Annalee Armstrong headshot

Annalee Armstrong

Senior Editor

Annalee Armstrong is an award-winning biopharma journalist covering the business of drug development. She began her career at small newspapers across Western Canada. During the assignment of a lifetime, the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race, she met her husband in Alaska and eventually moved to the U.S. Since then, Annalee has covered energy, environmental regulations, healthcare and biopharma. Prior to BioSpace, Annalee was senior editor for Fierce Biotech, where she received several awards for her writing and editing. She lives in Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband, two wild boys, an anxious Rhodesian Ridgeback and an indifferent tabby cat.

IPO
Obesity-focused Kailera Therapeutics debuted on the Nasdaq Friday after raising a record $625 million, beating Moderna’s $600 million from 2018.
J&J will hand over the rights to bota-vec for $25 million upfront, clearing MeiraGTx to seek regulatory approvals in the U.S. and EU in 2027.
Johnson and Johnson kicked off first-quarter earnings season with a “modest” beat and an ambitious goal; Replimune failed again to gain approval for its advanced melanoma therapy, as analysts tout increased accountability brought by the FDA’s new policy of publicizing complete response letters; and Revolution Medicines’ pancreatic cancer candidate doubled survival in one of cancer’s most intractable foes.
Gilead, AstraZeneca and Vertex have acquired more than just a therapeutic asset in recent deals. BioSpace takes a look at five recent transactions where the staff was the real centerpiece.
During the pharma earnings season, which begins on Tuesday, Novo Nordisk will report the first revenue numbers from an oral GLP-1 medicine, while other companies are expected to address the FDA, drug pricing and Trump’s new tariffs.
In a difficult disease, Revolution Medicines achieved what the pancreatic cancer community has long desired: a significant improvement in survival. The Phase 3 results will support global regulatory filings.
The licensing deal marks AbbVie’s first foray into new pain medicines, a space where Vertex currently enjoys a lead thanks to the NaV1.8 inhibitor Journavx.
Gilead Sciences has inked three deals this year so far totaling $14.77 billion, a marked escalation of the company’s usual M&A pace. Executives detailed the rationale for buying Arcellx, Ouro Medicine and Tubulis GmbH and whether they are interested in further deals.
“Your tenure has overseen a DESTRUCTION of shareholder value—a direct result of chronic operational shortcomings and failures on fiduciary duty,” Shah Capital wrote to Novavax’s leadership in an open letter published Wednesday.
The approval of Eli Lilly’s oral obesity drug officially ignites an intense competition with Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy; Gilead Sciences and Neurocrine Biosciences keep the M&A train chugging; Trump hits pharma with his long promised tariffs, and the FDA proposes many changes with 2027 budget.
As Daré Biosciences approaches a pivotal year with a key product launch ahead, the company kicked off an open public offering, providing a chance for individuals to get involved for as little as $250.
Sanofi has faced questions about the potential of lunsekimig in eczema, with executives calling the clinical trial a “measured risk.”
After a flurry of deals over the past week from Eli Lilly, Merck and Biogen, analysts predict more M&A action from other big names, including Novartis, Amgen and AbbVie.
After Eli Lilly achieved the milestone approval of the weight loss pill Foundayo, Novo Nordisk launched a full-court press to defend oral Wegovy, which has been enjoying a record-breaking launch since January.
As Big Pharma companies consider foregoing European drug launches to avoid reducing drug prices in the U.S. in alignment with Trump’s Most Favored Nation policy, patients will suffer.