Insilico, Menarini ink 2nd $500M+ AI drug deal

Today’s Big News

Jan 10, 2025

FDA's Patrizia Cavazzoni to retire as CDER chief in 2nd senior official's departure in span of weeks 


Kardigan launches with cozy $300M series A and collection of late-stage cardio assets 


Insilico Medicine licenses 2nd AI-generated cancer drug candidate to Menarini’s Stemline in $550M deal


2025 forecast: As companies rush to radiopharmaceuticals for oncology, what's next? 


IGM, Y-mAbs, Passage Bio and more telegraph staff cuts amid restructuring spree 


Illumina rolls out single-cell and single-flow cell kits for low-volume labs 


Lilly doubles down on its presence in India with new capability center, plans to hire 1,000

 

Featured

FDA's Patrizia Cavazzoni to retire as CDER chief in 2nd senior official's departure in span of weeks

The FDA’s influential director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., will soon retire from the agency.
 

Top Stories

Kardigan launches with cozy $300M series A and collection of late-stage cardio assets

A new company is making its debut with a series A sum that’s sure to make hearts race. Launching with $300 million in hand, Kardigan plans to develop parallel treatments to prevent and cure cardiovascular diseases so that they’re no longer the leading cause of death worldwide, the company announced in a Jan. 10 release.

Insilico Medicine licenses 2nd AI-generated cancer drug candidate to Menarini’s Stemline in $550M deal

Their second exclusive, global in-licensing covers a second small molecule inhibitor, this time targeting what they described as a variety of solid tumors.

2025 forecast: As companies rush to radiopharmaceuticals for oncology, what's next?

Why is Big Pharma suddenly placing bets—big and small—on a medicine type that has been in the works for nearly a century? And where is the industry headed with the development of radiopharmaceuticals in 2025?

IGM, Y-mAbs, Passage Bio and more telegraph staff cuts amid restructuring spree

Just two weeks into 2025, January is proving why it’s earned a reputation as the worst month for layoffs. Late this week, a quartet of companies—IGM Biosciences, Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Passage Bio and Shoreline Biosciences—each revealed plans to cut jobs as they rework their respective pipelines and business structures.

Illumina rolls out single-cell and single-flow cell kits for low-volume labs

Illumina has begun shipping a single-flow cell system for its NovaSeq X series, to offer a more accessible price point for smaller labs.

Lilly doubles down on its presence in India with new capability center, plans to hire 1,000+

For nearly a decade, Eli Lilly has been operating a global capability center (GCC) in Bengaluru, India. Now, with its business booming, the company is setting up a similar site, 10 hours to the south in Hyderabad.

4DMT tosses 2 programs, halts funds for 3 others as it zeroes in on latest-stage clinical gene therapy

4D Molecular Therapeutics is axing two clinical programs and cutting off funds for three other assets, with resources to be pivoted toward launching late-stage studies for the biotech's eye disease gene therapy 4D-150.

FDA cancels adcomm in 'positive' sign for Exelixis’ Cabometyx bid in neuroendocrine tumors: analyst

On second thought, the FDA figures it no longer needs to discuss Exelixis’ application for Cabometyx in neuroendocrine tumors at an advisory committee meeting.

Eli Lilly, Andreessen Horowitz link up on $500M biotech venture fund

Lilly and venture capital fund a16z are joining forces to create the Biotech Ecosystem Venture Fund, backed by $500 million of Lilly's capital.

Matt McNally rejoins Publicis, leaving Omnicom for CEO role at agency’s health unit

Matt McNally is rejoining Publicis. The ad exec has taken the global CEO post at Publicis Health, returning to a company where he spent 14 years prior to a recent detour that took in the top job at Omnicom Health Group.

AbbVie takes $3.5B hit after emraclidine's phase 2 flop in schizophrenia

The failure of Cerevel's emraclidine in schizophrenia will cost AbbVie about $3.5 billion, the pharma said in a Jan. 10 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

'The Top Line': Breaking down the 55 new drug approvals of 2024

This week on “The Top Line,” we dive into 2024's batch of new FDA drug approvals, highlighting some potential blockbusters and shifts from previous years' lists.

 

Resources

Whitepaper

Communicating the Value of Biopharma Assets to Potential Investors

How can an emerging company attract the right partner for a therapeutic asset (& optimize its value in a transaction)? This paper offers some insights.
 

Upcoming Fierce Events

14-15
Jan
San Francisco, CA
22-24
Jan
Virtual Event
29-1
Apr-May
San Diego, CA
7-9
May
Free Virtual Event
8-11
Sep
Philadelphia, PA

View all events