Plus our top stories of the week

This Week

Nov 15, 2024

Hidden data on obesity prospect wipe $12B off Amgen market cap 


GSK calls it quits on trade group BIO for 2025, following exits by Takeda, UCB and more


AbbVie's $9B schizophrenia prospect flunks phase 2 trials, handing advantage to BMS


Thermo Fisher charts 160 layoffs in Massachusetts amid viral vector overhaul


What medtech CEOs are saying about Trump's potential tariffs 


Pfizer explores sale of hospital drugs unit amid activist investor's call for accountability: Reuters


23andMe shutters cancer drug research programs, lays off 40% of staff

 

Featured

Hidden data on obesity prospect wipe $12B off Amgen market cap

A hidden tab in an Excel spreadsheet published nine months ago has wiped $12 billion off Amgen’s market cap. The tab contains data on bone density changes in patients who received Amgen’s obesity prospect MariTide in a phase 1 trial.
 

Top Stories

GSK calls it quits on trade group BIO for 2025, following exits by Takeda, UCB and more

The company opted not to renew its membership for 2025 following an annual review of its trade group associations, a spokesperson said.

AbbVie's $9B schizophrenia prospect flunks phase 2 trials, handing advantage to BMS

The drug candidate at the center of AbbVie’s $8.7 billion acquisition of Cerevel Therapeutics has failed a pair of phase 2 trials, dealing a blow to the program and a boost to rival Bristol Myers Squibb.

Thermo Fisher charts 160 layoffs in Massachusetts amid viral vector overhaul

Thermo Fisher is cutting a total of 160 jobs across three different viral vector facilities in Cambridge, Lexington and Plainville, according to a government filing in Massachusetts. In tandem with the staff reduction, Thermo Fisher also plans to shutter its facility in Lexington.

What medtech CEOs are saying this week about Trump's potential tariffs

During quarterly earnings calls this week across the medtech industry, a recurring question has been on investors’ minds.

Pfizer explores sale of hospital drugs unit amid activist investor's call for accountability: Reuters

After a series of acquisitions and an activist investor's accusation of overspending, Pfizer is exploring an opportunity to slim down by divesting its hospital drugs unit, Reuters reports.

23andMe shutters cancer drug research programs, lays off 40% of staff

The genetics testing company plans to seek out new homes for its in-house pipeline of DNA-informed immuno-oncology antibodies.

MSF calls on Lilly, Novo and Sanofi to cut insulin pen prices to $1

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is calling on Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi to immediately reduce the price of insulin pens to $1 per device in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Carisma's Moderna-powered in vivo macrophage cell therapy shrinks lung and liver tumors in mice

The in vivo cell therapy seed that Carisma Therapeutics planted with Moderna in 2022 is starting to sprout. The biotechs teamed up to develop a method to engineer immune cells called macrophages to target solid tumors.

Swiss CDMO Lonza to double its ADC prowess by adding 2 suites, 200 jobs at its Visp site

The company will tack on two more multicustomer suites and 200 new jobs at its bioconjugation manufacturing facility in Visp, Switzerland.
 
Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

Dig into this year’s Fierce Biotech Graveyard, layoff numbers

This week on "The Top Line," we take a closer look at this year’s biotech graveyard, which tracks biotechs that have closed or are winding down. 
 

Resources

Whitepaper

Straight to Market in an Autoinjector

The use of prefilled syringes to administer biotherapeutics is beginning to gain traction because they offer a range of stability, efficacy, and patient safety benefits. Download this white paper to learn how Lonza has developed a novel workflow to ensure confidence regarding functionality in PFS and autoinjectors.
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Industry Insights: What to Expect from a 3PL

Selecting a 3PL with a proven track record of delivering high-quality services is critical to a successful pharma supply chain. Here's how.
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Single Cell RNA Profiling FFPE Tissue

Explore the robust cross-platform agreement between scRNA-seq and bulk RNA-seq, ensuring consistent and reproducible data on immune cell presence.
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7 “Make or Break” Factors for Emerging Biopharma Companies

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Intensified Biomanufacturing

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Direct-To-Patient Cash Solutions for Pharma Manufacturers

Direct-To-Patient Cash Solutions for Pharma Manufacturers – learn how to leverage cash models strategically to mitigate access challenges and overcome the hurdles faced in today’s retail pharmacy environment.
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Is That Heart Attack Really an Adverse Event?

Discover how independent adjudication can safeguard your clinical trials from misidentified adverse events and enhance the credibility of your results.
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Planning for success in cell-based manufacturing

Learn how to evaluate quality documentation to help you select the right raw materials at early decision points for your cell-based manufacturing processes.
Survey

Emerging Compliance Monitoring Trends in Life Sciences

Explore the latest trends in compliance monitoring to help your team embrace proactive strategies in key areas of risk management. Stay ahead of the ever-evolving landscape and new policies to enhance your compliance program.
Research

Elevating Your Omnichannel Strategy with Programmatic EHR Advertising

Read this case study to discover how programmatic EHR advertising can transform your omnichannel marketing strategy.
 

Industry Events

On Helix

Date: ‌4 ‌July ‌2024 ‌- ‌Location: ‌Babraham ‌Research ‌Campus, ‌Cambridge ‌UK

 

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