’s advanced melanoma drug was rejected for a second time, CEO Sushil Patel slammed the FDA for failing to exercise regulatory flexibility, while other experts bemoaned the agency’s lack of consistency. With new safety guidelines for gene editing therapies, the FDA has taken a first step toward fixing both problems.
The Merck update, which will shed light on a $588 million bet to succeed Keytruda, is part of a roster of presentations that could shape the future of ADCs, protein degraders and KRAS-targeted therapies.
Gilead, AstraZeneca and Vertex have acquired more than just a therapeutic asset in recent deals. BioSpace takes a look at five recent transactions where the staff was the real centerpiece.
Job Trends
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy has a few months’ head start on Eli Lilly’s newly approved pill. While the Indianapolis pharma has come from behind the Danish rival in the weight loss space before, last time it clearly had the better drug.
THE LATEST
The facility, which is part of Lilly’s $50 billion reshoring drive, will make obesity drugs such as tirzepatide and retatrutide when it starts operations in 2031.
Sanofi will take venglustat to regulators for Gaucher disease but an application for Fabry disease is less clear after the failure of a Phase III trial.
The program will allow for frequent communication with the FDA, giving manufacturers timely input and guidance regarding the design of their facilities.
Corcept’s relacorilant was rejected for hypercortisolism late last year—a decision which CEO Joseph Belanoff expressed surprise with at the time.
A Phase III readout in September 2024 for rocatinlimab, on which Amgen and Kyowa Kirin were collaborating in atopic dermatitis, appeared underwhelming to analysts, with Jefferies noting that the data “came in at the lower end of efficacy and expectations.”
Opening up about drug pricing decisions is not optional for biopharma anymore. For the sake of credibility, companies should embrace it.
AstraZeneca’s $15 billion pledge to its China operations highlights the country’s advantages. But other regions are also hoping to host more clinical studies.
In what is shaping up to be a back-loaded month, the FDA is set to release a slew of regulatory decisions in February, including two that would expand the labels of blockbuster drugs.
With Lykos’ regulatory failure now squarely in the rearview mirror, Compass Pathways and Definium are leading what one analyst suspects will be “a very big year for psychedelics.”
The Senate failed to pass a massive spending bill on Thursday—which includes the rare pediatric PRV program but also funding for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s large-scale crackdown in Minnesota and other states.