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Today's Rundown

Novo Nordisk bets big on RNAi, paying $3.3B to buy Dicerna
Gilead hits go on a host of Arcus cancer programs but forgoes rumored buyout in a $725M pact as TIGIT leads the way
With FDA scrutinizing its data, AstraZeneca shows durability of COVID-preventing antibodies
Sponsored: Tips on building a resilient cGMP chemical supply chain
Bristol Myers becomes latest victim of unforgiving NASH as midstage asset shelved
Sponsored: Considerations for Laboratory-Related Operational and Patient Burden in Decentralized Clinical Trials. Clinical Lab Testing in Your Home: Fact or Fiction?
J&J's Heaton becomes face of COVID-19 booster debate in first months as Janssen vaccine chief
Flagship-founded Generate snags $370M to generate medicines based on proteins, the 'building blocks of life'
Pfizer doles out $15M to Cardiff to advance a challenger to Amgen's KRAS winner Lumakras
About 77% of clinical research execs expect to run decentralized trials in next 12 months: survey
GSK's Cabenuva scores thumbs up from England's NICE, giving HIV patients a new long-acting treatment option
Fine-tuning targeted therapy for multiple myeloma with 'multi-omics' data
Sanofi inks $270M cancer AI deal with R&D platform developer Owkin

Featured Story

Novo Nordisk bets big on RNAi, paying $3.3B to buy Dicerna

By Nick Paul Taylor

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen has landed the major takeover he has targeted since taking over as CEO of Novo Nordisk. Having missed out on Ablynx to Sanofi in 2018, Novo Nordisk has agreed to a $3.3 billion buyout of its RNAi partner Dicerna Pharmaceuticals as part of its search for new growth drivers.

Gilead hits go on a host of Arcus cancer programs but forgoes rumored buyout in a $725M pact as TIGIT leads the way

By Ben Adams

It’s not a buyout, but Gilead is doubling down on Arcus’ immuno-oncology programs as it decides to snap up work on three new targets.

With FDA scrutinizing its data, AstraZeneca shows durability of COVID-preventing antibodies

By Nick Paul Taylor

Piece by piece, AstraZeneca is building the case for its COVID-19-preventing antibodies. The latest analysis moves AstraZeneca a step closer to its goal of achieving 12 months of protection with one dose of the long-acting antibody cocktail.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease has claimed another victim, this time Bristol Myers Squibb is washing its hand of the midstage asset pegbelfermin. The New York Big Pharma has discontinued development of the therapy, formerly known as BMS-986036, after getting a peak at results from the phase 2b FALCON study.

When Johnson & Johnson nabbed Penny Heaton, M.D., from the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute to be the global therapeutic area head for vaccines at Janssen, they threw her right into the deep end.

Flagship-founded Generate snags $370M to generate medicines based on proteins, the 'building blocks of life'

By Kyle LaHucik

Proteins are integral to most newly approved drugs, and Generate Biomedicines thinks it can generate a whole host of new therapeutics based on the "building blocks of life," with multiple candidates slated to enter clinical trials in 2023. The Flagship biotech brought in a whopping $370 million series B to sextuple headcount to nearly 500 by the end of 2023, open two new facilities this year and early next year and expand drug discovery work.

Pfizer doles out $15M to Cardiff to advance a challenger to Amgen's KRAS winner Lumakras

By Kyle LaHucik

Pfizer must have liked what it saw in data presented by Cardiff Oncology for a challenger in KRAS-mutated cancers. The Big Pharma is putting up a $15 million equity investment in the biotech to help bankroll development of the drug.

About 77% of clinical research execs expect to run decentralized trials in next 12 months: survey

By Kyle LaHucik

Decentralized clinical trials picked up steam during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they might end up outpacing the growth of traditional site-based studies within the next 12 months. That's the result of a survey from virtual trials provider Science 37, which asked 127 senior clinical research executives about the hybrid studies landscape.

GSK's Cabenuva scores thumbs up from England's NICE, giving HIV patients a new long-acting treatment option

By Kevin Dunleavy

People in the U.S. have had access to GlaxoSmithKline’s long-acting HIV treatment Cabenuva for nearly a year. Now the game-changing therapy will be available to people in England and Wales. With an approval from NICE, HIV patients will be able to switch from daily oral drugs to treatments every two months.

Fine-tuning targeted therapy for multiple myeloma with 'multi-omics' data

By Angus Liu

Mount Sinai scientists analyzed biological datasets from multiple myeloma patients and generated a computational model that allowed them to identify new subtypes of the disease. Armed with the results, they identified potential targeted treatments for patients who fall into those subtypes.