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With the recently announced layoffs of 3,500 FDA staffers and exits of branch directors Patrizia Cavazzoni and Peter Marks, there could be a wealth of talent available to biopharma companies. Does this pose an ethical quandary? It depends on who you ask.
FEATURED STORIES
Recent M&A activity indicates a potential resurgence in the appetites of larger companies for psychiatric drug development, but experts say the space may not offer a sufficient risk-reward proposition for R&D.
As we near the end of second quarter of 2024, the initial public offerings among biotechs have slowed, but the market is still going strong.
CEO Pascal Soriot on Tuesday heralded a “new era of growth” for AstraZeneca with plans to launch 20 new medicines in six years. He’s delivered before but can he do it again?
Job Trends
PepGen Inc. announced it has received a No Objection Letter from Health Canada for its Clinical Trial Application to initiate the FREEDOM-DM1 Phase 1 study of PGN-EDODM1 in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
After Emma Walmsley steps down as GSK CEO in January, Vertex Pharma’s Reshma Kewalramani will be the sole female CEO at a top-20 pharma company. Still, there are many prominent women in pharma that could someday break through again.
THE LATEST
Sarepta Therapeutics’ Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy Elevidys handily beat analysts’ expectations in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting the biotech’s “world-class” execution, according to BMO Capital Markets analysts.
The multi-billion deal, in which Eli Lilly will acquire Scorpion Therapeutics’ STX-478 program, is a shot in the arm for PI3K treatments, which have had a mixed history over the past few years.
Passage Bio’s workforce reduction could affect about 32 people, leaving the company with 26 employees as it continues evaluating a treatment for frontotemporal dementia with granulin mutations.
On the heels of an FDA approval for its monoclonal antibody Bizengri, Merus will generate three novel cancer-targeting antibodies that it will pass over to Biohaven to link into antibody drug-conjugates.
Biogen’s proposed acquisition comes after two difficult years of regulatory and clinical challenges, during which shares of Sage Therapeutics have fallen by more than 90%.
Among Intra-Cellular’s neuropsychiatric assets is Caplyta, a pill approved for schizophrenia and bipolar depression and proposed for major depressive disorder.
Gilead’s investment will let it assess the therapeutic potential of targeting STAT6, a transcription factor involved in IL-4 and IL-13 signaling, which in turn are known inflammatory targets.
Emraclidine was the centerpiece of AbbVie’s $8.7 billion acquisition of Cerevel in December 2023 but failed two mid-stage trials. Tavapadon, meanwhile, has been a more rewarding asset for the pharma, clearing three Phase III Parkinson’s studies in 2024.
Metsera will use its IPO proceeds to fund the Phase III development of its injectable, ultra-long-acting GLP-1 therapy MET-097i, which last week achieved 11.3% weight loss in a Phase IIa study.
The first major deal of JPM 2025 will give GSK a promising small molecule drug for gastrointestinal stromal tumors.