Today, a brief rundown of news involving Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer, as well as updates from Takeda and Axsome Therapeutics and that you may have missed.
A newly approved drug from Otsuka Pharmaceuticals helped preserve the kidney function of people with IgA nephropathy, but didn’t fully stabilize the condition. Data presented Thursday showed that Phase 3 study participants who received Otsuka’s Voyxact had an annualized 3 point decline in “eGFR,” a measure of how well the kidneys filter blood, after a year. Placebo recipients had a 7.6-point drop comparatively. Those results came in “well below prior expectations” for drugs like Voyxact, a first-of-its-kind IgAN therapy targeting the “APRIL” protein, wrote Jefferies analyst Farzin Haque. The findings also leave an opening for competitors like Vera Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, both of which have dual-acting medicines nearing regulatory approvals. Vera and Vertex haven’t yet disclosed similar eGFR data from their pivotal studies. — Ben Fidler
Pfizer is partnering with AI drug developer Chai Discovery in a deal designed to speed up its drug research. The companies didn’t disclose financial details, but said that, through the pact, Pfizer will gain access to an AI model that can aid with the design of therapeutic antibodies. In a statement, Chai co-founder Joshua Meier said the deal will help Pfizer “pursue targets that traditional methods have struggled to reach.” Chai, which officially debuted last year and has raised nearly $230 million in venture financing, also has an R&D collaboration in place with Eli Lilly. — Gwendolyn Wu
An experimental drug that’s part of a multibillion-dollar alliance between Takeda and Innovent Biologics has succeeded in a Phase 3 study in China. Innovent said Thursday that the therapy, known as IBI343 and TAK-921, hit its primary goal in a late-stage trial in advanced gastric cancer and will be submitted to regulators in China. IBI343 is one of many antibody-drug conjugates that home in on the protein Claudin 18.2, which is highly overexpressed in several cancers. Takeda grabbed most rights to the therapy in an October partnership that stands among the largest in overall value struck between multinational pharmaceutical companies and China-based drugmakers since the start of 2025, BioPharma Dive data show. — Ben Fidler
Axsome Therapeutics has reached deals with all of the remaining generic drugmakers seeking to bring to market copycat versions of its sleep medicine Sunosi. The deals announced Wednesday grant five companies the right to bring generics to market on either March 1 or Sept. 1, 2040, depending on certain conditions. Axsome previously settled with three other drugmakers in agreements that delayed generic entry into the 2040s. Sunosi has nearly 40 patents protecting it. Some expire June 7, but most won’t until anywhere from 2037 through 2042, according to the FDA’s Orange Book. — Jonathan Gardner
