Plus the top 10 drug ad spenders of 2024

This Week

Jul 3, 2025

Sage lays off entire staff of 338 amid takeover by Supernus


AbbVie reels in Capstan in $2.1B buyout, charting course for in vivo CAR-T market


SPECIAL REPORT—The top 10 pharma drug ad spenders of 2024


RFK Jr. brings in team to 'revolutionize' US vaccine injury compensation program


'Emergency' at Apple Tree: VC sues key investor, warns portfolio biotechs are on brink of collapse


ADA: From boy band star to Dexcom diabetes Warrior, Lance Bass talks his CGM treatment journey

 

Featured

Sage lays off entire staff of 338 amid takeover by Supernus

Two weeks after Supernus Pharmaceuticals unveiled the proposed acquisition of Sage Therapeutics, all 338 employees from the latter company are being laid off, according to a Massachusetts Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification.
 

Top Stories

AbbVie reels in Capstan in $2.1B buyout, charting course for in vivo CAR-T market

AbbVie is making a full strength play for the in vivo CAR-T market, snapping up Capstan Therapeutics for $2.1 billion to add an early-phase autoimmune drug candidate to its pipeline.

The top 10 pharma drug ad spenders of 2024

The top 10 meds were responsible for about a third of all pharmaceutical advertising spending in 2024; MediaRadar reported more than $10.1 billion spent marketing all prescription drugs last year, a year-over-year increase of about 2%.

RFK Jr. brings in team to 'revolutionize' US vaccine injury compensation program

After taking aim at the United States’ vaccine safety reporting system earlier this year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has added a federal vaccine injury compensation program to his list of immunization bugbears. And this time around, the HHS Secretary says he already has a team working on a potential overhaul.

'Emergency' at Apple Tree: VC sues key investor, warns portfolio biotechs are on brink of collapse

Apple Tree Partners’ life sciences venture fund has filed litigation against its controlling limited partners, claiming the investor has failed to meet its monetary commitments and warning of immediate consequences for its biotech portfolio.

ADA: From boy band star to Dexcom diabetes Warrior, Lance Bass talks his CGM treatment journey

The former boy band star was first treated for Type 2 diabetes before being diagnosed with Type 1.5 diabetes, also known as latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, and effectively reaping the benefits of Dexcom's G7 continuous glucose monitor.

Orphan Cures Act re-added to Trump tax bill as Senate prepares to begin vote-a-rama

The Orphan Cures Act has been added back into the Senate version of President Donald Trump's “big, beautiful bill” after being left out in the chamber’s first rendition.

Why 'emboldened' activist investors are taking the fight to biotechs

Whether it’s drug developers being pressured to wind down or investors accused of trying to “strip mine” a biopharma, shareholder meetings are increasingly becoming verbal battlegrounds for beleaguered biotechs.

Amid pricing squeeze and market withdrawals, Europe must prioritize generic manufacturing, Teva exec says

As trade pressures and geopolitical uncertainties mount, it’s imperative that the European Union swiftly strengthen and adopt new policies that provide “targeted support for sustainable and resilient manufacturing,” Michal Nitka, chief of Teva’s Europe generics and global over-the-counter businesses, said via email.

Argenx signs $1.5B pact to turn Unnatural Products' macrocyclic peptides to 'undruggable' targets

Argenx wants to get in on the macrocyclic peptide action, penning a deal worth $1.5 billion in biobucks with Californian biotech Unnatural Products to hunt down “undruggable” targets.

Hikma to splash $1B on US production and R&D, joining branded drugmakers' investment spree

Hikma plans to throw down $1 billion by 2030 to expand its manufacturing and R&D firepower in the U.S., where the company has been in operation since 1991. The investment plan plays into the Trump administration’s touted aim to increase production of drugs for U.S. patients on U.S. soil, with Hikma branding the initiative “America Leans on Hikma: Quality Medicines Manufactured in the USA.”

Shionogi puts more than $600M on the table for Swiss biotech's antibiotic program

Storied Japanese pharma Shionogi is upping its arsenal in the fight against antibiotic resistance. The company is paying 5 million Swiss francs ($6.3 million) upfront for a preclinical antibiotic program from BioVersys on which the two companies will work to turn into clinical candidates.

FDA amplifies Medtronic recall of Bravo acid reflux test capsules

Medtronic said it received 33 reports of serious injuries related to the device.
 
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Resources

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We analyzed ~300 launches to identify the factors most correlated with commercial success & built a framework for peak go-to-market performance.
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Outsmarting data bottlenecks in pharma: The clinical terminology advantage

Learn how clinical terminology helps life sciences teams streamline cohorting, reduce bias, and accelerate evidence generation.

 

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