Business

Frazier’s life science fund has already benefited several successful biotechs, including Verona Pharma, which was acquired by Merck for $10 billion, and Carmot Therapeutics, which Roche bought for $2.7 billion.
FEATURED STORIES
As geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China grow increasingly complicated, here are five alternative territories for biotech investments.
IPO
Biotech crossover rounds could top $4.22 billion across about 28 rounds this year, PitchBook forecasts.
Zanvastro, an antisense oligonucleotide therapy, represents the first independent neurology launch for Ionis Pharmaceuticals, which intends to leverage the foothold for more approvals in rare neurodegenerative diseases, including Angelman syndrome.
Subscribe to BioPharm Executive
Market insights and trending stories for biopharma leaders, in your inbox every Wednesday
THE LATEST
Follow along as BioSpace tracks job cuts and restructuring initiatives.
The company is investing billions of dollars to construct a European biosimilar hub capable of supporting the rapid expansion of its portfolio.
FDA
September has been a rough month already for Novo Nordisk, which canned two more late-stage trials of its embattled IL-6 inhibitor, and Novartis, which took Phase 3 hits in both cardiovascular and muscular dystrophy indications; Ultragenyx’s big bet in Angelman syndrome failed to yield benefit in Phase 3 but Ionis’ Pharmaceuticals nabbed the first targeted approval for Alexander disease; and on the business side, biopharma investment is back in a big way.
IPO
BioSpace is launching an IPO dashboard to help the industry keep tabs on U.S. biotechs that have taken the public plunge in 2026.
Solstice Oncology, founded in February, is emerging from stealth having already secured an investigational new drug application from the FDA for a Phase 2 trial of a CTLA-4 antibody purchased from China’s Harbour BioMed.
Kura Oncology has spun out Caspian around KO-7246, which seeks to increase the number and activity of beta cells in the pancreas, in turn boosting insulin production in patients with diabetes.
After the failure of Novo Nordisk’s IL-6 inhibitor ziltivekimab sent waves through the industry, the company has terminated two other studies of the asset, bringing the total number of high-profile cardiovascular flops to six over nine weeks.
Moonwalk Biosciences plans to shepherd its lead obesity asset into first-in-human trials in late 2027. In preclinical studies, MW101 has demonstrated weight loss and fat reduction while maintaining muscle mass.
BrainChild Bio’s lead asset BCB-276 is in pivotal development for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a rare and fatal brain tumor that affects around 300 children in the U.S. every year.
Contract development and manufacturing organizations looking to do business with biopharmas include Lonza, which has more than 30 sites, and Samsung Biologics, which recently announced a planned acquisition of another CDMO.