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.

Biopharma leaders react to the forced resignation of CBER Head Peter Marks as RFK Jr.’s promised job cuts begin at the FDA; Novo Nordisk presents mixed results from oral semaglutide in cardiovascular disease; the EU’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use declines to recommend Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug; and pharma R&D returns grew in 2024.
FDA
Already reeling from years of market chaos, the announced departure of CBER chief Peter Marks sent a ripple across biopharma markets.
Despite a $400 million impairment charge, analysts say the removal of a drug-device combo from its portfolio is not a huge loss for Vertex given that the company has a more advanced type 1 diabetes candidate in zimislecel.
Compounded versions could make up as much as 40% of the semaglutide market, said Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen on Thursday, but the company hopes to win patients over.
Deloitte urged pharma executives to “be bold” in a new report tracking the top 20 pharmaceutical companies’ R&D performance.
President Donald Trump continues to warn of tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry; Susan Monarez replaces Dave Weldon as CDC director nominee; Novo Nordisk joins the triple-G race; Alnylam wins approval for Amvuttra in ATTR-CM; and Cassava Sciences ends development of simufilam in Alzheimer’s.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are in a global battle for dominance in the weight loss space. BioSpace takes a look at the territory covered and what’s to come.
AbbVie’s Humira was the top-selling drug in the world for many years. Now, its sales are eroding as doctors switch to biosimilars and new options enter the market.
After years of controversy and allegations of doctored data, Cassava is moving on from Alzheimer’s.
Johnson & Johnson follows Eli Lilly in spending billions on U.S. manufacturing after President Donald Trump threatened major tariffs on pharmaceutical products. Pfizer has also promised a similar commitment.
After Sarepta reported the death of a patient who had recently taken the gene therapy Elevidys, patient advocacy group Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy stepped up—as they always do.
Analysts were happy with batoclimab’s performance in the chronic autoimmune disorder, but Immunovant said it will continue to focus on another next-gen asset for the indication.
Sarepta will update Elevidys’ label after a patient died following treatment; the FDA issues flu vaccine recommendations without advisor input; Trump CDC nominee Dave Weldon pulled at last minute; and FDA decisions expected for Alnylam’s Amvuttra in ATTR-CM and Milestone’s etripamil in tachycardia.
Mirador debuted last year with a massive $400 million and the goal of developing game-changing therapies for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. The company aims to enter the clinic this year.
In the third podcast in a special series focused on BioSpace’s NextGen Class of 2025, Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong speaks with Mark McKenna, CEO of Mirador Therapeutics.