The Latest

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    Vaccines

    mRNA cancer vaccines’ biggest barriers to market

    Manufacturing hurdles are just one challenge the industry must overcome to commercialize personalized mRNA cancer vaccines.

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    Deep Dive // Emerging biotech

    Biotech startups are built on venture capital. Track funding rounds here.

    Six biotechs raised over $700 million in combined venture funding this week, though two of those companies — Solstice Oncology and Encoded Therapeutics — accounted for the bulk of the total.

    Updated Sept. 11, 2026
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    News roundup

    Karyopharm pushes off debt payment; Amgen eyes broader Imdelltra use

    Karyopharm bought an extra month to negotiate with creditors or pursue a deal. Elsewhere, BridgeBio Pharma’s oncology spinout shook up its development plans and a brain-focused gene therapy startup banked $275 million.

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    Andy Plump, architect of Takeda’s R&D overhaul, to retire next year

    Plump joined Takeda during a turbulent period, pushed the company to work more closely with young biotechs and will leave it with what CEO Julie Kim called a “lasting foundation.”

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    FDA places partial hold on Biohaven’s epilepsy drug

    Announced mere weeks after Biohaven sold off rights to the therapy, opakalim, the halt affects a study some analysts believe is necessary to support a potential approval.

    FDA
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    Startup launches

    A new immuno-oncology play raises $225M for a next-generation drug

    Solstice Oncology is advancing a medicine from China’s Harbour BioMed that it believes is able to address the weaknesses of drugs aimed at CTLA-4, a popular but tricky cancer immunotherapy target.

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    Sarah Silbiger via Getty Images
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    Trump administration

    FDA gains ‘continuity’ as Mikhail, Davis named permanent CBER, CDER leaders

    After almost two years of turnover in the FDA’s top ranks, the new appointments should help ease concerns about more turmoil ahead, one analyst said. 

    FDA
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    Novartis RNA drug falls short in rare muscle disease study

    The failure of “del-desiran,” which Novartis got through a $12 billion acquisition, could raise questions about the company’s business development acumen, according to one analyst.

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    Tyra disappoints investors with bladder cancer data

    Remission rates observed in a Phase 2 trial fell short of Wall Street's expectations, though some analysts believe the company should see better results in late-stage testing.

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    Startup launches

    Kura spins diabetes work into a Lilly-backed biotech startup

    Caspian Therapeutics aims to develop menin inhibitors, which have proven effective against leukemia, for diabetes and other cardiometabolic conditions.

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    Novartis, Ionis drug failure spurs questions about an emerging class of heart medicines

    Pelacarsen didn’t protect heart health despite lowering levels of a protein particle, “Lp(a),” in a large clinical trial — a surprise result with important implications for cardiovascular drug research.

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    Immune reset

    Autoimmune CAR-T faces tough questions after Novartis, Bristol Myers study halts

    Wall Street analysts believe that a more cautious approach to manufacturing, study enrollment and side effect management could help developers avoid future safety hazards.

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    News roundup

    Roivant surges on ‘exceptional’ results; Bristol Myers touts first-of-its-kind CAR-T therapy

    One analyst views Roivant’s pulmonary hypertension drug as a future $10 billion-plus seller. Elsewhere, AstraZeneca overcame a negative advisory committee vote and Pharvaris claimed success in a key study.

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    Obesity drugs

    Moonwalk reloads with $70M and new RNAi prospects for obesity

    The California biotech plans to bring its first drug, enabled by licensing technology from a Chinese drugmaker, into clinical testing for obesity by the end of 2027.

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    This week in charts: China deals, stock flatlines and Lilly’s M&A spree

    Deals with Chinese drugmakers are continuing at a steady pace, while two mid-cap biotechs' stock prices took a tumble this week. Meanwhile, Lilly has outpaced other pharmas in dealmaking this year.

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    Courtesy of Seattle Children's Hospital
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    BrainChild hauls in $116M to make cell therapies for childhood brain cancers

    Spun out of research at Seattle Children’s Hospital, the startup has brought a CAR-T treatment for a rare and deadly pediatric cancer into mid-stage testing.

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    News roundup

    Ionis’ rare neurology drug approved; Pfizer inks an ADC deal

    Zanvastro is now the first approved medicine for Alexander disease. Elsewhere, an immune system specialist posted positive results and a cell therapy developer turned to layoffs.

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    Alamy
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    Trailing rivals, AbbVie scores win with dual-acting myeloma drug

    The drugmaker is leaning on a better side effect profile compared to drugs from J&J, Pfizer and Regeneron as it pushes etentamig toward FDA submission.

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    The hidden scale-out problem behind CAR-T’s growth

    CAR-T’s commercial challenge is making thousands of patient-specific manufacturing runs behave like one reliable system. "In vivo" production techniques could be one solution.

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    Ultragenyx to weigh ‘significant’ cost cuts as Angelman drug fails key study

    The failure of what was once considered a potential blockbuster therapy represents a major setback in a tough-to-treat disease and is forcing Ultragenyx to closely examine its expenses.

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    Immune reset

    Novartis, Bristol Myers pause autoimmune CAR-T trials due to safety concerns

    The deaths of three study participants led Novartis to halt development of rap-cel in multiple indications, while “transient” side effects pushed Bristol Myers to voluntarily pause its zola-cel program.

    Updated Sept. 1, 2026
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    Akeso, Summit cancer drug confirms lung cancer survival benefit

    A new data cut of a trial pitting ivonescimab, a bispecific antibody, against Merck’s Keytruda showed the new drug helped people live longer.

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    Emerging biotech

    An AI drug specialist zeroes in on rare forms of obesity

    Superluminal Medicines banked $60 million in funding to support development of a drug designed to work similarly to — but potentially be more selectively than — Rhythm Pharmaceuticals’ marketed medicine Imcivree.

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    ESC ‘26: Cytokinetics’ sell-off, Arrowhead’s edge and a heart drug autopsy

    At a big meeting for cardiovascular medicines, Cytokinetics and Arrowhead aimed to separate their drugs from competitors while a failed study pressured Alnylam.

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    China competition

    GSK wagers up to $1.3B on a different kind of cancer drug

    With its latest foray into China, GSK acquired rights from Hutchmed to an “antibody-targeted therapy conjugate” impacting two well-known cancer drivers, EGFR and KRAS.