News
Replimune is axing 144 employees at its Woburn headquarters and 80 at its Framingham manufacturing site. The cuts follow the FDA’s second rejection of the biotech’s advanced melanoma candidate.
FEATURED STORIES
Doubling survival in pancreatic cancer, a long-fought rare disease approval, a massive IPO and ambitious biotech entrepreneurs have BioSpace Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong feeling upbeat about the biotech scene.
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.
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
As the field grows rapidly, companies are luring people from other nuclear industries and tapping the expanding educational talent pipeline, but are constrained by a steep learning curve and the value of real-world experience.
The deal gets Lilly access to Orna’s in vivo CAR T technology. The biotech’s lead asset, which has yet to start clinical testing, is focused on B cell–driven autoimmune diseases.
Analysts, investors and scientists are eager for Biogen’s 2026 BIIB080 readout. Even if successful, executives warn that there are many more steps before the Alzheimer’s therapy could reach the market.
Novo Nordisk has sued Hims for allegedly violating patents protecting semaglutide, seeking potentially “hundreds of millions” in damages, John Kuckelman, the pharma’s general counsel, said. The wellness platform pulled its version of the drug just days after launching it.
The gene therapy uses an AAV vector to restore healthy levels of the alpha-galactosidase enzyme, which is rendered dysfunctional in patients with Fabry disease, leading to the toxic build-up of lipids in cells.
The FDA in July last year declined to approve UX111 for Sanfilippo syndrome, a rare neurodegenerative disorder, citing manufacturing issues. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical resubmitted its application ten days ago, expecting a six month review time.
The FDA underwent significant changes during the first year of the second Trump administration, directly affecting business risk and opportunity. Understanding key 2025 trends will be critical to developing regulatory strategies and maximizing opportunities for success.
With a clutch of key data and planned regulatory applications this year from Avidity Biosciences, REGENXBIO and Capricor Therapeutics, CureDuchenne CSO Michael Kelly sees “momentum” in the Duchenne muscular dystrophy pipeline, as Sarepta’s Elevidys leaves the door open.
Sales of Johnson & Johnson’s esketamine-based nasal spray jumped in the fourth quarter last year, priming the pump for a suite of other pharmas, including AbbVie, champing at the bit with their own psychedelics.
With Biogen’s multiple sclerosis portfolio facing more generic pressure than ever, the company is eyeing a busy late-stage pipeline and hunting for deals to build its return to growth.