Follow along as BioSpace tracks job cuts and restructuring initiatives.
With pressure on GSK’s vaccine business, analysts predict the U.K. pharma will face challenges as it prepares for the loss of exclusivity on a key product.
Eli Lilly’s next-gen weight loss drug retatrutide soundly beat Novo’s approved medicine Ozempic in weight loss and blood sugar reduction, padding the case for a regulatory application that’s expected in the first quarter of 2027.
Astellas Pharma could secure the exclusive global rights to Audax Biosciences’ DAX-044, an antibody-cytokine fusion therapy that activates the immune system in the vicinity of the tumor.
Growth portfolio products like Leqembi and Spinraza helped drive Biogen to $2.8 billion in revenue for the third quarter.
Merck stole the show at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) annual conference, with new data on its Moderna-partnered personalized cancer vaccine leaking prior to the presentation and antibody-drug conjugate sac-TMT making a splash in endometrial cancer; Bristol Myers Squibb revealed the death of a patient with multiple sclerosis in an early-stage trial of zola-cel; and pharma is on track to easily surpass last year’s deal count.
FEATURED STORIES
BioSpace is launching an IPO dashboard to help the industry keep tabs on U.S. biotechs that have taken the public plunge in 2026.
A clearly superior clinical profile, reasonable pricing and easy access has helped a handful of recently approved therapies achieve impressive launches.
The largest pharmas have a collective $188 billion in firepower to spend on M&A transactions, with all but one signaling a desire to execute, according to a new analysis from Leerink Partners.
Drug developers increasingly have the option of seeking regulatory approval and commercializing a medicine themselves, rather than accepting an early exit offer. Doing so requires a worldwide strategy.
The corporate investor arms of Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Pfizer have participated in billions worth of venture capital rounds, but GV is the industry’s biggest spender.
As both Taysha Gene Therapies and Neurogene warm up for an important year of readouts, the Rett syndrome community is hopeful of seeing a therapy that can truly change the disease’s path.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
CROs cite faster startup timelines, regulatory predictability and tax incentives as reasons for growing interest in Australia. State investments in manufacturing, translational research and advanced therapies aim to expand that advantage into a broader biotech ecosystem. The question remains whether Australia can support drug development at broader scale.
LATEST PODCASTS
Merck stole the show at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) annual conference, with new data on its Moderna-partnered personalized cancer vaccine leaking prior to the presentation and antibody-drug conjugate sac-TMT making a splash in endometrial cancer; Bristol Myers Squibb revealed the death of a patient with multiple sclerosis in an early-stage trial of zola-cel; and pharma is on track to easily surpass last year’s deal count.
In this episode of Denatured, you’ll hear from Bruce Culleton, CEO at ProKidney and Demetri Maxim, CEO at Nephrogen. We discuss why kidney disease has long been a hard target for cell and gene therapies, and what new delivery strategies, therapeutic approaches and regulatory clarity mean for commercially viable products.
China cracks down on some biotechnology ownership transfers—but will the new policy impact licensing deals?; Disc Medicine’s Phase 3 data sweep redeems rejected rare disease therapy, teeing up another FDA run; and the ESMO conference gets underway in Madrid this week, with much-anticipated data from Merck, and Summit Therapeutics.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
As Big Pharma adds AI technology to bolster drug development, a cadre of new, upstart biotechs are pushing drug discovery to new heights.
BioSpace takes stock of the psychedelic therapeutics space, which is once again on the cusp of its first FDA approval.
Job postings increase and competition dips, according to BioSpace data.
DEALS
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Since 2025, U.S. biopharma companies have raised $37.2 billion—68% of total worldwide venture capital funding in the industry—with startups in the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston leading the way. -
While biopharma financing exit activity has remained strong through the third quarter, public-market performance for the same period was muted, with most of the yearly gains for the U.S. biotech-specific index largely driven by the first half of 2026. -
Gilead Sciences has picked up a new inflammatory disease program from China’s PepStar Therapeutics to pair with the Phase 2 inflammatory bowel disease asset emvistegrast. -
A new proposal from the U.S. government seeking to address investment in Chinese biotech as a matter of national security drew cautious statements from across the industry, with leaders vowing to ensure innovation isn’t stifled. -
Roche will pay Zymeworks $55 million upfront plus another $40 million once the partnership asset enters Phase 1b development and up to $718 million in additional milestones.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Posthoc analyses in women divided by menopausal status show how Novo’s next-generation GLP-1 drug affects key cohorts of patients. -
While GLP-1 medicines have become synonymous with weight loss, at least one expert thinks amylin would have been the go-to target if biopharma had been focused on the blockbuster indication 10 years ago. A new wave of therapies is now exploring this potentially gentler mechanism. -
Obesity-focused Zealand Pharma is buying into Generate:Biomedicines’s generative AI platform to create new multispecific drug candidates. -
The candidate is an oral version of ecnoglutide, a subcutaneous formulation of which is approved in China for type 2 diabetes and weight management. Pfizer owns commercialization rights for ecnoglutide in the Asian country. -
Roche has gained access to a genetic obesity approach from China’s Rona Therapeutics for up to $100 million in upfront and near-term payments.
POLICY
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Following the withdrawal of billions of dollars in investments from Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly, German lawmakers have proposed a clause to the country’s healthcare reforms set to take effect Jan. 1. -
Amid rising industry concerns about U.S. competitiveness with China, the Trump administration is rolling out four ARPA-H initiatives to modernize clinical trial design, site activation, consent and patient data collection. -
As Chinese companies push beyond “me-too” drugs and the country lays out a new five-year plan targeting a $522 billion–strong biotech industry by 2030, experts say more predictable funding and regulation could help the U.S. maintain its edge. -
Inspection access is not “an administrative footnote,” leaders of key FDA divisions wrote in an editorial on Wednesday vowing to expand oversight of foreign clinical trial sites. -
CSL Vifor holds the marketing authorization for Tavneos in the U.K., where the drug is marketed as Avacopan Vifor. It continues to be sold on the U.S. market by Amgen despite concerns raised by the FDA.
Based on typical fourth quarter hiring activity, biopharma job seekers should apply for open roles sooner than later. Recruiting and career coaching experts offer advice on timing, networking, interviewing and casting a wider net than usual during Q4.
Looking for a biopharma job? Check out the BioSpace list of 12 top companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
A career setback can teach you something useful—or teach you the wrong lesson. Executive coach Angela Justice explains how one difficult experience can quietly shape the choices that follow.
With U.S. data science jobs projected to grow 35% over the next decade, a recruiter and talent strategy director discuss the qualifications, technical skills and mindset needed to land these coveted positions.
Funding announcements can signal future hiring activity, giving biotech professionals a chance to build relationships before positions are posted. Industry experts share how to identify the funding events, milestones and company indicators most likely to lead to new jobs.
An executive who is rarely short on ideas needs someone to pull their big ideas through to implementation. Kaye/Bassman’s Michael Pietrack explains why this person, who he calls the implementer, may be the most important hire in the building.
HOTBEDS
REPORTS
What drives meaningful employee engagement in today’s life sciences workplace? This BioSpace report explores the factors that shape how employees feel about their organizations and what employers can do to create workplaces where talent wants to stay and thrive.
This guide explores the evolving role of podcasts, webinars, and thought leadership programs in biopharma and provides practical recommendations for public relations agencies, corporate communications teams, and commercial marketers looking to elevate their visibility and influence.
Gain the latest insights into the biopharma hiring landscape with BioSpace’s Biopharma Job Market Report Q2 2026. Explore the trends shaping talent acquisition, from rising job postings and sustained R&D hiring to the market activity signaling stronger hiring demand ahead.
CANCER
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In a Phase 1 study, treatment with Incyte’s KRAS G12D inhibitor in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy elicited an 89% confirmed objective response rate in patients with a type of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, leading analysts to draw comparisons with Revolution Medicines’ zoldonrasib. -
Sac-TMT significantly extended overall and progression-free survival for patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer by 6.9 months over chemotherapy in a Phase 3 trial—becoming the first TROP2-directed ADC to do so in this setting, Merck told BioSpace. -
JNJ-6143, which came from Johnson & Johnson’s $3 billion takeover of Halda Therapeutics in 2025, showed a 75% overall response rate in the Phase 1 readout. -
After sitting through the full presentation on the Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial at the ESMO Congress over the weekend, analysts are more keen on the personalized mRNA cancer vaccine data that last week spurred a stock selloff for both partners. -
When used alongside AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi, the bispecific T cell engager Imdelltra extended survival by eight months versus Imfinzi alone in Phase 3 study testing the combo in a first-line maintenance setting—a potentially “practice-changing” outcome, according to Truist Securities.
NEUROSCIENCE
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Novartis remains “very happy” with its $12 billion acquisition of Avidity Biosciences, despite a Phase 3 disappointment for the antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate del-desiran. -
Troriluzole, in development for spinocerebellar ataxia, was rejected nearly a year ago when the FDA took issue with the design of Biohaven’s registrational study. The agency has now agreed to review a new application and render a decision in the first quarter of 2027. -
Rapport Therapeutics clocked its second Phase 2 win in 14 months for RAP-219—which the company is positioning as a potential pipeline-in-a-product—this time showing improvement in symptoms of bipolar mania. -
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals’ siRNA candidate achieved “compelling” tau reductions in an early study of healthy volunteers, with a magnitude of effect that seems to outperformother blood-brain barrier platforms, according to Stifel. -
While Oppenheimer doesn’t see the Phase 3 stumble of VQW-765 as highly detrimental to Vanda Pharmaceuticals, the analyst nevertheless believes the stakes are now higher for the company’s planned Q4 readout for Nereus in GLP-1-induced vomiting.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Aside from RG6540, Roche also discontinued a host of other early-stage assets, including an antisense oligonucleotide for Alzheimer’s disease and a small-molecule candidate for geographic atrophy.
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In this episode of Denatured, you’ll hear from Bruce Culleton, CEO at ProKidney and Demetri Maxim, CEO at Nephrogen. We discuss why kidney disease has long been a hard target for cell and gene therapies, and what new delivery strategies, therapeutic approaches and regulatory clarity mean for commercially viable products. -
METiS TechBio’s AiLNP platform uses machine learning models to develop lipid nanoparticles with potentially better tissue specificity that could enhance a drug’s therapeutic performance. -
After years of quiet maturation, new approach methodologies and emerging clinical success for cell therapies are fueling parallel momentum for induced pluripotent stem cells. -
A new biotech co-founded by Paul Stoffels has formed to take on the CAR T cell assets of Galapagos almost a year after the company—now known as Lakefront Biotherapeutics—abandoned them.
