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.

FDA
Denali Therapeutics is the latest company to sell a priority review fast pass for an elevated price after the program was renewed earlier this year.
Moderna appears to have aligned with the FDA ahead of an advisory committee meeting for its mRNA-based flu vaccine, which the regulator initially turned away in February; biotech IPOs are going gangbusters, including two new records raises in as many weeks; layoffs continue across biopharma; plus much more.
Precision science is ruling the M&A scene as pharmas prepare for loss of exclusivity on key products, PwC says in a new report. Biotechs should be prepared with a dual-track process with the IPO window now open.
The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet June 18 to discuss Moderna’s seasonal flu vaccine mRNA-1010 after the FDA initially refused to accept the application in February.
IPO
Biotechs are benefitting from the AI tech frenzy and inflation, but validated pipelines and careful planning are still key to the recent record-setting IPOs, experts say.
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.
Over the past decade, Eli Lilly has bought out more biotechs than any of the other top 12 pharmas by revenue—with 10 of those acquisitions arriving just this year.
Members of the American Biotech Innovation Alliance (ABIA) want to build a national biotech strategy—just like China did years ago.
Incyte is acquiring Vega Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Star Therapeutics, for a bleeding disorder program that analysts say has “pipeline-in-a-product” potential.
After a $625 million IPO, the biggest ever in biotech, obesity-focused Kailera Therapeutics is readying a commercial strategy that puts patients at the center.
Eli Lilly sauntered into the American Diabetes Association meeting with a commanding lead in the metabolic space and put down more evidence for its pipeline, including new pill Foundayo and next-gen asset retatrutide, in new indications.
Analysts and investors were unimpressed by Phase 2 data posted in the spring showing that an amylin analog developed by Roche and partner Zealand Pharma elicited 9% weight loss, less than Eli Lilly’s rival candidate. Executives from both companies told BioSpace that premium weight loss is not the point of petrelintide.
Improved survival on display at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago; Pfizer’s unusual pact with China’s Innovent highlights a new type of collaboration; Eli Lilly continues its nonstop deal streak, including with Chinese biotechs; and looking ahead to this weekend’s American Diabetes Association meeting.
From Chinese innovation to AI, biotech CEOs are being hit with challenges at a breakneck pace. Three leaders from BioSpace’s NextGen Class of 2026 told us about the issues keeping them up at night.
Merck may not have had the splashiest presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, but the data show why the Big Pharma remains king of oncology, analysts say.