All articles tagged with #biopharma
Doug Ingram of Sarepta Therapeutics is criticized as the worst biopharma CEO of 2025 for making risky decisions to push for broad approval of the gene therapy Elevidys for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, despite limited safety and efficacy data, leading to tragic consequences.
Sanofi is acquiring Blueprint Medicines for $9.1 billion to strengthen its rare immunology portfolio, marking the largest biopharma deal since January.
Biopharma device manufacturer Schott Pharma USA Inc. plans to invest $317 million in Wilson County, creating 401 jobs by 2030 with an average annual wage of $57,868. The project, expected to grow the state’s economy by $1.32 billion, will involve manufacturing syringes for pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The company chose Wilson due to labor availability, proximity to Research Triangle Park, and state and local incentives. This investment reflects North Carolina's appeal to global biotech and life sciences companies, with the state having attracted over 7,000 new jobs and $2 billion in capital investment from German companies over the past decade.
Lawmakers' explosive charges have put a global spotlight on China's WuXi, a major player in the biopharma industry, which is now facing increased scrutiny. The relationship between biopharma companies and global CRO/CDMOs can be disrupted by various issues such as regulatory issues, production snags, and questions about team leadership, impacting long-term projects with substantial stakes.
Nvidia's stock surged 24% as it continues to make strides in AI and life sciences, with partnerships with Meta, Recursion, and Amgen. The company's BioNeMo platform and collaborations with Recursion and Amgen demonstrate its leading role in integrating AI within drug discovery. Meanwhile, Prime Medicine's stock saw a 20% tumble following a downgrade by Stifel, reflecting greater investor interest in CRISPR-based gene editing technologies. Allakos announced a workforce reduction and restructuring after its lirentelimab missed endpoints, while Bullfrog AI's shares nearly doubled after early results from its collaboration with the Lieber Institute for Brain Development showed promising insights into psychiatric disorders.
Nvidia's stock surged 24% as it continues to make strides in AI and life sciences, with partnerships with Meta, Recursion, and Amgen. Recursion's LOWE software and Prime Medicine's gene editing therapy faced fluctuations in stock prices, while Allakos announced a workforce reduction after its drug missed endpoints. Bullfrog AI's collaboration with LIBD yielded promising results in understanding and treating psychiatric disorders, leading to a significant increase in its stock price.
Biotech and pharma companies in Israel are assessing the impact of recent Hamas strikes on their operations and employees. The attacks, which included rocket launches and airstrikes, have prompted some companies to issue statements clarifying the situation. Israel has declared war on Hamas, and casualties are increasing on both sides.
Novartis has agreed to acquire Chinook Therapeutics, a biopharma company, for up to $3.5 billion. Chinook's stock surged following the announcement.
Peter Marks, the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has acknowledged an uptick in clinical holds for cell and gene therapies during the height of the pandemic, and is considering "alternatives" to manage them. Meanwhile, Tessera Therapeutics has announced preliminary data from five preclinical programs using its "gene writers" to tweak specific letters or insert entirely new sequences of DNA. An FDA independent advisory panel has voted in general support of recommending Pfizer's RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, to protect infants from the respiratory virus. Third-party manufacturer Catalent has announced a series of dramatic steps to right its business, including replacing top executives and site managers. Novo Nordisk is hitting the brakes on a national advertising campaign for obesity drug Wegovy to keep demand in check.
Amgen CEO, Robert Bradway, remains confident that the $28 billion deal with Horizon Therapeutics will close despite the FTC lawsuit filed to block the merger. The FTC argues that the merger would allow Amgen to use rebates on its existing drugs to pressure insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers into favoring Horizon’s thyroid eye disease and chronic refractory gout products. The lawsuit is expected to have a significant impact on M&A enthusiasm across the biopharma sector.
Baxter International Inc. is selling its biopharma-solutions arm to a private-equity consortium for $4.25 billion, as the company focuses on its core medical-products business.
Ginkgo Bioworks has partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim in a deal worth up to $406m, using its microbe-based database to find new molecules that the German pharma company could turn into new drugs. The deal includes upfront research and development fees, as well as payments based on hitting R&D, regulatory and commercial markers, and royalties on sales.
Private equity firms Warburg Pincus and Advent International are in advanced talks to acquire Baxter International's biopharma solutions business in a deal that could reach or exceed $4 billion. The buyout consortium has turned to other private equity firms to help fund the deal as direct lenders. Baxter may still opt to sell to another bidder or keep the business. Baxter's biopharma solutions unit supports drugmakers in the formulation, development and commercialization of drugs typically given by infusion or injection, such as biologics and vaccines.
Biopharma company Acelyrin Inc. had a strong market debut on Nasdaq, with shares rising 28% and giving the company a market capitalization of $2.1 billion. The Los Angeles-based company raised $540 million by selling 30 million shares in an upsized offering. Acelyrin joins a spate of new listings recently that have fueled hopes of a recovery in IPO markets, including Johnson & Johnson's consumer health business Kenvue Inc.
Biogen will deprioritize certain gene therapy, stroke and ophthalmology assets as it fine-tunes the pipeline following a recent staff reduction; Morphic Therapeutic touted positive mid-stage data for its oral med for ulcerative colitis; Novartis is shedding around 10% of its pipeline as Vas Narasimhan’s campaign to turn it into a “pure-play” drugmaker goes full steam; the FDA placed a clinical hold on Arbutus Biopharma’s experimental PD-L1 that is designed to treat patients with chronic hepatitis B virus; Vedanta Biosciences has secured $106.5 million to run a Phase III in Clostridioides difficile and a mid-stage trial in ulcerative colitis; Eli Lilly is planning to start testing its weight loss treatment candidate in a head-to-head clinical trial against Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy this month.