New RNA biotech nabs 2023’s largest VC haul yet

Today's Big News

May 23, 2023

Pfizer, Moderna among many biopharma giants to post Q1 sales declines as Novo Nordisk led growth charge


Abbott submits dual-chamber leadless pacemaker for FDA review after study success


Moderna vets help launch new RNA venture with $300M in largest financing round of 2023 so far


Amid high-profile injectable launch, Novo Nordisk scores with its pill version of obesity drug Wegovy


Wave's ALS-dementia drug crashes out after early-phase flop, dealing further blow to target


ICU Medical faces Class I recall of infusion system replacement batteries

 

Featured

Pfizer, Moderna among many biopharma giants to post Q1 sales declines, as Novo Nordisk led growth charge

With demand for vaccines and other COVID-19 products plummeting, drugmakers who thrived during the pandemic have seen their sales decline significantly. The effects of the COVID cliff were apparent over the last few weeks as companies reported their first-quarter results. Of 20 leading biopharma companies, just six saw their revenues increase in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the same period last year.
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Top Stories

Abbott submits dual-chamber leadless pacemaker for FDA review after study success

When Abbott reeled in FDA approval for its first leadless pacemaker last spring, it was playing catch-up with Medtronic, whose Micra implant became the first such device greenlighted by the regulator in 2016. Now, however, Abbott is hoping to leap ahead of the competition by being the first to earn the FDA’s blessing for a dual-chamber version of the technology.

Moderna vets help launch new RNA venture with $300M in largest financing round of 2023 so far

ReNAgade Therapeutics is unveiling after closing a $300 million series A in the largest private fundraising round of the year to date. The new company's joint venture with Orna Therapeutics has already spawned a collaboration with Merck & Co.

Amid high-profile injectable launch, Novo Nordisk scores with its pill version of obesity drug Wegovy

Diabetes and weight loss juggernaut Novo Nordisk has presented data from a phase 3 trial that show an oral version of its obesity drug Wegovy performs comparably to its original injected therapy. In the study, patients who received a 50 mg daily dose lost an average of 15.1% of their weight over 68 weeks compared to 2.4% for those on placebo.

Wave's ALS-dementia drug crashes out after early-phase flop, dealing further blow to target

Wave Life Sciences’ antisense oligonucleotide WVE-004 has come up short in an early-phase trial. A year after Biogen and Ionis killed off a similar asset, the biotech is waving goodbye to WVE-004 after getting a look at early-phase clinical trial data in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia.

ICU Medical faces Class I recall of infusion system replacement batteries

A recall of nearly 62,800 replacement batteries used in several of ICU Medical’s infusion pumps has received the FDA’s Class I rating—the agency’s most serious, denoting a higher risk of serious injuries or death linked to use of the affected devices.

Blueprint's Ayvakit picks up long-awaited FDA approval in indolent systemic mastocytosis

Blueprint's Ayvakit is now approved to treat the indolent form of systemic mastocytosis. The nod follows the drug's 2021 green light for the advanced form of the disease.

Indivior's Opvee crosses FDA finish line, adding new overdose rescue option amid raging opioid epidemic

As the opioid epidemic rages on in the U.S., a new overdose reversal option has arrived in Opiant's Opvee. The nalmefene hydrochloride nasal spray is a new tool to combat rising overdose rates.

Bioventus seals up $85M sale of wound care business to LifeNet Health

After an attempt to expand its business fell apart earlier this year, Bioventus is downsizing instead.

Affimed reveals 25% of staff were laid off in April in wake of phase 2 lymphoma fail

April was a tricky month for Affimed. We already knew that a phase 2 fail prompted the end of plans to develop a bispecific antibody as a monotherapy in lymphoma. Now, Affimed has revealed that the resulting reorganization also meant a quarter of its employees were shown the exit.
 
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'The Top Line': 2023's biopharma layoffs, plus the headlines

This week on "The Top Line," we''ll discuss the recent biopharma layoff trends, plus Elizabeth Holmes, Sarepta Therapeutics, Abbott's FDA approval, and the rest of the week's headlines.

 

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