The Latest
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Adeline Kon/BioPharma Dive
Deep DiveAfter a record run, fewer biotechs are going public. Here's how they're performing.
Only a handful of biotechs that IPO'd since 2021 trade above their original offering price, while more than 100 are underwater as the sector's market downturn endures.
Updated May 19, 2022 -
AbbVie
AbbVie asks FDA to approve Parkinson's treatment
The company believes the treatment, which uses prodrug versions of two commonly used Parkinson's medications, could be a longer-lasting option for patients and blockbuster product for AbbVie.
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (2017). "Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus" [Micrograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
Trial setback casts doubt on a biotech's respiratory virus drug
As vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus progressed, Enanta used its hepatitis C know-how to develop an antiviral pill. Yet data in lower-risk patients raise questions of whether it can work.
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Permission granted by Odyssey Therapeutics
Cancer drug startup draws former Vertex CEO to board
Jeffrey Leiden will team up again with biotech entrepreneur Gary Glick, this time as board chairman of Glick's new company, the recently launched Odyssey Therapeutics.
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Courtesy of Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex adds to Boston expansion with plans for new site
The addition, which will be located next to the company's newly dedicated cell and gene facility, could make Vertex the largest biotech by square footage in the city.
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Adeline Kon/BioPharma Dive
Deep DiveBiotech M&A, despite big expectations, has yet to pick back up. Here are the latest deals.
Pfizer's nearly $12 billion buyout of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals is the largest biotech acquisition this year and matches the size of notable deals done last year by Merck and CSL.
Updated May 10, 2022 -
Maddie Meyer via Getty Images
Moderna may seek to claw back payments to ex-CFO
Jorge Gomez, who lasted one day on the job before being ousted over an investigation at his former company, is owed $700,000 — money Moderna says it can recoup if wrongdoing is proven.
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Permission granted by Gilead Sciences
Gilead, having resolved manufacturing issues, forges ahead with HIV drug
The company can now resume testing in nearly a dozen studies that were paused due to FDA concerns about interactions between the drug, lenacapavir, and the glass vials in which it was contained.
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Image courtesy of Ultragenyx.
Ultragenyx strikes deal with struggling Abeona for rare disease gene therapy
The treatment, which is designed to treat Sanfilippo syndrome, could become Ultragenyx's first gene therapy to reach market in the U.S., according to the biotech's CEO.
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Permission granted by Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol Myers' Opdivo comes up short in bladder cancer trial
The top-selling immunotherapy failed to improve survival in first-line urothelial carcinoma, a tumor type that's proved difficult to treat with drugs like Opdivo.
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Jacob Bell / BioPharma Dive
FDA approves oral version of Mitsubishi's ALS drug
Called Radicava ORS, this version is taken by mouth rather than via an hourlong infusion, which may help improve the drug's convenience and use.
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (2020). "Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2" [Micrograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
NIH licenses COVID-19 technologies to WHO-backed program
The agreement, which covers three experimental vaccines as well as several key patents, will be royalty free for products sold in 49 low-income countries.
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Sarah Silbiger via Getty Images
BridgeBio sale of FDA voucher good news for Bluebird, other biotech sellers
The drugmaker was able to get $110 million for its voucher, a kind of regulatory fast pass. Other vouchers have sold for similar amounts, boding well for Bluebird, which plans to sell two that it hopes to get this year.
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Permission granted by Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol Myers acquires BridgeBio drug aimed at emerging cancer target
The pharma will pay $90 million to license BridgeBio's experimental candidate, joining a lengthening list of large drugmakers aiming to treat cancer by blocking a protein called SHP2.
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SciePro via Getty Images
Taiho, chasing larger rivals, buys back rights to Cullinan cancer drug
The deal hands $275 million upfront to Cullinan, whose medicine is being developed for a genetic driver of lung tumors that's become a top target for drugmakers.
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Permission granted by Bristol-Myers Squibb
Key Bristol Myers drug holds up in long-term psoriasis study
Deucravacitnib, forecast by Bristol Myers to hit $4 billion in peak sales, is under FDA review with an approval decision due by September. The agency's view of its safety will be key to its future.
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iStock via Getty Images
Roche cancer immunotherapy fails another trial, casting doubt on emerging drug class
A treatment combination involving Roche's anti-TIGIT medicine tiragolumab missed its goal in a Phase 3 lung cancer study that was viewed as a proof point for the drug class.
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Maddie Meyer via Getty Images
Moderna's finance head is out as former employer conducts investigation
Jorge Gomez, who officially took the CFO reins Monday, lasted one day on the job. His departure comes as Gomez's previous company, Dentsply Sirona, looks into financial allegations against current and former executives.
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Permission granted by Sekar Kathiresan
In first, Verve gets clearance to test base editing inside the body
Regulators in New Zealand have allowed human testing to proceed, another milestone for the gene editing technology. Verve plans to soon ask for approval to begin testing in the U.S. and U.K., too.
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Sarah Silbiger via Getty Images
With spotlight on FDA, Congress weighs reforms to accelerated drug approvals
The proposed changes could have a notable impact on cell and gene therapy developers, many of which are advancing rare disease therapies that rely on speedy approval pathways.
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Permission granted by Moma Therapeutics
Against a historic market downturn, Moma Therapeutics raises $150M for precision cancer research
The biotech's Series B round, which kicked off early this year, should fund its work on "molecular machines" until at least 2024, according to CEO Asit Parikh.
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Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
Pfizer to acquire Biohaven in $11.6B bet on biotech's migraine drugs
The deal, which hands Pfizer full rights to the biotech's fast-selling Nurtec ODT, could provide a much needed spark for the sector after months of stock market declines.
Updated May 10, 2022 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
J&J ends hepatitis B, HPV vaccine work with Bavarian Nordic
The companies' hepatitis B program never reached clinical testing, while J&J said it would no longer develop an HPV vaccine because of the "widespread uptake" of effective shots from other companies.
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Former Novartis exec joins ADC Therapeutics as CEO after brief stint as Rafael head
Ameet Mallik takes over for founder Chris Martin at helm of the antibody drug developer after a seven-month run leading Rafael Holdings, which reported a clinical trial setback last October.
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Jacob Bell / BioPharma Dive
Clay Siegall, founding Seagen CEO, takes leave amid domestic violence accusation
The company's board is investigating the allegation, which Siegall, who has led Seattle's largest biotech for 24 years, denied. Chief Medical Officer and former Merck executive Roger Dansey was named interim CEO.
