News
Job postings in California took a dip in December during the holiday period, but activity is expected to pick up in January.
FEATURED STORIES
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, X4 Pharmaceuticals and Day One Biopharmaceuticals secured their maiden approvals this year in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, WHIM syndrome and pediatric low-grade glioma. Geron Corporation and ImmunityBio also notched wins.
This year saw lofty highs and devastating lows for neuroscience drug developers like Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and AbbVie, following the predictable pattern of successes and failures that characterizes this space.
Already established as cornerstone therapies in diabetes and obesity, GLP-1 receptor agonists also show potential in several other indications, including cancer, addiction and neurodegenerative diseases.
TRACKERS
Layoffs slowed in the second half of the year but many companies still cut hundreds or even thousands of employees since January.
Other notable greenlights this year include Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy, the first novel therapeutic for schizophrenia in 35 years, and Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ Rezdiffra, the first-ever treatment for MASH.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
BioSpace Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong reflects on the year that was, and what’s to come in 2025.
THE LATEST
Sangamo is on course to run out of money within months and has now lost access to up to $220 million in milestone payments from Pfizer.
The new combination, dubbed Alyftrek, is designed to improve on the Trikafta, a product that generated sales of $8.9 billion in 2023. It’s welcome good news for Vertex following last week’s subpar clinical results for its non-opioid analgesic.
The mega-blockbuster weight loss GLP-1 drug is now also approved to treat obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity, in combination with diet and exercise.
High profile failures and long timeframes for revenue have shifted investment away from Phase I, as VCs seek to mitigate risk, Pitchbook said in its 2025 outlook.
Following a 90% drop in share price due to an FDA rejection and a warning letter over Applied Therapeutics’ conduct during a clinical trial, the biotech’s CEO has stepped aside.
Novo Nordisk executives set a high bar for itself when it projected CagriSema could achieve 25% weight loss. When the GLP-1 combo didn’t hit that mark, investors reeled.
Galectin’s shares tanked in premarket trading Friday after the biotech revealed its lead asset missed the primary endpoint for its Phase IIb/III trial for patients with a type of liver cirrhosis.
First approved in 2021, Jemperli has now become a cornerstone of GSK’s cancer business, earning more than $160 million in the third quarter.
Investors appeared disappointed by CagriSema’s Phase III readout, which showed weight loss that fell short of Novo Nordisk’s prior projections for the therapy. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly’s stock rose on the news.
Despite securing the industry’s first approval for familial chylomicronemia syndrome, BMO Capital Markets believes that Tryngolza’s regulatory triumph will not be a significant positive for Ionis. Instead, the firm is focusing on olezarsen’s readout in severe hypertriglyceridemia, a much larger market.