News
Acelyrin and Alumis plan to close their merger in the second quarter of 2025, pending clearances and shareholder approval.
FEATURED STORIES
Despite announcing a broad pivot to siRNA earlier this year, Sarepta is following through with an investigational gene therapy: its limb-girdle muscular dystrophy candidate. But the treatment’s path forward, analysts say, is highly uncertain.
Sheila Gujrathi, former CEO of Gossamer Bio, has written a new book that aims to offer the type of leadership manual she never had in her early career.
The startup, launched out of CEO Kevin Parker’s grad school idyll during the COVID lockdowns, is primed to find new targets where Big Pharmas won’t dare.
Job Trends
Astellas Pharma Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted and granted Priority Review for the company’s Biologics License Application for zolbetuximab, a first-in-class investigational Claudin 18.2 -targeted monoclonal antibody, for first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma whose tumors are CLDN18.2-positive.
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
The November layoffs are the second known workforce reduction this year for Marinus Pharmaceuticals, which previously announced disappointing Phase III results for ganaxolone in two clinical trials.
Allogene is ceasing enrollment in a Phase I trial of cema-cel for patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia after Bristol Myers Squibb’s Breyanzi was approved in the indication earlier this year.
Despite recent enthusiasm around the PD-1/VEGF space, BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman noted that Merck’s pact with LaNova Medicines is more “conservativism” on the pharma’s part than confirmatory of recent data in the drug class.
Plus, communication errors that cost job offers and how to craft a LinkedIn “About” section
GSK is carving out a niche for Blenrep in the second-line multiple myeloma setting, for which it projects multi-blockbuster potential for the antibody-drug conjugate.
Following strong treatment response data for Adaptimmune’s lete-cel, the biotech is planning to initiate a rolling BLA submission to the FDA, set to start by the end of 2025.
The FDA has followed in the footsteps of its European counterparts and granted accelerated approval to PTC Therapeutics’ gene therapy Kebilidi for AADC deficiency. It is the first approved gene therapy to be delivered directly to the brain.
Following patient deaths in a lupus trial that led to the termination of that program, Kezar’s autoimmune candidate zetomipzomib faces a partial clinical hold barring four trial participants from continuing treatment in the open-label portion of the trial, though the trial itself will continue as planned.
Despite crowding in the next-gen weight loss space, Metsera has raised over $500 million since its April launch, indicating a continued appetite for these drugs.
A slow launch for Alzheimer’s medicine Leqembi, a lackluster pipeline and a challenging drug launch environment are just a few of the factors that have sent Biogen’s shares down this year.