The Latest
-
Deep Dive
Biotech M&A is picking back up. Here are the latest deals.
Despite newly realized fears of an activist FTC, analysts expect dealmaking to continue this year with small buyouts like Ironwood’s acquisition of VectivBio as well as larger M&A.
Updated May 22, 2023 -
Illumina chair loses to Icahn pick as proxy battle ends
The decision to replace board Chair John Thompson could change the company’s course as it decides whether to divest liquid biopsy company Grail.
Updated May 25, 2023 -
BenevolentAI CFO resigns as company lays off staff, restructures
The biotech, one of several AI drug discovery specialists to go public in recent years, is cutting up to 180 jobs and reorganizing its pipeline to conserve cash.
-
Apellis abandons ALS drug after study miss
The trial failure is the second for an ALS medicine this week, adding to a lengthy list of study setbacks that have thinned the pipeline of experimental medicines for the disease in recent years.
-
PTC lays off staff, fires CFO as neuromuscular drug study fails
The biotech is giving up on early-stage gene therapy research as part of a restructuring meant to cut costs and redirect resources toward therapies most likely to succeed.
-
Annexon claims a silver lining in failed eye drug study
The company’s geographic atrophy drug didn’t slow the growth of eye lesions, as similar medicines have in clinical testing. But executives said it may have helped preserve some patients’ vision.
-
House lawmakers, PBM lobby spar over committee hearing
At the latest congressional inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers, lawmakers argued the middlemen profit at the expense of patients and taxpayers.
-
Digital health funding holds steady in Q1 after year of decline
The sector defied trends seen in the larger venture capital environment, where funding continues to fall. But investment is still at years-low levels.
-
Deep Dive
After a record run, fewer biotechs are going public. Here’s how they’re performing.
Though it’s early and the sample size is small, the majority of biotechs that have gone public in 2023 have held their value, a departure from each of the previous five years.
Updated May 26, 2023 -
FDA approves new antibiotic for hospital-acquired pneumonia
The drug, called Xacduro, will be made available later this year by Innoviva Specialty Therapeutics, a new company formed from antibiotic developers Entasis and La Jolla.
-
Obesity drugs
Novo says oral version of obesity drug succeeds in large study
The company plans to seek approvals of the drug, a more convenient form of the popular injectable medicine Wegovy, later this year.
-
Blueprint wins key FDA approval for rare disease drug
The clearance of Ayvakit in indolent systemic mastocytosis is important to the biotech’s future. But the drug’s sales potential isn’t clear, and a top competitor is close behind.
-
Concentra bids on Atea, seeking to acquire another struggling biotech
The company behind the recent takeover of Jounce Therapeutics is looking to buy a second drug developer to potentially sell for parts.
-
ALS drug development
Wave shelves ALS drug following trial setback
A small study found patients on the experimental therapy fared no better than those receiving a placebo, dealing yet another blow to Wave’s research efforts.
-
Ironwood to buy rare disease drugmaker in billion-dollar deal
The acquisition would give Ironwood a drug in late-stage testing for a condition known as short bowel syndrome, further building out the company’s gastrointestinal-focused research.
-
Future of Intercept’s NASH drug in doubt after FDA panel rejection
The safety risks of obeticholic acid were too great for an advisory committee to recommend approval without clear proof of its benefits. But collecting that data may not be “economically feasible,” an executive said.
Updated May 22, 2023 -
Novartis buys rare disease gene therapy from Avrobio
The pharma will pay nearly $90 million to acquire Avrobio’s treatment for cystinosis, an inherited condition caused by the toxic buildup of an amino acid.
-
FDA approves Krystal gene therapy for rare wound disorder
Cleared to treat dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, Vyjuvek is the sixth gene therapy for an inherited disease to gain clearance in the U.S.
-
Teva puts rival to Prometheus, Pfizer drugs at center of turnaround plans
At an investor day, executives highlighted an experimental inflammatory disease drug targeting the protein TL1A as important to their long-term growth.
Updated May 19, 2023 -
Moderna reports ‘encouraging’ early data for one of its rare disease medicines
Now known for its vaccine research, the biotech said its clinical trial is the first to report results of a messenger RNA therapeutic designed for intracellular protein replacement.
-
Supreme Court sides with Sanofi, Regeneron in patent fight with Amgen
The court’s ruling could open the door for challenges to older classes of antibody therapies, said one legal expert, who added that it will give competitors “solace.”
Updated May 18, 2023 -
RSV vaccines
FDA advisers back maternal use of Pfizer RSV vaccine
The panel voted 14-0 that Pfizer’s data showed its shot to be effective. The vaccine could be the first for protecting infants by maternal immunization.
-
Mustang pares research, sells manufacturing plant to save money
The biotech joins a score of other cell and gene therapy developers that, on the heels of a historic market downturn, have cut costs.
-
Carol Highsmith. (2005). "The Apex Building" [Photo]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
On heels of Amgen lawsuit, FTC broadens investigation of PBMs
The regulator is probing the business practices of two more drug purchasing organizations, deepening an investigation that began last year.
-
Emerging biotech
Siren emerges from stealth with plans to marry gene therapy to cancer immunotherapy
Spun out of the lab of former UCSF researcher Nicole Paulk, the biotech is targeting brain and eye tumors with a new kind of treatment it has dubbed “immuno-gene therapy.”