Deep Dive
Industry insights from our journalists
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Permission granted by Akili Interactive
Can digital therapeutics be profitable?
Licensing deals with pharmaceutical companies were an early strategy for digital health companies, but not all of them have lasted.
Elise Reuter • April 11, 2022 -
Sarah Silbiger via Getty Images
How a long shot ALS drug came before the FDA
A negative vote from independent experts appears to lower the chances of Amylyx's medicine winning FDA approval. Still, FDA officials have cited flexibility and noted the difficulty of its forthcoming decision.
Jacob Bell • March 28, 2022 -
AbbVie
Two decades and $200 billion: AbbVie's Humira monopoly nears its end
Biosimilar copies of Humira will arrive in the U.S. beginning early next year, testing both AbbVie and the market potential for knockoff biologic drugs.
Jonathan Gardner • March 17, 2022 -
Spencer Platt via Getty Images
'The music stopped': Biotech rout leaves drug startups grounded as demand slumps for IPOs
For the first time in years, biotechs no longer have an easy path onto Wall Street, a market reversal that could change what the next generation of young drugmakers looks like.
Ben Fidler • Feb. 7, 2022 -
Kendall Davis/BioPharma Dive
10 clinical trials to watch in the first half of 2022
Biotech stocks ended 2021 in a slump. But positive results from eagerly anticipated studies in breast cancer, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease could help turn the sector's fortunes around.
Ben Fidler • Updated Jan. 6, 2022 -
Permission granted by The ALS Association
On the hunt for new ALS drugs, researchers see progress, and a long road ahead
The fatal nerve disease has few treatments. But despite continued setbacks, drug developers are hopeful that genetic technologies and a better understanding of biology will bring new options in the not-too-distant future
Jacob Bell • Dec. 13, 2021 -
Seth Babin/BioPharma Dive
Heart attacks struck Sek Kathiresan's family. He's devoted his life to stopping them.
After several family members had early heart attacks, Kathiresan vowed to understand why they happen. His research journey has changed medical practice and led to a new biotech startup, Verve Therapeutics, that seeks to prevent them.
Ben Fidler • Nov. 29, 2021 -
Permission granted by Ed Shipman for Mass Eye and Ear
Years later, a first-of-its-kind treatment shows the power, and limits, of gene therapy
Luxturna, approved four years ago as the first gene therapy for an inherited disease in the U.S., is improving sight and quality of life for several of the patients who received it.
Shoshana Dubnow • Nov. 15, 2021 -
Adeline Kon / BioPharma Dive/BioPharma Dive
A three-decade monopoly: how Amgen built a patent thicket around its top-selling drug
Through high-stakes litigation, aggressive patenting practices and a bit of luck, Amgen will likely stretch Enbrel's monopoly until 2029, more than 30 years after it was approved.
Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 1, 2021 -
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
A play-by-play of the FDA's meeting on Pfizer's vaccine for kids
Experts on the agency's panel dug into questions on the vaccine's safety in younger children, as well as uncertainty over how widely it should be used. Catch up on the discussion here.
Ben Fidler, Shoshana Dubnow and Jonathan Gardner • Updated Oct. 26, 2021 -
Permission granted by Vertex Pharmaceuticals
'This is the time to double down': Top Vertex executives defend research plan as pressure builds
A series of setbacks has led to criticism of the storied biotech's bid to diversify. But Vertex intends to stay the course, its CEO and top scientist say.
Ben Fidler • Sept. 22, 2021 -
Adeline Kon/BioPharma Dive
Biotech M&A is picking back up. Here are the latest deals.
The pace of deals escalated with the buyouts of Radius Health and F-Star Therapeutics. But both were acquired near all-time lows in share price, a sign that biotechs are becoming more willing to accept lower valuations.
Jacob Bell and Julia Himmel • Updated June 24, 2022 -
del Aguila III, Ernesto. (2018). "CRISPR Cas9" [Illustration]. Retrieved from Flickr.
Intellia, with first results, delivers a 'landmark' for CRISPR gene editing
Results published in The New England Journal of Medicine offer the first clinical evidence that CRISPR gene editing inside the body can be safe and effective, a culmination of years of scientific research.
Ben Fidler • June 26, 2021 -
Kendall Davis/BioPharma Dive
8 key clinical trials to watch for the rest of 2021
The next six months could feature clinical milestones for CRISPR gene editing, the treatment of COVID-19 and gene-targeted cancer therapy.
Ben Fidler • June 21, 2021 -
Brian Tucker / BioPharma Dive
'The lights are no longer green': Antitrust regulators reassess pharma deals
The FTC and its counterparts abroad are rethinking their approach to drugmaker acquisitions. Past scrutiny offers clues to where they may look next.
Jonathan Gardner • June 10, 2021 -
Permission granted by Biogen
A first-of-its-kind Alzheimer's drug raises heavy questions around who will and won't get it
Biogen priced its newly approved medicine Aduhelm at an average cost of $56,000 a year, adding affordability to other barriers patients may face.
Jacob Bell • June 8, 2021 -
Permission granted by Biogen
In historic move, FDA approves a closely watched and controversial Alzheimer's drug
The decision cleared the way for what many predicted would become a lucrative treatment. But a high price and controversy over whether Biogen's Aduhelm benefits patients weighed heavily on the drug's launch.
Jacob Bell • Updated June 7, 2021 -
Kena Betancur via Getty Images
Trump tax law cut what US drugmakers owed. Now they fear an increase.
The 2017 law saved pharmaceutical companies billions of dollars, BioPharma Dive found. Executives are now fiercely opposing tax hikes proposed by President Biden, claiming they've since boosted domestic investment.
Jonathan Gardner • May 17, 2021 -
Permission granted by Gilead Sciences
How Gilead finally spent its money
This year, the biotech spent about $27 billion trying to become a leader in cancer research. Executives who spoke to BioPharma Dive said there's still work to be done.
Jacob Bell • Nov. 24, 2020 -
Adeline Kon/BioPharma Dive
After a record run, fewer biotechs are going public. Here's how they're performing.
Only a handful of the 118 biotechs that have gone public since the start of 2021 trade above their offering price. Both of the two top performers, Belite Bio and Nuvectis Pharma, started out with small valuations.
Ben Fidler • Updated June 16, 2022 -
Permission granted by Cheryl Yoder
From no drugs to 3: Patients with spinal muscular atrophy now face hard choices
The availability of three vastly different, cutting-edge medicines for the rare disease has put patients, families and doctors in an unfamiliar position.
Jonathan Gardner • Oct. 5, 2020 -
Danielle Ternes/BioPharma Dive
How biotech and pharma companies pay their CEOs, and their workers
The median CEO of 231 drug companies analyzed by BioPharma Dive earned 50% more last year than in 2017, a leap that far outpaced the more modest pay gains among employees.
Ned Pagliarulo • Sept. 9, 2020 -
Permission granted by Relay Therapeutics
Relay Therapeutics set out to change how drugs are designed. Can it continue what Vertex began?
Vertex pioneered a more precise way of developing drugs. Relay, which has raised nearly $1 billion since its founding, thinks it can go one step further.
Ned Pagliarulo • Aug. 24, 2020 -
Danielle Ternes/BioPharma Dive
A cure for hemophilia seemed closer than ever. For many patients, it's now further out of reach
The surprise rejection of BioMarin's hemophilia A gene therapy delayed a decades-long mission to fix the rare bleeding disorder.
Jacob Bell • Updated Aug. 19, 2020 -
Courtesy of Lonza Ltd.
Vaccines can end the coronavirus pandemic. Will every country get them?
Scientists around the world are racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine. But the factories slated to make the leading candidates are concentrated in a handful of countries, raising concerns about global access.
Jonathan Gardner • June 23, 2020
