Evofem slashes workforce, CEO pay

Today's Big News

Mar 21, 2023

Return of the megaround: Is biotech back from the brink?


‘Not for the faint of heart’: After sealing Sesen reverse merger, Carisma aims for clinical victories


Evofem makes top-to-bottom cuts to save cash, slashing CEO pay by 40% and eliminating positions


Selecta, Sobi rout gout in pair of phase 3 trials that could challenge Horizon


Gilead scoops up Nurix’s IRAK4 degrader for up to $445M, plucking first fruit grown from 2019 collab


Cutiss sends skin cells to the International Space Station  

 

Featured

Return of the megaround: Is biotech back from the brink? 

$100 million for Rapport Therapeutics. $112 million for Noema Pharma. $108 million for Bicara Therapeutics. The megaround has come roaring back in the past few weeks, but is biotech really healing? 
 

Top Stories

‘Not for the faint of heart’: After sealing Sesen reverse merger, Carisma aims for clinical victories

For a moment there, it seemed as though a reverse merger between Carisma Therapeutics and Sesen Bio was on thin ice. Activist investors at the latter were holding up the marriage, largely to maximize the amount of cash that would be dispersed to Sesen shareholders. But after months of negotiating, the final assuaging came from Carisma’s head honcho.

Evofem makes top-to-bottom cuts to save cash, slashing CEO pay by 40% and eliminating positions

Evofem Biosciences is making top-to-bottom cuts in a bid to slash its costs. Months after laying off 39 people, the women’s health biotech has pushed more employees, including its chief commercial officer, out the door and cut the salary of its CEO by 40%.

Data-Centric AI is Making Waves

Data rich but quality poor. Massive amounts of disorganized data might be the final roadblock to unlocking the potential of data-centric AI.

Selecta, Sobi rout gout in pair of phase 3 trials that could challenge Horizon

Selecta Biosciences and Sobi have laid down a marker in their attempt to challenge Horizon for the gout market, delivering phase 3 data that suggest their SEL-212 candidate can match the efficacy of Krystexxa despite being administered less frequently.

Gilead scoops up Nurix’s IRAK4 degrader for up to $445M, plucking first fruit grown from 2019 collab

Gilead has selected the first fruit borne from a 2019 collaboration with Nurix, taking on an IRAK4 degraded to tackle inflammatory diseases. Gilead is paying up to $445 million to exclusively license the med.

Cutiss sends skin cells to the International Space Station

Swiss bioengineering firm Cutiss has launched skin cell experiments to the International Space Station. The artificial skin maker hopes to learn how microgravity impacts wound healing, with implications for future research and, maybe someday, its product pipeline.

Ruling on Elizabeth Holmes' prison delay, restitution to Theranos investors pushed back

During a hearing that lasted just under 90 minutes on Friday, Judge Edward Davila stopped short of offering a definitive ruling on Elizabeth Holmes' dual bids to stay out of prison while awaiting an appeal and to avoid paying restitution for her four felony convictions.

Clario partners with Strados to offer respiratory tech for clinical trials

Clario, a Philadelphia-based clinical health tech company, is partnering with Strados Labs to use its FDA-approved respiratory monitoring device for clinical trials.

AAD: Awaiting FDA decision in psoriasis, UCB touts 48-week data for bimekizumab in hidradenitis suppurativa

While UCB waits for the FDA's approval decision on bimekizumab in psoriasis, the company is touting new data in another indication. The company presented 48-week data in hidradenitis suppurativa at the American Academy of Dermatology's 2023 meeting.

MACPAC calls for states to have power to restrict Medicaid coverage of some accelerated approval drugs

States should have the power to restrict Medicaid coverage of drugs cleared via the FDA's accelerated approval pathway just like in Medicare, a new MACPAC report said.
 
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'The Top Line': What the Silicon Valley Bank failure means for global markets and biotech, plus this week's headlines

This week on "The Top Line," we discuss the SVB failure, what to expect next and what it all meant for the biotech industry. We also cover Pfizer's big acquisition, insulin prices and more of this week's top headlines.
 

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