| Today’s Big NewsJan 2, 2024 |
| By Gabrielle Masson Biopharma layoffs rose 57% last year compared to 2022, with 187 industry workforce reductions in 2023 compared to 119, according to an analysis of Fierce Biotech data. |
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By Annalee Armstrong What do you get when you halve the number of seizures across a group of difficult epilepsy disorders in an early-stage trial? For Longboard Pharmaceuticals, you get a tripling of your share price. |
By Annalee Armstrong Cytokinetics’ Christmas wish has come true. Cardiomyopathy treatment aficamten has improved exercise capacity in a pivotal phase 3 trial, sending the biotech’s shares soaring by more than 50% in pre-market trading Wednesday. |
By Annalee Armstrong You think Santa can stop the biotech deal making train? Think again. A handful of companies couldn’t wait for the New Year—or next week’s JP Morgan Healthcare conference—to announce their latest wheeling and dealing. We recap the Christmas deal spree. |
By James Waldron While you could forgive some Big Pharmas for backing away from CAR-Ts in the wake of the FDA’s decision to investigate the risk of secondary cancers, AstraZeneca has decided that a cell therapy company would make the perfect Christmas present. |
By Annalee Armstrong Novartis will launch another gene therapy satellite with Voyager Therapeutics in a $100 million upfront deal to develop candidates in Huntington’s disease and spinal muscular atrophy. |
By James Waldron There’s been no festive respite for Bristol Myers Squibb’s M&A team as the Big Pharma follows up its acquisition of Karuna Therapeutics with the announcement straight after Christmas that it is also buying radiopharmaceuticals-focused RayzeBio for cash. |
By Kevin Dunleavy Each year, many scientists and other experts working in the biopharma industry see years of their work culminate in FDA approvals. In 2023, the FDA gave a thumbs up to more than 60 new treatments, a significant increase from 2022, when only 37 drugs passed muster. |
By Annalee Armstrong AstraZeneca is tossing a little cash towards Allorion Therapeutics to pick up a friend for approved lung cancer med Tagrisso. |
By Nick Paul Taylor Gannex Pharma has taken a peek at phase 2 data on its non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) prospect. The Ascletis Pharma subsidiary linked the THRβ agonist to significant reductions in liver fat and pointed to findings that it sees providing an edge over Madrigal Pharmaceuticals and Viking Therapeutics. |
By Annalee Armstrong For the third year in a row, Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong collects her favorite stories of the year, with a little perspective on how each one came about. |
By Helen Floersh A major bump in the road to building broader, more durable vaccines may not be as much of a hurdle as scientists once thought, new research suggests. |
By Nick Paul Taylor ImmunityBio has traded future profits for cash to kick off commercialization of its near-approval cancer drug candidate. Oberland Capital took the other side of the deal, handing the biotech $210 million, with more to follow, in return for quarterly royalty payments on global net sales. |
By Annalee Armstrong Yesterday, you got a glimpse at my favorite stories of the year. But what were yours, dear Fierce Biotech readers? |
By Helen Floersh Scientists have shown that an old heart drug can inhibit growth of one of the most common and lethal forms of pancreatic cancer, at least in preclinical models. |
By Gabrielle Masson The FDA has hit Iovance Biotherapeutics’ cell therapy trial with a clinical hold after a patient with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) died. |
By Conor Hale Oncternal Therapeutics has reported the death of a patient in a clinical trial following an elevated dose of its autologous CAR-T therapy aimed at aggressive B-cell lymphomas. |
Fierce podcasts Don’t miss an episode |
| This week on "The Top Line," Fierce Biotech staff writer Gabrielle Masson and senior editor Annalee Armstrong look back at the year in biotech, which was defined by massive layoffs across the industry. They also discuss their favorite stories of the year, including an appearance from a popstar whose reputation precedes her. |
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