Drug Development

FDA
A coordinated national effort is emerging to bring alternatives to animal testing into routine preclinical use, backed by a fresh FDA roadmap and a global coalition of scientific and industry partners. 
FEATURED STORIES
Mixed headlines have plagued the cell and gene therapy space of late. We believe that a renewed case of optimism is not only warranted but essential if these therapies are to reach their full potential.
Through substantial leadership turnover and workforce cuts, the FDA has continued to support the advanced therapy sector, actively working to remove obstacles to innovation.
With immunology and inflammation blockbusters like AbbVie’s Skyrizi and Rinvoq reeling in nearly $7 billion combined in the third quarter, the pipeline-in-a-product strategy has never been more attractive.
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Asundexian’s Phase III win could also bode well for Bristol Myers Squibb, which is also developing a Factor XIa inhibitor called milvexian for stroke prevention, analysts said.
While expressing disappointment, William Blair analysts were unsurprised by the Phase II failure, having assigned the VISTA study a high level of risk given the “mixed” performance of a similar drug in a prior multiple sclerosis study.
The CRO market in the APAC region is thriving, particularly in China, due to intense clinical trial and innovation development, with Western investors and pharma leaning in.
Merck has made a $9.2 billion play for Cidara, and there’s another bidding war afoot, this one for sleep biotech Avadel. Meanwhile, Rick Pazdur has taken the helm at CDER while tensions run high between FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Health Secretary RFK Jr.
Winrevair yielded significant and meaningful clinical benefits for patients with combined post- and precapillary pulmonary hypertension, an indication that, according to BMO Capital Markets, has few treatment options.
With positive data from the Phase III HERIZON-GEA-01 study, Zymeworks and Jazz Pharmaceuticals will file an approval application for Ziihera in the first half of 2026 for the treatment of gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.
Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson will continue to test the asset in stroke and atrial fibrillation.
HIV
Gilead’s investigational drug combo bic/len could help lower the pill burden in patients with virologically suppressed HIV who are on complex treatment regimens, according to BMO Capital Markets.
Korro Bio is moving back to square one as a preclinical biotech after the failure of KRRO-110 in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. The company’s stock is down 80% on all the news.
The decision to pause dapiglutide will help Zealand focus investment into assets that have “the greatest potential for clinical differentiation” in obesity.