News
President Donald Trump plans to start with a “small tariff” on pharmaceutical imports before ramping duties up to 250% within a year and a half.
FEATURED STORIES
While drug developers work to mitigate the side effects associated with GLP-1–based obesity drugs, recent studies reveal that myriad variables are causing patients to stop treatment.
As sales of its COVID vaccine plummet, Novavax is looking ahead toward other novel vaccines, brought to market with the help of the company’s pharma partners—something it opted not to do as the pandemic swept the globe in 2020.
The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee recently voted to narrow the label for checkpoint inhibitors Keytruda and Opdivo in stomach and esophageal cancers based on PD-L1 expression levels—but the high unmet need in these patient populations should also be considered.
Job Trends
Genmab A/S (Nasdaq: GMAB) and Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE PFE) today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has validated for review the marketing authorization application (MAA) of tisotumab vedotin, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), developed for the treatment of adult patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer with disease progression on or after systemic therapy.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
Unpredictable communication and a lack of transparency are eroding the industry’s and the public’s trust. The FDA, experts agree, needs to take control of the narrative.
THE LATEST
While Eli Lilly brushed off concerns about gastrointestinal side effects for oral weight loss candidate orforglipron, analysts from William Blair worried that adverse events are not tapering off as expected.
In combination with Roche’s PD-L1 blocker Tecentriq, zanzalintinib bested Bayer’s Stivarga. Exelixis is positioning the drug candidate as a successor to cabozantinib, which is set to lose patent exclusivity in 2030.
After consistently failing to meet investor expectations, Novo Nordisk touted a safety profile for CagriSema in line with the GLP1-RA class, while reporting mid-stage data for its GLP1- and amylin-targeting drug amycretin that raised dosing questions.
Although the company withheld detailed findings from the study of treatment-resistant depression, analysts at Stifel called COMP360’s efficacy “more than good enough” for registrational purposes.
While BMO Capital Markets said that zimislecel is “highly encouraging” for type 1 diabetes, questions regarding its target population and Vertex’s execution hang over the cell therapy’s commercial potential.
The Inflation Reduction Act includes an exemption for orphan drugs for a single indication, but experts say this is far from sufficient to maintain momentum in the rare disease space.
In advance of this week’s CDC vaccine advisory meeting, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. restacked the committee, claiming problematic industry ties within the previous group. Experts say ACIP had long navigated COIs appropriately and that the new appointees risk the apolitical nature of membership.
Looking for a biopharma job in San Diego? Check out the BioSpace list of eight companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Analysts at William Blair say dapiglutide’s 11.6% weight reduction at 28 weeks could still be better, given that Zealand’s study predominantly included men and enrolled patients with lower BMI at baseline.
Harliku is the only FDA-approved drug for alkaptonuria, a rare condition characterized by skin discoloration, arthritis and heightened risks of heart failure and stroke.