News
Novo Nordisk reported a loss in a head-to-head trial of CagriSema against Lilly’s Zepbound earlier this week. This time around, Lilly’s orforglipron bested Novo’s oral Wegovy in blood sugar control and weight reduction—albeit with a few extra discontinuations as compared to its rival.
FEATURED STORIES
Alternatives to opioids are desperately needed to better treat moderate to severe acute pain, but to date, we’ve seen few novel analgesics hit the market.
LB Pharma needed $350 million to advance a promising schizophrenia candidate at a time when the biotech markets were locked up tight. Fortunately, it wasn’t CEO Heather Turner’s first rodeo.
Rare disease drug developers struggle to survive in a biopharma investment market that prioritizes large patient populations. Initiatives like the Orphan Therapeutics Accelerator are attempting to solve what CEO Craig Martin says is not a science problem, but a math problem.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
Eli Lilly’s win in a head-to-head trial drove Novo Nordisk’s market cap to pre-Wegovy levels not long after the victor became the first pharma company to top a $1 trillion valuation. It seems one company can do no right, while the other can do no wrong.
THE LATEST
Fractyl Health is deprioritizing a type 2 diabetes trial in favor of a pivotal study of its endoscopy treatment Revita and parting with around 22 employees in an attempt to extend its runway into 2026.
Biogen’s effort to buy Sage against the board’s wishes and a long-time effort by investor Alcorn to scuttle Aurion’s IPO underscore the cutthroat nature of biopharma dealmaking.
The approval of Axsome Therapeutics’ Symbravo for migraine with or without aura came alongside the greenlight for Vertex’s non-opioid treatment Journavx.
Novartis was among the most prolific pharma dealmakers in 2024, a trend that it expects to continue with more bolt-on deals this year to set up for sustainable long-term growth.
Senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee were critical of Kennedy’s long history as an anti-vaccine campaigner.
Blackstone joins other big investors such as ARCH Venture Partners and Bain Capital Life Sciences in pumping billions of dollars into the industry.
The greenlight for Journavx (suzetrigine), which comes on the heels of a $7.4 billion opioid settlement, could spark momentum in the fledgling non-opioid pain space.
Analysts were unfazed by the news that Takeda will cease development of soticlestat after Phase III failures, while responding positively to the announcement that Julie Kim will take the helm of the Japanese giant in 2026.
CAR T–focused biotech Cargo Therapeutics surprised and disappointed analysts when it announced that it would discontinue a mid-stage trial of its lead program, firi-cel.
Sanofi’s jump in earnings comes with an increased emphasis on R&D and vaccines, plus an eye cast toward M&A to shore up its pipeline.