WELCOME TO FIERCE LIFE SCIENCES WEEKLY DIGEST Following this month’s profiles of the most influential CEOs and scientists in biopharma, we now turn our attention to the entrepreneurs, including company builders and investors that have helped transform the industry. Meanwhile, the FDA handed down an anticipated approval for Mounjaro, Eli Lilly’s new Type 2 diabetes and weight loss drug that’s slated to generate nearly $5 billion in sales by 2026 as it competes with Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster Ozempic. Elsewhere, Pfizer, Sarepta, Genethon and Solid Biosciences teamed up to present a pooled safety analysis of their gene therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, with the goal of minimizing further complications. Those stories, plus our other top reads of the week, follow below. | |
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Featured Story | By Kevin Dunleavy Arriving with lofty expectations, Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide) got its call-up to the big leagues Friday as the FDA sanctioned the Type 2 diabetes and weight loss med. In a competitive market, which Novo Nordisk leads, can Lilly hit a home run with a drug that was shown in clinical trials to be more effective than other diabetes treatments? read more |
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Top Stories Of The Week By Annalee Armstrong The four companies working on gene therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy have had another thing in common besides the modality and disease they’re working on: serious adverse events. Pfizer, Sarepta, Genethon and Solid Biosciences teamed up for a pooled safety analysis that was presented this week at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy meeting. read more By Eric Sagonowsky,Fraiser Kansteiner,Andrea Park,Annalee Armstrong,Kevin Dunleavy The leaders in this week's Most Influential People in Biopharma category have led companies of all types in this industry—and they're still building today. While they may have scientific and medical expertise, the Fierce team felt their contributions to the business aspects of biopharma made them worth featuring this week. read more By Ben Adams More than two decades ago, Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham combined to become GlaxoSmithKline. But as the British Big Pharma looks to slim down its organization with its consumer demerger, its longstanding name is getting the same treatment. read more By James Waldron Once hailed as the future of immuno-oncology, it looks like TIGITs could now be in trouble. Roche admitted last week to a second phase 3 trial failure for tiragolumab, which was unable to demonstrate the progression-free survival achieved by Tecentriq alone in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. read more By Nick Paul Taylor AstraZeneca is keeping its foot on the gas on COVID-19 R&D, striking a deal to license RQ Biotechnology’s early-stage monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in a deal worth up to $157 million plus royalties. read more By Zoey Becker Pfizer is keeping a tight fist around supplies of its blockbuster COVID-19 drug, Bloomberg reports. Researchers aren't able to get their hands on the pills for combination studies, which they say could help them fight the looming problem of drug resistance. read more By Kevin Dunleavy After the departure of CFO Jorge Gomez after just one day on the job, Moderna says that it has agreed with its ousted finance chief to recoup his severance pay if he is found guilty of wrongdoing at his previous stop, Dentsply Sirona. read more By Conor Hale “This discovery changes the narrative around SIDS," said lead researcher Carmel Harrington, who lost her own child to sudden infant death syndrome 29 years ago. read more By Max Bayer AskBio's gene therapy to treat congestive heart failure is showing promise in initial data from an open-label phase 1 trial. Among three patients, there were no safety concerns through one year of treatment, and all three showed clinical improvement. read more By Zoey Becker After Novartis tagged its plant in Grimsby, England, for closure back in 2018, the company encountered unexpected higher demand for two medicines and had to keep the site operational. But now Novartis has officially offloaded the site. read more By Annalee Armstrong After going it alone for the past 14 years, Agios is ready to find a dance partner to help move its pipeline forward. But as part of the hunt for a company or companies that may nod back to Agios’ cabeceo, some tough choices lay ahead. read more By Teresa Carey This week on "The Top Line," we discuss what's left in the wake of Roche’s failed high-risk bet on an anti-TIGIT cancer drug. We also talk about Big Pharma’s growth in the first quarter and the week's biggest headlines. Plus, Fierce journalists share what it was like to finally be in a newsroom together again. read more Resources Sponsored by: Catalent In this executive summary, we describe the benefits of controlled release, look at how to determine whether a drug is suitable for controlled release, review the application of PBPK modelling in controlled release formulation development and discuss how modified release products can be developed to deliver optimal patient outcomes. Sponsored by: Merit Solutions Quality operations guide your organization through regulatory compliance processes and safeguard your products, processes, and reputation. But your team is capable of so much more. Quality incident data and processes can be a driver of significant business value if shared with other stakeholders. Sponsored by: Blue Matter, strategic consultants in the life sciences Recent trends are driving big changes in Medical Affairs. This paper explores why, and what MA teams can do to stay ahead of the curve. Sponsored by: PwC Don’t miss these critical considerations when evaluating your HCP interactions management program. | 
