News
Viking Therapeutics enjoyed a nice share rally on the news that rival Pfizer is discontinuing obesity candidate danuglipron. But the biotech has a long way to go to recover after six straight months of decline.
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Pharma stocks went on a wild ride Wednesday amid whiplashing tariff threats from the U.S. president.
The number of employees laid off dropped year over year during the first quarter. BioSpace recaps the five largest layoffs, which included BMS and Novartis cuts.
Experts express concern that last week’s unprecedented FDA layoffs will trigger a little-known mechanism that could result in a “disaster” the Trump administration doesn’t see coming.
Job Trends
As part of cost-cutting efforts, Alector is letting go of about 25 people as it focuses on advancing its preclinical and research pipeline. Alector is also continuing clinical-stage work on programs for frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
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While there are benefits of having employees on-site, the limited workplace flexibility at some companies following the COVID-19 pandemic can affect not only employees but also organizations’ retention and attraction efforts.
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As the biopharma industry grapples with the uncertain macro environment brought on by the new administration, CEOs, regulators and many others speak out.
2024 was a tough year for the biopharma industry, with several companies cutting hundreds or even thousands of employees. Follow along as BioSpace tracks job cuts and restructuring initiatives throughout 2025.
According to analysts at Jefferies, legislation such as the newly proposed bills that aim to streamline regulatory processes would be a positive for the biotech industry.
Novartis plans to build seven new facilities in the U.S., touting the creation of up to 1,000 new jobs at the company. The new facilities will include a biomedical research hub in California, two radioligand plants, and four manufacturing sites.
Analysts at William Blair expect drug developers will continue to perform “at least some animal testing” on their investigational products. Though the process to phase out animal testing will begin “immediately,” no specific timetable was given.
Biotech companies are already seeing regulatory delays and plenty of uncertainty after around 3,500 FDA employees were cut by the Trump administration.
According to Tempest, its options include a partnership or licensing deal, as well as a merger or an acquisition.
In this episode presented by DIA, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses the underrepresentation of women in clinical trials with Martin Hodosi, partner at Kearney and Melissa Laitner, director of strategic initiatives at the National Academy of Medicine.
Jefferies analysts predict Annexon’s tanruprubart could be approved by mid-2026.
Leerink analysts noted, however, that Uplizna’s slow onset of therapeutic efficacy compares unfavorably to would-be competitors in generalized myasthenia gravis.