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Eli Lilly notches another win over Novo Nordisk, as Zepbound bests CagriSema in a head-to-head trial sponsored by Novo; The FDA kicked off Rare Disease Week, providing draft guidance on its new plausible mechanism pathway, while a bipartisan senate hearing on Thursday will focus on the authorization process for rare conditions; Another leadership change shakes up CDC; and Gilead acquires CAR T partner Arcellx for nearly $8 billion.
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Corsera Health’s Chief Operating Officer Rena Denoncourt and CFO Meredith Kaya speak with BioSpace about the biotech’s mission and vision for the next generation of cardiovascular care.
Billions of dollars’ worth of cancer drugs are discarded each year. Manufacturers must refund Medicare for some of this waste. A data-driven approach offers a practical path to greater efficiency.
Sales of Merck’s longtime oncology blockbuster Keytruda will erode more starkly in about 2033 rather than 2029, predicts Bloomberg Intelligence, translating to some $22 billion more in revenue.
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FDA
Following the FDA’s refusal to review Moderna’s investigational mRNA flu vaccine last week, Commissioner Marty Makary faced questions from the U.S. president about the agency’s handling of vaccines. It’s a clear signal that the tension long brewing at the drug regulator has now gone all the way to the top.
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In August last year, the Health Department cut around $500 million in mRNA research funding, with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. saying the agency would instead divert the money “toward safer, broader vaccine platforms.”
Ecnoglutide, which Pfizer licensed from Sciwind Biosciences, is already approved in China for type 2 diabetes mellitus, and a marketing application for weight loss has been accepted by regulatory authorities in the country.
Following a disappointing Phase 3 performance and given Gossamer Bio’s balance sheet, seralutinib’s path to the market for pulmonary arterial hypertension has become unclear, according to analysts at Guggenheim Partners.
In a Phase 1 study, 82% of patients on VIR-5500 achieved at least a 50% reduction in PSA levels—a result analysts praised as competitive in the prostate cancer space.
Analysts are cautiously optimistic about an IPO rebound for biopharma. BioSpace is keeping track of companies that seek to trade on the public markets this year.
Part of AbbVie’s vow to invest $100 billion in the U.S. over the next decade, the two Illinois facilities will make active ingredients for next-generation neuroscience and obesity drugs when they start operations in 2029.
The necessity of delivering medicine days after it’s produced drives decisions about where to build facilities and how to ship radioactive materials to healthcare providers.
The framework, first introduced by FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research head Vinay Prasad in November, was criticized for lacking detailed guidance. Agency leaders elucidated on the pathway for personalized medicines on Monday.
The new structure will help Merck as it slides toward a loss of exclusivity for Keytruda, pharma’s best-selling drug.
Ralph Abraham, a vocal vaccine skeptic who served at the agency for just three months, has stepped down due to “unforeseen family obligations,” according to the CDC.