The Latest
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Adeline Kon/BioPharma Dive
Deep DiveBiotech M&A is picking back up. Here are the latest deals.
Pfizer’s acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics is the seventh biotech buyout this year valued at greater than $1 billion.
Updated Aug. 10, 2022 -
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New Enhertu approval adds to growing role of well-known cancer target
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s drug is the first medicine cleared for lung tumors with mutations to HER2, a gene known for its link to breast cancers.
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Pfizer’s new pneumococcal vaccine meets study goal in children
Pfizer, which competes with Merck in this market, plans to ask the FDA for an expanded approval of its 20-valent shot later this year.
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Shifting focus, ProQR to seek partners for stalled eye drugs
The company will wind down five trials involving two drug candidates and lay off more staff, prioritizing instead its RNA-editing technology.
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Courtesy of EQRx
EQRx, in bid to compete, takes on AstraZeneca’s top seller in head-to-head trial
The study could be critical for a medicine EQRx plans to position as a competitor to Tagrisso. The drug is under review in the U.K., a first for EQRx.
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Kendall Davis/BioPharma Dive
Deep Dive10 clinical trials to watch in the second half of 2022
The biotech industry's downturn accelerated in the first half of the year. Important study readouts for Eisai, Gilead, Merck and Seagen, among others, could determine whether the slump endures.
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Hollie Adams via Getty Images
US takes step to expand monkeypox vaccine supply
The FDA authorized a new plan that could lead to a five-fold increase in available doses. European health officials may follow the agency's lead.
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Permission granted by Disc Medicine
Gemini’s fall gives Disc a way around biotech’s IPO slump
The biotech’s failed attempt to develop an eye drug has ended in a reverse merger that gives startup Disc Medicine a fast path to the public markets.
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NIAID. (2019). "T Regulatory Cells" [Microscope image]. Retrieved from Flickr.
GentiBio partners with Bristol Myers as cell therapy for immune disease gains momentum
The deal, worth as much as $2 billion, is the latest sign of industry interest in treatments that harness regulatory T cells, an approach behind several recent biotech startups.
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Emerging biotechA biotech startup gives Merck its next shot at treating Alzheimer’s
Boston-based Cerevance is searching for new drug targets for neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, although CEO Craig Thompson wouldn’t reveal what its work with Merck will take aim at.
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Adeline Kon/BioPharma Dive
Deep DiveAfter a record run, fewer biotechs are going public. Here’s how they’re performing.
MAIA Biotechnology last week became the first biotech company to price an IPO since late May, and the fifth cancer drug developer to do so this year.
Updated July 28, 2022 -
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J&J’s head of R&D departs as pharma’s leadership turns over
Mathai Mammen is leaving to “pursue other opportunities,” J&J said in an abrupt announcement. William Hait, currently head of external innovation, will take Mammen’s place in the interim.
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SciePro via Getty Images
Fresh off Enhertu success, AstraZeneca and Daiichi claim progress for next cancer drug
A treatment that AstraZeneca acquired for up to $6 billion in 2020 is showing early promise as a combination agent in lung cancer, where it’s being tested alongside Merck & Co.’s Keytruda.
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Carsten Koall via Getty Images
Novavax slashes revenue forecasts amid slow demand for COVID-19 vaccine
The biotech now expects about $2 billion in revenue in 2022, less than half its previous estimates, after sales fell sharply in the second quarter.
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Pfizer, Valneva take next step with Lyme disease shot, starting large trial
The experimental vaccine is the most advanced candidate for the tick-borne disease and, if successful, would be the first to reach the market since withdrawal of GSK’s Lymerix.
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Senate passage of drug pricing bill brings major defeat closer for pharma industry
The legislation, which would allow Medicare to negotiate prices on up to 60 drugs by 2029, passed on a party-line vote and now goes to the House, where it is expected to pass.
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Pfizer buys sickle cell drugmaker Global Blood for $5.4B
The acquisition gives Pfizer access to Oxbryta, an approved drug for the blood condition, as well as two experimental medicines.
Updated Aug. 8, 2022 -
Elizabeth Regan / Industry Dive
Karuna shares soar on schizophrenia drug results
The company plans to ask regulators to approve its KarXT therapy based on the results, which one analyst called “as good as one could hope for.”
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Kris Tripplaar/Sipa/Newscom
Lilly criticizes Indiana abortion law, indicating it may look elsewhere to hire
After Indiana’s governor signed a near-total abortion ban into law, the drugmaker said it will rethink future hiring in the state.
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National Cancer Institute, NIH
Amgen data on KRAS cancer drug disappoints, opening door for rival Mirati
Highly anticipated trial results for Lumakras combinations with immunotherapy fell short of expectations, showing significant liver toxicity that limited dosing.
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Permission granted by Gilead Sciences
How a small UK biotech ended up in Gilead’s hands
MiroBio, which was spun out of the University of Oxford three years ago, drew Gilead’s interest with its autoimmune disease research.
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jxfzsy via Getty Images
FDA approves AstraZeneca, Daiichi drug in breast cancer first
Enhertu is the first targeted therapy cleared for breast cancers that are ‘HER2 low,’ a new classification that could change how doctors treat the disease.
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Lilly takes long view on Alzheimer’s drug as FDA starts expedited review
The pharma said Thursday the FDA had accepted its application for donanemab, starting a six-month evaluation for accelerated approval.
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Sarah Silbiger via Getty Images
Acadia turned back by FDA on second attempt to get psychosis drug approved
The agency issued Acadia a complete response letter for pimavanserin, for which the company had sought to win an expanded clearance in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis.
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iStock via Getty Images
Pharma CEOs press case against drug price negotiation as bill gains support
On earnings calls with investors, executives reiterated opposition to legislation advanced by Democrats that would curtail their pricing power in the U.S.
