Pipeline
While AstraZeneca has discontinued work on four assets—including one in asthma and another in acromegaly—the pharma has also elected to take forward a bispecific antibody that destroys the EGFR protein.
Over the last two years, Alector has suffered three setbacks for its neurodegenerative disease pipeline, often forcing the company to downsize.
Executives insist Novartis will return to growth in the second half, but for Q1 2026, generic erosion drove a 5% drop in revenue, including a 46% nosedive for blockbuster heart failure drug Entresto.
Pfizer’s decision to cut its early-stage cancer asset was due to “strategic business reasons” and not driven by safety or efficacy concerns.
Eli Lilly and Rigel Pharmaceuticals partnered in February 2021 to advance a pair of RIPK1 blockers, but the pharma in October last year pulled the plug on one of these programs for central nervous system indications.
The Phase 3 failure has prompted Gilead Sciences and Arcus Biosciences to terminate a mid-stage study of their TIGIT asset in lung cancer.
After a Phase 2 flop, Brinsupri exits the race to market for the chronic skin disease hidradenitis suppurativa, but other companies, including Incyte, Novartis and UCB, have recently notched clinical and regulatory victories.
Some disease areas bucked the trend of shrinking pipelines, however, with immune and cardiovascular indications seeing an upward trend in investigational assets.
In the buyout, Eli Lilly picks up Centessa Pharmaceuticals’ lead asset cleminorexton, which could go toe-to-toe with Takeda’s oveporexton, currently under FDA review with a decision expected in the third quarter.
Beam is now in the strongest position of all companies advancing a genetic therapy for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, according to analysts at William Blair.
PRESS RELEASES