News
Even as FDA approvals for biologic therapies fell in the first half of 2026, regulatory experts are optimistic about a turnaround in the rare disease space after the departure of key leaders at the agency. Still, there will continue to be tension between science and politics.
FEATURED STORIES
A mostly black box since emerging with more than a billion dollars in hand, Xaira Therapeutics is slowly pulling back the curtain, revealing plans to find partners and validate its pipeline.
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.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
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.
THE LATEST
Missing one of its co-primary endpoints could make it difficult for Karyopharm Therapeutics to score conventional approval for Xpovio in myelofibrosis, according to Jefferies analysts.
While RA Capital Management has yet to commit to a merger plan, it noted that its new blank-check company, Research Alliance III, could target companies abroad, including those from China.
Gilead continues its dealmaking spree in the sizzling hot space of I&I as Johnson & Johnson, along with partner Protagonist, notched an FDA approval for a new psoriasis drug. Plus, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals gets a new C-suite, FDA releases draft guidance on non-animal models and the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee is not being disbanded after all.
Overall, the top 16 largest pharmaceutical companies spent $159 billion on research and development in 2025, compared to $165 billion the year prior. Here’s where all that cash went at companies like Johnson & Johnson, Amgen and Pfizer.
Trace Neuroscience, a member of BioSpace’s NextGen Class of 2026, has learned from the success of Biogen’s Qalsody and aims to bring more treatment options to the ALS community.
While ersodetug missed the Phase 3 primary endpoint of a reduction in hypoglycemia events, Rezolute argued that this goal was confounded in part by behavioral factors. The FDA acknowledged the validity of this argument.
Draft guidance, issued by the FDA last week, could remove ambiguity and uncertainty that may have so far limited uptake of new approach methodologies, experts told BioSpace, particularly emphasizing the agency’s recommendations around defining NAMs’ regulatory purpose.
Like its pharma peers, Novartis is pouring money into Chinese operations, including expansions and upgrades at an existing manufacturing facility.
Aardvark Therapeutics’ obesity asset is based on its lead molecule, which in February was linked to reversible heart safety signals in a healthy volunteer study.
Gilead’s median employee compensation in 2025 was $238,979. Daniel O’Day’s compensation package is 119 times larger.