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With the latest layoffs, Novartis expects to let go of around 800 employees by the end of 2028. More than half of the cuts have been at the company’s East Hanover, New Jersey, location.
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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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FDA
Regulators squeezed in two final approvals before the calendar change with the UK approval of Merck’s Winrevair and the FDA’s greenlight for an injectable formulation of BMS’s cancer blockbuster.
In a highly anticipated readout for the kappa opioid receptor class in major depressive disorder, Neumora’s navacaprant failed to meet the primary and key secondary endpoint in the first of three identical Phase III studies.
Sangamo is on course to run out of money within months and has now lost access to up to $220 million in milestone payments from Pfizer.
While layoffs slowed in the second half of 2024, biopharmas including Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson cut hundreds or even thousands of employees over the course of the year.
Other notable greenlights this year include Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy, the first novel therapeutic for schizophrenia in 35 years, and Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ Rezdiffra, the first-ever treatment for MASH.
The new combination, dubbed Alyftrek, is designed to improve on the Trikafta, a product that generated sales of $8.9 billion in 2023. It’s welcome good news for Vertex following last week’s subpar clinical results for its non-opioid analgesic.
The mega-blockbuster weight loss GLP-1 drug is now also approved to treat obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity, in combination with diet and exercise.
High profile failures and long timeframes for revenue have shifted investment away from Phase I, as VCs seek to mitigate risk, Pitchbook said in its 2025 outlook.
Following a 90% drop in share price due to an FDA rejection and a warning letter over Applied Therapeutics’ conduct during a clinical trial, the biotech’s CEO has stepped aside.
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, X4 Pharmaceuticals and Day One Biopharmaceuticals secured their maiden approvals this year in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, WHIM syndrome and pediatric low-grade glioma. Geron Corporation and ImmunityBio also notched wins.