SQZ CEO departs amid layoffs

Today's Big News

Dec 1, 2022

A winner is crowned in head-to-head Alzheimer's battle between Biogen's Aduhelm and Lilly


Pfizer-Valneva's Lyme vaccine triggers 6-month antibody response, validating phase 3 regimen


SQZ CEO exits as biotech axes 60% staff; Synlogic succumbs to layoff pressure


Pfizer, Roivant team up for new inflammatory-focused Vant—and no, they're not calling it Pfvant


Cancer-focused Liminatus sets out to test SPAC waters


Rallybio revs up antibody discovery activities with risk-sharing AbCellera pact

 

Featured

A winner is crowned in head-to-head Alzheimer's battle between Biogen's Aduhelm and Lilly

Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks was confident last year that donanemab would best Biogen’s Aduhelm in a head-to-head battle. Now, the results are in—and Ricks was right.
 

Top Stories

Pfizer-Valneva's Lyme vaccine triggers 6-month antibody response, validating phase 3 regimen

Pfizer and Valneva have added another plank of evidence in support of their Lyme disease vaccine candidate, revealing that antibody levels remained elevated six months after the completion of dosing in a phase 2 clinical trial.

SQZ CEO exits as biotech axes 60% staff; Synlogic succumbs to layoff pressure

Biotech’s layoff sinkhole keeps growing, this time pulling in SQZ Biotechnologies and Synlogic, two Massachusetts companies that have also dropped pipeline programs to stay afloat.

Slope’s Hope Meely on the importance of a fully enabled clinical supply platform

Slope is revolutionizing the different levels of clinical trials through an all-in-one collaborative tool. Learn how Slope’s eClinical Supply Chain Management platform provides robust technology to the clinical trial space, covering all areas of supply management without losing sight of the chain of custody.

Pfizer, Roivant team up for new inflammatory-focused Vant—and no, they're not calling it Pfvant

Prolific biotech maker Roivant and Pfizer have partnered to launch a new inflammatory- and fibrotic-diseases-focused company. We checked, and Roivant is not ready to publicly name the new venture, but we at Fierce have a suggestion that rolls off the tongue: Pfvant.

The future of Alzheimer’s disease research needs solutions that benefit trial patients

As leaders of clinical drug development, we owe it to trial patients to continuously innovate randomized control trial (RCT) designs that help to assuage fears of placebo by reducing the number of patients required to be enrolled in a control group — and to run faster trials that get answers sooner.

Cancer-focused Liminatus sets out to test SPAC waters

SPAC deals are creeping back into the mainstream, with Liminatus Pharma and Iris Acquisition Corp. becoming the latest in the biotech sphere to test the waters.

Potential Modifier Gene Therapy for Degenerative Retinal Diseases

Nuclear hormone receptors are master regulators of multiple molecular pathways. When used as a modifier gene therapy they could reverse the pathological phenotypes of multiple inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs).

Rallybio revs up antibody discovery activities with risk-sharing AbCellera pact

Rallybio has become the latest company to hitch its antibody drug development efforts to AbCellera. The partners will co-develop up to five rare disease therapeutic targets in a risk-sharing pact, starting with a metabolic disease program.

With FDA nod for its fecal microbiome therapy, Ferring becomes No. 1 in No. 2

The FDA has signed off on Ferring Pharmaceuticals' Rebyota, a one-time, enema-delivered therapy for Clostridium difficile that can restore proper bacterial balance in the digestive system. As the first FDA-approved fecal microbiotica product, Rebyota represents a significant milestone, potentially clearing the way for other such treatments.

Vial reels in $67M in series B fund raising; adds NEXT Oncology to network

CRO startup Vial, which focuses on offering clinical trial services to the biotech industry, reeled in $67 million in series B funding it plans to use to further its global expansion.

New bill aims to reform CMS' drug coverage authority after controversial Aduhelm decision

A new bill seeks to reform CMS' Medicare coverage determination process in response to criticism of the agency's decision earlier this year to only narrowly cover the drug Aduhelm.

Advanced Clinical names Karra as VP of oncology unit

Advanced Clinical has tapped Ravi Karra, M.D., to be vice president of the CRO’s oncology unit.

Deep learning AI could predict heart disease death from a chest X-ray 10 years out: study

“What we've shown is a chest X-ray is more than a chest X-ray,” said Jakob Weiss, M.D., lead author of the study .

Trialbee sweetens its Honey platform with Omnichannel recruitment tool

Trialbee, a privately held patient enrollment company, has sweetened its clinical trial offering with the rollout of Honey Omnichannel that tracks multiple recruitment sources.
 
Fierce podcasts

Don't miss an episode

'The Top Line': Celebrating the 2022 Fiercest Women in Life Sciences honorees

This week on “The Top Line,” we share this week's headlines and discuss the 2022 honorees in our annual Fiercest Women in Life Sciences report.
 

Resources

Video

Discover why you should choose the Gibco™️ Efficient-Pro™️ system

Revolutionize your monoclonal antibody (mAb) manufacturing process with the Gibco™️ Efficient-Pro™️ Medium and Feed System. Watch our how-to video.
Whitepaper

Enhance the cost-effectiveness of your chemical supply chain

Learn how to develop a high-performing supply chain for GMP-manufactured chemicals used throughout your biologics workflow. Download the free whitepaper from Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Whitepaper

Plan for scalable process liquid and buffer preparation

Preparation of critical process liquids and buffer components shifts resources away from core activities and can be filled with inefficiencies and risks that can increase time and costs across your workflow. Learn about the framework to help reduce your total costs beyond capital and operational expenditures and set a solid foundation for successful scale-up of buffer preparation.
Webinar

Webinar: Writing the Future of Antibody Discovery Solutions

Twist Bioscience CSO Dr. Aaron Sato shares how Twist's tools for antibody discovery have been applied to identify antibodies against diverse and challenging targets. See how high-throughput DNA synthesis combined with antibody engineering expertise provides end-to-end antibody discovery solutions.

Whitepaper

Commercializing Gene Therapies – Supply Chain Considerations

This paper outlines how gene therapy supply chains are different from traditional biopharma products, as well as the factors that are essential to success.
Executive Summary

Scale-Up Strategies for Late-Stage Cell Therapies

Readers will learn manufacturing by Design Builds on Quality by Design, De-risking the Tech Transfer Process, and more.

Whitepaper

Lipid-Based Drug Delivery System to Bring Poorly Soluble Drugs to Market

How can Lipid-Based Drug Delivery System help bring poorly soluble drugs to market?
Whitepaper

Linear Compression vs. Parallel Processing: Speeding Biologics Through Development and Into Clinical Trials

Download this paper to learn considerations on how to move a biologic through clinical trials faster, advantages of Parallel Processing, and more.

Whitepaper

Intranasal Drug Product Development: Formulation to Manufacturing

What are key considerations for intranasal delivery in the treatment of acute and chronic conditions?
Whitepaper

Formulation Strategies When Transitioning From Vial to PFS

Learn how formulation development for a PFS affects manufacturing to drive the industry toward optimizing delivery of injectable products and, ultimately, improving patient care.
Whitepaper

Supply Services to Support Clinical Trials in Japan & Beyond

Explore Catalent’s newest clinical supply facility in Japan, including the comprehensive services & solutions it offers to help support trials both in-country & around the world.
Whitepaper

Clinical Supply Solutions for the Asia-Pacific Region

Learn how Catalent’s extensive network across APAC can meet a wide range of clinical supply needs for sponsors conducting trials within the region.
Research

A Strategy to Standardize Process Characterization & Late Phase Development

Learn more on an approach for process characterization for the production of a monoclonal antibody, which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the process by targeting the right design and number of experiments.

 

Upcoming Fierce Events