Cancer

Novartis hits pause on several CAR T trials after three patient deaths, followed by Bristol Myers Squibb after separate safety signals; Revolution Medicines scores early FDA approval for groundbreaking pancreatic cancer drug; BioNTech suspends a mid-stage trial of its mRNA cancer immunotherapy after a futility analysis; and nine mid-sized biopharma companies join their big pharma peers in President Donald Trump’s Most Favored Nation drug pricing scheme.

Roche has tapped Simcere Zaiming for a new T cell engager that could have broad application in B cell–mediated diseases including lymphoma and autoimmune conditions.

The approval of rusfertide—now to be branded Mimrylo—for polycythemia vera marks a key win for Takeda, which now has crossed the FDA finish line for two of three critical product launches slated for the coming year.

Shares of Germany-based BioNTech were down as much as 8% Friday after announcing a Phase 2 trial of autogene cevumeran would be discontinued for futility. The news follows Merck and Moderna’s Phase 3 win last week for their cancer vaccine plus Keytruda in melanoma.

Through its DualityBio deal, Roche’s Genentech hopes to create antibody-drug conjugates with payloads that can circumvent growing cancer drug resistance.

A future expansion of Rasonque into first-line pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma could set Revolution Medicines up to hit $2.3 billion in sales by 2028, according to Truist Securities.

The FDA granted the approval of Revolution Medicines’ daraxonrasib, now to be known as Rasonque, in pancreatic adenocarcinoma 6.5 months ahead of deadline.

The Phase 3 readout is the first for ivonescimab beyond non-small cell lung cancer to show a significant overall survival benefit, according to Summit Therapeutics and China-based partner Akeso.

Gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma presents the biggest market opportunity for Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ Ziihera, according to Truist Securities, which forecasts peak sales of the drug to reach $2.5 billion.

FDA extends its review of Capricor Therapeutics’ Duchenne muscular dystrophy cell therapy as an unhappy shareholder advocates for change; Merck and Moderna tout positive data for their mRNA-based cancer vaccine; Trump nominates White House aide Heidi Overton as FDA commissioner; and the oral obesity market heats up with rivals Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk going head-to-head.