News
As Marty Makary and Jay Bhattacharya sail through the Senate health committee vote, Weldon’s confirmation hearing is canceled. Guggenheim Partners heralded the last-minute move to revoke Dave Weldon’s nomination as “a positive sign for reigning in vaccine criticism.”
FEATURED STORIES
Facing declining valuations and funding challenges, public biotechs like bluebird bio are going private to restructure, reduce regulatory burdens and refocus on long-term growth.
Johnson & Johnson has been fighting thousands of lawsuits over its now-discontinued talc products for 16 years. A pending judge’s ruling could finally put the issue to bed once and for all.
As we reflect on five years of COVID-19, it’s clear that the impacts are still unfolding. The life sciences—and we as individuals—will never be the same again.
Job Trends
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.
FROM OUR EDITORS
Read our takes on the biggest stories happening in the industry.
Marty Makary, likely FDA commissioner under President Trump, appeared before Congress this week as the agency he’s set to lead continues to be rocked by sweeping changes and about-faces.
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Gilead plans to go straight to Phase III studies for once-yearly lenacapavir, while GSK and ViiV will push forward with their long-acting antivirals after touting positive early-stage results.
According to Judge Kenneth Bell, there is a lack of evidence to conclude that Merck willingly misrepresented the safety of its HPV vaccine Gardasil to patients and prescribers.
Roche and Zealand plan to study petrelintide as a monotherapy and in combination with CT-388, a dual agonist of the GLP-1 and GIP receptors that Roche picked up in its recent acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics.
Ionis will receive $280 million upfront and could get up to $660 million in future milestone payments. Ono will take charge of late-stage development as well as regulatory and commercialization activities.
BioSpace remembers COVID-19 five years after the pandemic was declared, Novo Nordisk’s CagriSema again misses expectations as the company joins a lawsuit filed by drug compounders against the FDA, Viking secures ample supply of its investigational obesity medication, J&J strikes out in depression, and Makary and Bhattacharya near confirmation.
Analysts acknowledged the long-term manufacturing deal could dull Viking’s takeout prospects but hailed it as a smart move to ensure supply.
Vepdegestrant did not improve progression-free survival broadly but saw improvements in one specific patient cohort. Arvinas’ stock took a 43% tumble on the news, and analysts are downcast on the drug’s prospects.
Roche acquired Spark Therapeutics in 2019 for $4.8 billion.
BEAM-302 “has set the bar for efficacy in this space,” William Blair analysts wrote in an investor note on Monday.
Abecma made $406 million in 2024, of which BMS paid $43 million to 2seventy bio as part of their profit-sharing agreement.