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FDA
The FDA greenlit 26 novel therapies in the first half of 2026, including four for cancer and six for orphan indications. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson took home a combined 11 of the agency’s 79 total approvals, including supplemental nods.
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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.
Early-stage financing rounds are on track to hit their lowest dollar value in years as funders continue to eschew risky investments, experts told BioSpace.
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.
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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.
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The acquisition announced Monday will give Crown access to Revance’s Daxxify, a competitor to AbbVie’s Botox, which is indicated for frown lines and for cervical dystonia.
At a private event held amid the fallout from the CrowdStrike incident, cybersecurity issues took a front seat, with the consequences of the evolving EU AI Act and the Loper Bright and Corner Post decisions also raising concerns for quality assurance and regulatory affairs professionals.
RSV
Pfizer on Monday reported a “strong neutralizing response” against both subtypes of respiratory syncytial virus across all cohorts and age groups, according to topline data.
The Connecticut-based biotech, which emerged from stealth last year, has secured $202 million to date as it looks to move two assets targeting prostate and breast cancer into the clinic.
FibroGen expects its headcount reduction, which is tied to eliminating 75% of its U.S. workforce, to be mostly complete by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Ascendis Pharma’s palopegteriparatide was previously rejected by the regulator due to manufacturing problems, and the review period for its resubmitted application was extended by three months.
A day after the regulator denied approval of Lykos’ MDMA-assisted PTSD therapy, a medical journal pulled three studies related to the use of the psychedelic in the indication.
Humacyte’s stock price dropped 18% in after-hours trading Friday after the company announced the FDA requires additional time to review its Biologic License Application. No reason was given for the delay or an updated decision date.
ARS Pharma’s neffy on Friday became the first FDA-approved nasal spray to address severe allergic reactions, including those that might lead to life-threatening anaphylaxis.
Hundreds of companies are currently running clinical trials in the increasingly lucrative obesity space. BioSpace looks at five candidates with data expected before the end of the year.