FDA’s draft guidance on the validation of non-animal methods (NAMs) is reshaping how nonclinical programs are designed and justified. This webinar explores how sponsors can apply NAMs to streamline development, improve human relevance, and support IND decision-making within a weight-of-evidence framework.
Teams at facilities being developed by Eli Lilly, Regeneron and other companies will receive early technical guidance and additional perks from the FDA.
Despite the late-stage fail, Vistagen will nevertheless continue to push its drug candidate forward and meet with the FDA to align on a potential registrational path.
Sarepta Therapeutics is seeking to convert the accelerated approval of its therapeutic exon-skippers for Duchenne muscular dystrophy to full despite the drugs’ failure to improve motor function in a confirmatory trial.
The vibe at BIO 2026 in San Diego last week was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees observing noticeable changes at the FDA and an uptick in dealmaking and IPOs. Plus, a top medical journal this week retracted a pivotal study for Amgen’s rare disease drug Tavneos, which has been in the FDA’s crosshairs since January.
The U.K.’s core biotech cluster continues to produce world‑class science, but investors say limited talent mobility, uneven regional growth and tightening early‑ and mid‑stage capital are slowing the country’s ability to scale new companies.
Who is the highest paid CEO in all of pharma? In this special edition, BioSpace examines top paid CEOs and their pay packages.
FEATURED STORIES
The total of 52 mergers and acquisitions for the first half of 2026 reflects what analysts, industry watchers and executives are saying over and over: M&A is back.
At the BIO International Convention in San Diego, attendees marked the 50th anniversary of original biotech Genentech, reflecting on the immense challenges facing companies as China becomes a powerhouse innovator.
A recent FDA reversal sparked new hope for patients with Huntington’s disease. Flying under the radar, Skyhawk Therapeutics revealed 12-month functional data from a midstage trial of its own candidate showing improvements on a key disease measurement scale.
Recent approvals for Corcept Therapeutics and Merck have injected momentum into the space, where GSK, Allarity Therapeutics, OSE Immunotherapies and others are advancing their own candidates.
The FDA plans to hold an advisory committee meeting to discuss Capricor Therapeutics’ application for deramiocel, which the agency rejected last July. The news surprised CEO Linda Marbán, who told BioSpace the FDA has not communicated any issues of concern with the company’s resubmitted application.
Dealmaking across biopharma is shifting dramatically as the SEC rolls out new regulations to ease burdens on newly public companies and antitrust review is replaced by drug pricing as the policy concern du jour.
LATEST PODCASTS
The vibe at BIO 2026 in San Diego last week was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees observing noticeable changes at the FDA and an uptick in dealmaking and IPOs. Plus, a top medical journal this week retracted a pivotal study for Amgen’s rare disease drug Tavneos, which has been in the FDA’s crosshairs since January.
In this episode of Denatured, as part of our series on the European life sciences investment ecosystem, you’ll hear from Hakan Goker, managing director at M Ventures and Maina Bhaman, partner at Sofinnova Partners. We explore the UK biotech ecosystem: from the Golden Triangle’s evolving role to the challenges of scaling companies, unlocking pension capital and staying globally competitive.
AbbVie scooped up immunology player Apogee Therapeutics for nearly $11 billion in one of the year’s top deals to-date, while Sanofi made a big play to survive its upcoming Dupixent patent cliff; FDA uncertainty continues as the agency changes direction on gene therapies by uniQure and REGENXBIO; and Jef Akst and Annalee Armstrong report back from San Diego.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
BioSpace examines how the FDA approval of Eli Lilly’s oral obesity drug Foundayo has ignited a key race with Novo Nordisk.
Opportunities increased by the end of the first quarter, according to BioSpace data.
BioSpace looks back at 2025 and where the FDA is going in 2026.
DEALS
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Investment firm Deerfield Management is the latest to find a gem in China, which has been rising as a source of biotech innovation over the past few years. -
Zymeworks announced a new plan to become a royalty-driven company last year, making Theravance a perfect match. -
The star of Ipsen’s acquisition is an MDM2 blocker being proposed as an add-on therapy to ruxolitinib for myelofibrosis. The drug could be available to patients “as early as 2028,” according to Ipsen CEO David Loew. -
The company is “especially excited” about an immune cell therapy manufacturing technology included in the deal, a Merck KGaA executive said. -
Dual and even triple or quadruple track processes have come roaring back in 2026 thanks to a glut of M&A that has refilled investors’ wallets. Big Pharma is being put on notice that time is critical if they want to acquire.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Eli Lilly’s weight-loss franchise—including the tirzepatide products Mounjaro and Zepbound, and the weight-loss pill Foundayo—is projected to account for nearly half of the total sales of the top 10 drugs in 2032. -
Rhythm Pharmaceuticals’ Imcivree reduced fat—while boosting muscle—in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome. -
After suffering the market withdrawal of its only product, Amylyx is gearing up for a pivotal Phase 3 readout in post-bariatric hypoglycemia. But the company’s driving ethos is still to treat “debilitating, devastating” neurodegenerative diseases, co-CEO Justin Klee told BioSpace. -
Novo Nordisk said that the information affected by the breach shouldn’t allow third parties to “identify participants in our clinical trials” despite “unauthorized access” to patients’ personal data. -
Eli Lilly and obesity rival Novo Nordisk stole the show at the American Diabetes Association conference, though plenty of other companies also had data to show for their own weight loss assets; GSK strikes the biggest traditional pharma buyout of 2026; and FDA initiatives still lack clarity.
POLICY
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Policymaking at FDA has been anything but business as usual under the Trump administration, but former regulators cite the agency’s new investigational new drug pilot program as a sign of normalcy. -
A few short days after announcing an FDA pivot on a separate asset, REGENXBIO is planning to test the agency’s apparent newfound rare disease outlook on another late-stage gene therapy. -
Former FDA, CDC and NIH leaders convene at the BIO International Convention to discuss the dismantling of the Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration—and where we go from here. -
Having stuck with local production in the years when offshoring to lower-cost locations was in fashion, Aquestive’s CEO is well placed to explain what the recent reshoring drive means for manufacturers. -
The U.S. government has argued that it pays too much of biopharma R&D costs, demanding that other high-income countries contribute fairly to global innovation efforts.
Rather than getting hung up on what to call DEI in the workplace, leaders should take three specific actions to help their employees embrace and engage with it. Companies and the patients they serve will benefit.
Looking for a biopharma job? Check out the BioSpace list of 12 top companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Three experts discuss whether biotech and pharma professionals should try to convince employers to adjust employment offers, mistakes people make during the process and tips for getting it right.
The people most trusted to deliver are not always the ones invited to shape direction. Executive coach Angela Justice examines why the habits that build a career can eventually limit advancement.
Scientists who focus only on generating data risk missing their role in shaping strategy and driving innovation.
Panel interviews can play a major role in getting jobs. Two career coaches discuss what to do before and during the interview, including identifying how to differentiate yourself, engaging in true conversations and not overlooking a key panel member.
HOTBEDS
REPORTS
In this Employment Outlook report, BioSpace explores current workforce sentiment, job activity trends and the prospective job and hiring outlook for 2025, particularly as it compares to the previous year.
BioSpace’s third report on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in life sciences examines dramatic shifts in attitude around diversity initiatives.
CANCER
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Encouraging data for combination regimens of Revolution Medicines’ zoldonrasib “reinforce the path to leadership in PDAC” for the biotech, according to Truist Securities. -
Gilead’s Trodelvy can now be used as a monotherapy and in combination with Merck’s Keytruda to treat certain patients with triple-negative breast cancer. -
Novartis and Antares Therapeutics are shooting for the stars, launching a joint mission to develop small molecule oncology therapies.
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Despite an overall survival miss, Leerink Partners said Pfizer’s antibody-drug conjugate showed “promising” signals of efficacy in a subgroup of patients who had undergone only one prior line of treatment. -
Following the mid-stage readout, Verastem Oncology has decided to move away from its investigational pancreatic cancer drug combo, instead putting resources behind its KRAS inhibitor pill for solid tumors.
NEUROSCIENCE
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The delay is largely “benign” for Praxis Precision Medicines, according to Jefferies, which emphasized that the FDA did not flag safety or manufacturing issues. -
Results for Definium Therapeutics psychedelic candidate for major depressive disorder “exceeded expectations,” according to Stifel, while Jefferies called the efficacy data “profound.” -
As uniQure prepares its closely watched Huntington’s disease gene therapy for FDA review, the biotech is also making waves in chronic epilepsy with another gene therapy that Stifel says is off to a “promising start.” -
Eli Lilly plans to use BioArctic’s technology to shuttle an undisclosed drug candidate into the brain. The pharma hasn’t specified which neurodegenerative disease it will target.
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Insilico Medicine and SK Biopharmaceuticals will use generative AI to develop novel therapies for unspecified neuroimmune disorders.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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If cell and gene therapy makers are going to achieve their mission to improve patients’ lives, the industry must come together to share information across stakeholders, from regulators to manufacturers to payers. -
Be Biopharma’s terminated trial is the latest setback in the hemophilia space, where companies like Pfizer and BioMarin have opted to pull their respective products from the market after weak traction. -
Instead of using viral vectors, SonoThera’s genetic medicines are delivered through an ultrasound-mediated technology that could help sidestep key safety issues with conventional delivery methods. -
All six non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients on Legend Biotech’s CAR T therapy responded to treatment—findings that could make the biotech an attractive takeover target, according to analysts at Oppenheimer. -
For Peter Pitts, a former associate commissioner at the FDA, the appointment to the board of BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is an opportunity to fulfill a promise he made long ago to a patient with ALS.
