Under new CEO, Sanofi stops diabetes, heart research and plans $2.2B in cost cutting

"We've been slow. We haven't empowered enough," CEO Paul Hudson said Tuesday in rolling out his strategy for the French pharma.

By Andrew Dunn • Dec. 10, 2019

Leukemia rivals try to stay ahead as Merck, Lilly chase

Merck's surprise buyout of ArQule will heat up competition in a class of cancer drugs that includes AbbVie and J&J's Imbruvica and AstraZeneca's Calquence.

By Jonathan Gardner • Dec. 10, 2019

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from BioPharma Dive

Looming patent expiries this decade and intensifying competition from China are forcing drugmakers to adapt, while new opportunities open up in oncology and in neuroscience.

By BioPharma Dive staff

As CAR-T presses ahead in multiple myeloma, alternative approaches gain supporters

Three different ways of attacking the blood disease are emerging, raising hopes for life-extending drugs for the sickest patients.

By Jonathan Gardner • Dec. 9, 2019

Sanofi buys Synthorx for $2.5B in prelude to Hudson's strategy rollout

At a hefty 172% premium for a company with little clinical data, the ambitious buyout comes a day before new CEO Paul Hudson will unveil his plans for the French pharma.

By Andrew Dunn • Dec. 9, 2019

The BioPharma Dive Awards for 2019

A busy year brought an upswing in a storied pharma's fortunes, an industry-shaking mega-merger and the surprise revival of an Alzheimer's drug. 

Dec. 9, 2019

Deal of the Year: Bristol-Myers Squibb buys Celgene

Whether or not the $74 billion acquisition succeeds for Bristol-Myers, its impact on biotech will be wide-reaching by erasing Celgene, one of the industry's most active dealmakers.

By Andrew Dunn • Dec. 9, 2019

Pharma of the Year: AstraZeneca

The rise of a new cancer drug portfolio, coupled with booming sales in China, have put AstraZeneca ahead of its pharma peers in 2019.

By Jonathan Gardner • Dec. 9, 2019

Myeloma cell therapies, now in pharma hands, move into spotlight

Long-awaited results from Bristol-Myers and Bluebird position the drugmakers to win a first-in-class CAR-T approval. Rival J&J, however, appears close behind. 

By Ned Pagliarulo • Dec. 7, 2019

Novartis highlights 4 drugs of future in laying out R&D vision

With more than 160 drugs in clinical testing, Novartis executives highlighted a few lesser-known therapies they will prioritize in the next few years.

By Andrew Dunn • Dec. 5, 2019

Lilly puts its cancer future in Loxo's hands

Nearly a year on from buying Loxo for $8 billion, Lilly hopes to recast its cancer research more in the mold of the nimbler biotech.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Dec. 5, 2019

New approval for Roche's Tecentriq heats up lung cancer battle with Keytruda

One Wall Street analyst expects the FDA's OK will help Tecentriq outpace Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo in 2020 in the non-small cell lung cancer market.

By Jonathan Gardner • Dec. 4, 2019

Will sky-high drug prices spur the US to use an obscure power over patents?

New cell therapies as well as gene-based treatments like Zolgensma benefited from NIH funding of early-stage research. Advocates say the time is now for the government to invoke its "march-in" rights. 

By Jonathan Gardner • Dec. 4, 2019

Opioid makers subject of US grand jury probe

At least six companies have been subpoenaed in an investigation characterized as a wide probe into practices required under the Controlled Substances Act.

By Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 27, 2019

Medicines Co. deal caps pharma's reentry into field it once abandoned

Large pharma companies like Novartis, Roche and J&J are buying back into RNAi, a technology that several retreated from in the early 2010s.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Nov. 26, 2019

Roche SMA therapy granted speedy FDA review; decision by May 2020

A quick approval of risdiplam, an oral therapy, could challenge Biogen and Novartis in a field that just three years ago had no treatment options.

By Andrew Dunn • Nov. 25, 2019

Novartis buys Medicines Co. in $9.7B bet on cholesterol drug

Acquiring The Medicines Company gives Novartis access to inclisiran, a lipid-lowering drug likely to win approval but facing uncertain commercial prospects.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Nov. 24, 2019

Calquence OK boosts AstraZeneca's challenge to Imbruvica

The new FDA approval expands Calquence's use into a more common blood cancer, although doctors have already been prescribing it for that disease.

By Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 22, 2019

AI's impact in drug discovery is coming fast, predicts GSK's Hal Barron

The R&D chief believes researchers will discover a new drug target using machine learning within the next two or three years. 

By Ned Pagliarulo • Nov. 21, 2019

Takeda sees cell, gene therapy in its future. Is it too late?

Nearly a year on from completing its $62 billion Shire deal, Takeda is pitching investors on its plans to stay one of the industry's leading rare disease drug developers.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Nov. 20, 2019

Bankrupt biopharmas are rare. 2019 has some worried that's changing.

Eleven biopharmas declared bankruptcy in 2019, more than any other year since at least 2011. Rising market pressures, coupled with legal liabilities, risk more companies falling to zero, experts warn.

By Andrew Dunn • Nov. 19, 2019

The running list of 2019 biopharma bankruptcies

From antibiotic developers like Achaogen to opioid drugmakers like Purdue and Insys, 2019 saw an uptick in biopharmas filing for Chapter 11.

By Andrew Dunn • Nov. 19, 2019

31 biopharmas at high risk of bankruptcy in 2020

BioPharma Dive dug into data from a credit monitoring firm to identify drugmakers at high risk of going bankrupt, including companies like Teva, Bausch Health and Novavax.

By Andrew Dunn • Nov. 19, 2019

Novartis reshapes China R&D hub to reflect rapidly evolving market

The Swiss pharma giant is ending drug discovery efforts and shifting resources toward early development and commercial activities, a move that will eliminate around 150 jobs in the near term.

By Jacob Bell • Updated Nov. 18, 2019

Novartis sickle cell drug wins FDA approval

Adakveo is only the second treatment approved in two decades for the painful blood clots caused by the rare disease.

By Jonathan Gardner • Nov. 15, 2019

Novartis' Sandoz builds global generics presence with Japan acquisition

Sandoz will pay approximately $331 million upfront for a Japan-focused subsidiary of Aspen Pharmacare.

By Andrew Dunn • Nov. 11, 2019