BioSpace

BioSpace

Unravel the business of science with BioSpace. We dive into biopharma's top stories and biggest challenges, whether it’s layoffs, pipeline shake-ups, acquisitions, new FDA approvals or how to regulate AI in drug development.

  1. Q3 Earnings Are Here, Novo Ditches Cell Therapy but Buys Akero, Gov’t Shutdown Hits CDC

    4일 전

    Q3 Earnings Are Here, Novo Ditches Cell Therapy but Buys Akero, Gov’t Shutdown Hits CDC

    Johnson & Johnson kicked off Q3 earnings season on Tuesday with the announcement that it is splitting its orthopedics and medtech operations and that it has yet to reach a drug pricing deal with the White House, though CEO Joaquin Duato did say those discussions are ongoing.   In advance of its Nov. 5 earnings call, Novo Nordisk, under the direction of new CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar, has been busy making moves, doubling down on MASH last week with its $5.2 billion buy of Akero. Then this week, Novo became the latest company to cut cell therapy, following Takeda’s recent exit from the space.  Meanwhile, as the government shutdown continues, so too does the chaos at the CDC, where more than 1,000 employees received termination notices last Friday—only for hundreds to be told never mind. At the FDA, however, there is some consistency despite the overhaul, with the agency on track for an average number of approvals this year. And a recent report on breakthrough designations shows that the regulatory award often leads to an FDA greenlight.  On the legislative front, the BIOSECURE Act is back, as a slimmed down version passed the Senate last week as part of the defense spending bill. The latest version of BIOSECURE, which is meant to distance American biopharma from Chinese collaborators, doesn’t name specific companies as previous iterations did and must still gain the Senate’s support.

    28분
  2. Shutdown Pauses New Drug Reviews, CDC Issues New COVID Guidance, CGT Meets on Mesa

    10월 8일

    Shutdown Pauses New Drug Reviews, CDC Issues New COVID Guidance, CGT Meets on Mesa

    The U.S. government is now in its second week of a shutdown—with the FDA having paused acceptance of all new drug applications for the duration. But it was business as usual at the CDC, which adopted the recent recommendations of its newly revamped advisory committee on chickenpox and COVID-19 vaccines. And another senior leader, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Jeanne Marrazzo, was fired last week, after filing a whistleblower report.   Across the country, cell and gene therapy leaders arrived in Phoenix for the annual Meeting on the Mesa, as the space remains in a state of flux—with regulatory and M&A momentum being stalled by commercial and market challenges. Takeda, for one, is looking to offload its cell therapy platform after years of hefty investment.   President Donald Trump’s long-awaited tariffs did not hit on Oct. 1 as promised. But in the face of the looming levies, Pfizer signed a drug pricing deal with the White House that provides a three-year exemption. Amgen appears to be climbing onboard as well, announcing that its lipid-lowering drug Repatha will be available at a steep discount. These moves are all well and good for Big Pharma players, but a recent report from CRB reveals most smaller biopharma companies are not planning any investments to offset tariffs.   In our weekly weight loss segment, Skye Bioscience’s cannabinoid receptor 1-targeting candidate nimacimab failed to outpace placebo in reducing body weight but elicited “intriguing synergy” in combination with Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, according to William Blair analysts. And regulatory documents shed further light on Pfizer’s $4.9 billion takeover of Metsera, in which the New York pharma beat out two higher bidders for the promising obesity startup.   Finally, make sure to check out The 5 Most Powerful Women in Biopharma and BioSpace’s inaugural 40 Under 40, highlighting 40 young leaders who have made an impact on the biopharma industry.

    29분
  3. M&A Picks Up, Walmsley Moves On, Pfizer’s MFN Deal and Hope for Huntington’s

    10월 1일

    M&A Picks Up, Walmsley Moves On, Pfizer’s MFN Deal and Hope for Huntington’s

    Genmab closed out a busy third quarter for M&A in biopharma, picking up cancer biotech Merus for $8 billion. This deal—the year’s fifth largest—came just a week after Pfizer acquired rising obesity star Metsera for $4.9 billion. Just seven days later, Metsera made the New York–based pharma look like a genius with mid-stage data for one of the deal’s centerpiece therapies, MET-097i, showing 14% placebo-adjusted weight loss over 28 weeks. After months of tarrying and threats, President Donald Trump announced last week that 100% tariffs would take effect Oct. 1—with broad exceptions for companies that have taken steps to build out their domestic manufacturing footprints. One company that has answered that call—as well as a letter sent by the president to 17 of the largest pharma companies requesting action on his most-favored-nation drug pricing policy—is Pfizer. In a joint oval office announcement with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and HHS officials, Trump said Pfizer would offer all new medicines at MFN prices. Meanwhile, over at the FDA, CDER Director George Tidmarsh, who has flown relatively under the radar since taking the post in July, took to LinkedIn to address the subject of relying on surrogate endpoints in drug approvals. In a since deleted post, Tidmarsh called out Aurinia Pharmaceuticals’ lupus drug as an “egregious” example of this phenomenon. CDER’s sister agency, CBER, also made a splash last week, publishing three draft recommendations intended to accelerate the development of cell and gene therapies. Speaking of CGT, maybe the biggest clinical development news of the year emerged from this space last week when uniQure announced that its gene therapy for Huntington’s disease, AMT-130, slowed disease progression by 75% after three years. With these data in hand, uniQure plans to file for FDA approval of the treatment in the first quarter of 2026. If successful, AMT-130 would be the first genetic therapy for the intractable neurodegenerative disease. Finally, biopharma’s glass ceiling just got a little more tightly sealed. Emma Walmsley, the industry’s first female CEO, is stepping down after nine years at GSK, handing the reins to current chief commercial officer, Luke Miels. When Walmsley officially departs on Dec. 31, she will leave Vertex CEO Reshma Kewalramani and incoming Takeda CEO Julie Kim to represent the sisterhood at the highest ranks of the biopharma industry.

    22분
  4. FDA’s Autism Endeavor, Pfizer’s Obesity Comeback Bid, Psychedelics Revival, ACIP Confusion, More

    9월 24일

    FDA’s Autism Endeavor, Pfizer’s Obesity Comeback Bid, Psychedelics Revival, ACIP Confusion, More

    The FDA is working to reapprove GSK’s long-dormant drug Wellcovorin (leucovorin) for cerebral folate deficiency, which the agency linked to “developmental delays with autistic features.” This immediately followed a much-anticipated press conference in which President Donald Trump, flanked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and other healthcare administrators, linked the use of Tylenol during pregnancy to rising rates of autism.   Meanwhile, Pfizer woke us all up Monday with the news that it had acquired breakout obesity rockstar Metsera for $4.9B. The deal should pump new life into Pfizer’s portfolio, which over the last two years has suffered three discontinued assets. Bite-sized deals—or those at or below the $5 billion mark—have defined biopharma recently, with Roche picking up metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis biotech 89bio for a potential $3.5 billion last week and Novartis putting another $5.7 billion on the line with partner Monte Rosa Therapeutics in a second molecular glue agreement.   Another therapeutic space primed for M&A action is psychedelics. After AbbVie bought Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals’ lead depression asset for $1.2B last month, BioSpace spoke sought opinions from experts on who might be next to take the plunge. A few potential names included Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck.   On the policy front, the CDC’s revamped vaccine advisory committee convened for their first meeting to discuss COVID-19, MMRV and hepatitis B vaccine schedules. Industry watchers who spoke to BioSpace commented on the “lack of knowledge” and dearth of previous experience on the committee. And while the advisors ultimately voted to change the schedule for the MMRV vaccine, it appears unlikely to significantly affect manufacturers’ bottom lines.  Finally, in rare disease, Stealth BioTherapeutics secured its long-sought approval for elamipretide—now Forzinity—in Barth syndrome—a disorder that would fall under the purview of the FDA’s new Rare Disease Evidence Principles framework for ultra rare diseases affecting less than 1,000 people in the U.S. And we said “Bye Bye Bluebird,” as the famed gene therapy biotech—which was recently bought out by two private equity firms—returned to its original moniker, Genetix Biotherapeutics.   Lastly, make sure to sign up for Biopharm Executive here for access to a special deep dive into China biopharma.

    32분
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Unravel the business of science with BioSpace. We dive into biopharma's top stories and biggest challenges, whether it’s layoffs, pipeline shake-ups, acquisitions, new FDA approvals or how to regulate AI in drug development.

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