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A surprising deal from Vertex Pharmaceuticals adds to Big Pharma’s acquisitive streak as Crinetics folds into the cystic fibrosis drugmaker. Meanwhile, IPOs and venture capital raises trend upward, but mostly for derisked companies. Plus, FDA decisions slow only slightly as the hunt for a permanent leader drags on.
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After debuting on the public markets with $256.3 million and raking in an additional $472 million, Veradermics has emerged as one of biotech’s biggest post-IPO standouts. CEO Reid Waldman credits the weight loss craze for establishing consumer-driven channels.
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.
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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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All three companies closed out the year, which saw significant growth in mergers and acquisitions, with high-value deals that could potentially set the tone for M&A in 2024.
Biopharmas of varying sizes—including larger companies like Amgen, Gilead and Pfizer—cut employees in 2023 to stay afloat.
Eli Lilly has signed a multi-year contract with animal genomics biotech Fauna Bio to use its artificial intelligence platform to discover drug targets for obesity in a deal worth nearly half a billion dollars.
Under the companies’ agreement, a previously disclosed option exercise fee of $75 million has been reduced to $10 million and the remaining pre-option development milestone has been removed.
GSK withdrew three patents related to its asthma inhalers while Impax delisted both of its patents for Adrenaclick and Kaléo delisted eight patents covering Auvi-Q—the companies’ respective epinephrine auto-injectors.
The acquisition announced on Friday will give Bristol Myers Squibb ownership of Karuna Therapeutics’ investigational antipsychotic KarXT, which is being tested for schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis.
In a Phase II study, Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ investigational fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor JZP150 did not significantly improve post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms compared to placebo.
Wainua, which is jointly developed and commercialized by AstraZeneca and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, was given the FDA’s green light on Thursday and will now compete with Alnylam’s two approved hATTR-PN therapies.
Microgravity offers unique advantages when investigating cells and proteins, but collaboration and a strong ethical framework are needed to fully realize its benefits.
The company is ending its program evaluating antibody-drug conjugate tusamitamab ravtansine after a non-small cell lung cancer trial did not meet a primary endpoint.