FDA
The approval of Eli Lilly’s oral obesity drug officially ignites an intense competition with Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy; Gilead Sciences and Neurocrine Biosciences keep the M&A train chugging; Trump hits pharma with his long promised tariffs, and the FDA proposes many changes with 2027 budget.
If the Trump administration’s proposal passes, the FDA’s budget will be more than $200 million bigger in 2027, with plans to launch new programs that expedite drug development, boost national security and promote “radical transparency.”
The upcoming FDA decision for Replimune’s advanced melanoma drug could be a litmus test for the agency’s future regulatory decision-making, analysts say, with implications stretching well beyond one company.
While recent FDA guidance speaks to the agency’s support of innovative trial designs—including the use of external controls—the application of this flexibility appears to be inconsistent. One former regulator says the situation is more nuanced.
Nobel laureate Sir Michael Houghton and colleagues at Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API) outline how rigorous early testing, smart IP and regulatory planning, and scalable CMC choices can help founders reach first-in-human faster.
With CBER director Vinay Prasad set to depart the agency at the end of the month, a coalition of patient groups and biotech executives penned a letter imploring the Trump administration to “restore regulatory clarity” for rare disease therapies. Experts on a BioSpace panel last week also acknowledged the challenges faced by a more stringent FDA.
Drug discovery can be an uphill battle, especially lately given recent upheaval at the FDA and muted investment activity. BioSpace spoke to four industry executives about key issues facing those working in this space, starting with planning around uncertainty.
The FDA approved Eli Lilly’s orforglipron—to be known as Foundayo—on Wednesday, officially igniting what analysts believe will be a fierce rivalry with Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy.
Biogen, Eli Lilly, Merck and Novartis spent more than $20 billion to absorb biotechs with promising or approved drugs; the rare disease space notched approvals for therapies from Denali Therapeutics, Rocket Pharmaceuticals and Biogen; and Wave’s stock lost half its value after its RNA-based obesity candidate failed to impress investors.
The FDA rejected the high-dose regimen of Spinraza in September last year due to manufacturing concerns.
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