Plus roundups of the day-by-day action
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Editor’s note: Welcome to our annual special issue from the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. These stories are a selection of our extensive coverage of the virtual conference and sidelines action. You can find more—including the latest stories—at FierceBiotech.com and FiercePharma.com.

Today's Rundown

Featured Story

Sanofi has designs on creating Big Pharma's 'strongest' immunology franchise, CFO says

Sanofi has been no stranger to the biopharma dealmaking circuit under CEO Paul Hudson, and last year it inked a handful of biotech buyouts for mRNA, an FDA-approved transplant med and more. Now, when asked about the company's business development plans going forward, Sanofi's CFO said the company thinks it can build an industry-leading immunology franchise.

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Top Stories

Medtronic makes $925M offer for Affera, aiming to break into advanced cardiac mapping market

Medtronic is already a strategic investor in Affera, with a 3% ownership stake in the Boston-based devicemaker.

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New Johnson & Johnson CEO Duato points out 5 pipeline meds that can generate $5B-plus

Johnson & Johnson, preparing for a consumer health spinoff late next year, has big plans in pharmaceuticals for the coming decade. In the first half of the decade, the company will lean on existing meds for growth. In the second half, new launches should contribute, CEO Joaquin Duato said.

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Dexcom shows off new G7 data after submitting diabetes sensor for FDA review

The new G7 wearable glucose sensor "very comfortably meets" the FDA’s accuracy requirements, according to Dexcom CEO Kevin Sayer.

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Bristol Myers plots 3 blockbuster launches to counter Revlimid's patent cliff

When Bristol Myers Squibb unveiled its massive Celgene buyout ahead of 2019's J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, executives knew Celgene's blockbuster blood cancer drug Revlimid would face generics sometime in the years that followed. In 2022, the key patent cliff is here.

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Sarepta projects Duchenne muscular gene therapy will go to FDA next year, sees shares crash 15%

Sarepta Therapeutics will ask the FDA to approve its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy next year if the data from a pivotal trial is consistent with existing evidence, the biotech said at JPM 2022 on Monday. The biotech, with three approved DMD meds, said its gene therapy helped kids improve their motor skills.

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Pharma's Day 1 Roundup—BMS' blockbusters; Novartis' spending plans and more

Boot up those computers and get your J.P. Morgan healthcare conference meeting links ready, because it's set to be a week full of biopharma action.

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Biotech's Day 1 Roundup—Bayer's Mammoth deal; Pfizer's dive into gene editing and more

Join us for a rolling look at the top life sciences news coming out of this year's virtual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

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How Novavax plans to be a COVID-19 vaccine force in 2022

Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine is destined for the global market, where the company expects demand to play out across all three chief areas: primary vaccination, boosters and the pediatric market, Silvia Taylor, senior vice president, global corporate affairs and investor relations at Novavax, said in an interview on the sidelines of the J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

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Pfizer locks in 2 partners to solidify status as mRNA powerhouse

Pfizer is determined to become an mRNA powerhouse, and it’s signing on two partners in that quest, including one that supplied tech that helped create the COVID-19 vaccine.

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What FDA crackdown? Novartis oncology chief touts BeiGene PD-1’s global profile

The FDA is tightening its act around checkpoint inhibitor approvals. But to hear Novartis Oncology president Susanne Schaffert tell it, the company’s BeiGene-partnered PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab has a differentiated profile that could meet FDA’s high demand.

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Illumina posts new sales records, lays out long-read chemistry plans

In a presentation at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, CEO Francis deSouza said the accelerating use of genomics in healthcare pushed Illumina to about $4.517 billion in 2021 revenue, an increase of 39% over last year.

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Pharma's Day 2 Roundup—Abbvie's aesthetic success; Lilly's tirzepatide roadmap and more

The 40th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference rolls on today with virtual presentations and Q&A sessions from some of the biggest names in biopharma. Be sure to check in throughout the day to get the latest happenings from the virtual conference.

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Biotech's Day 2 Roundup—Sage's double-duty drug; Dexcom shows off G7 data and more

All you need to know from the second day of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

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Amid underwhelming Aduhelm launch, Biogen supports limited Medicare coverage, exec says

Biogen is waiting with bated breath for a key reimbursement decision on Aduhelm from Medicare this week. With pushback mounting against the controversial Alzheimer’s disease therapy, the biotech isn’t picky for any potential coverage.

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Bristol Myers buoys cell therapy interests with $3B biobucks deal with Bayer-backed Century, $70M upfront to ArsenalBio

Bristol Myers Squibb snagged two cell therapy deals for solid tumors and hematologic malignancies on Monday at the start of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. BMS is betting $3 billion in biobucks on Century Therapeutics' cell therapies and paying $70 million upfront for ArsenalBio's.

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Pfizer CEO eyes 50% boost to Paxlovid production—and capacity expansions, too

Pfizer will have the capability to produce 120 million courses of its COVID-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid in 2022, CEO Albert Bourla, Ph.D., said, while adding that the company is looking to secure even more capacity this year, because countries want to stockpile the treatment, which has a three-year shelf-life.

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Moderna finds Carisma's macrophage tech compelling enough for $45M cancer research deal

Moderna is doling out a little bit of its COVID-19 vaccine cash in a $45 million oncology research deal with Carisma Therapeutics to develop up to a dozen targets.

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Vertex's Trikafta holds the line as company lays groundwork for gene editing launch

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is well known for its slew of cystic fibrosis medications, and newcomer Trikafta is pulling its weight. Over the course of 2021, the med clinched reimbursement in 16 countries and launched for kids ages 6 to 11 in the U.S.

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Freenome passes $1B funding mark with $290M from Roche for cancer blood tests

The latest of the blood testing company’s supersized fundraises came barely a month after its $300 million predecessor.

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Eli Lilly CEO mulls using Novo's double-branding trick on tirzepatide—one obesity, one diabetes

Is there good reason to split one drug into multiple brands? Plenty of drugmakers have thought so, including Novo Nordisk with its Wegovy and Ozempic GLP-1 diabetes drugs. Now, Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks is weighing the idea with its rival blockbuster-in-waiting, tirzepatide.

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Pfizer re-ups gene editing interest with $300M Beam pact, $1.35B in biobucks

Pfizer is taking a bigger bite out of the gene editing apple with $300 million upfront in a research collaboration with Beam Therapeutics focused on the biotech's base editing technique. The deal covers rare genetic diseases of the liver, muscle and central nervous system.

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