In GLP-1 pivot, Fractyl lays off 17% of staff

Today’s Big News

Jan 31, 2025

Vertex scores FDA nod for long-awaited non-opioid pain reliever Journavx 


Novartis missed the PD-1 boat. Will it catch the bispecific wave


Fractyl Health pivots Type 2 diabetes device therapy toward obesity and GLP-1s, lays off 17% of staff


Eylea-Vabysmo battle wages on as UK marketing watchdog reaffirms Bayer’s claims of ‘misleading’ Roche promos 


Busy day for biotech IPOs as Metsera, Maze go public with offerings totaling nearly $400M 


AstraZeneca scraps £450M expansion at UK vaccine plant, citing reduced government contribution 


GE HealthCare lays out $138M to build new contrast media manufacturing facility in Ireland 

 

Featured

Vertex scores FDA nod for long-awaited non-opioid pain reliever Journavx

Vertex has gained the FDA's approval for its nonaddictive pain med Journavx, which becomes the first significant innovation in pain relief in more than two decades.
 

Top Stories

Novartis missed the PD-1 boat. Will it catch the bispecific wave?

The rising class of bispecifics opened up an opportunity for the Swiss pharma to re-enter the PD-1 space from a new angle. The question is: Will the company take it? CEO Vas Narasimhan has weighed in.

Fractyl Health pivots Type 2 diabetes device therapy toward obesity and GLP-1s, lays off 17% of staff

The company will instead pitch its outpatient procedure as an “off-ramp” for people looking to stop taking GLP-1s and maintain their weight loss.

Eylea-Vabysmo battle wages on as UK marketing watchdog reaffirms Bayer’s claims of ‘misleading’ Roche promos

The fight for dominance between Regeneron and Bayer’s Eylea and Roche’s Vabysmo is playing out in arenas beyond just prescription counts and sales numbers.

Busy day for biotech IPOs as Metsera, Maze go public with offerings totaling nearly $400M

Obesity biotech Metsera and renal and metabolic-focused Maze Therapeutics have met their IPO expectations as the two companies prepare to join the Nasdaq this morning.

AstraZeneca scraps £450M expansion at UK vaccine plant, citing reduced government contribution

AstraZeneca is pulling the plug on a 450 million pound sterling investment at its vaccine production site in England due in large part to the reduction of a planned financial contribution from the U.K. government, the company has confirmed.

GE HealthCare lays out $138M to build new contrast media manufacturing facility in Ireland

GE HealthCare is pumping $138 million into its Carrigtwohill fill-finish site in County Cork, for a facility that will help deliver 25 million more contrast media doses per year by the end of 2027, including commercial products and those in the pipeline.

Novartis gives up on anti-CD40 antibody to treat Sjögren's due to 'benefit/risk profile'

Novartis has finally given up on iscalimab after deciding that the anti-CD40 antibody is not worth pursuing in Sjögren’s syndrome.

AbbVie jacks up 2027 sales projection for star duo of Skyrizi, Rinvoq to $31B

AbbVie has increased its 2027 projected sales for Humira follow-ons Skyrizi and Rinvoq to a combined $31 billion. It is a $4 billion increase on the company’s previous guidance for the immunology duo.

What to expect from the biotech IPO market in 2025

This week on “The Top Line,” we zoom in on a Fierce JPM Week panel of industry experts discussing what it will take for biotechs to pull off a successful IPO in 2025.

Novartis' Kisqali off to 'very rapid' launch in early breast cancer, CEO says. Can it keep up the momentum?

One of the most important launches for Novartis in recent years is off with a bang. The question now is whether the company can sustain the momentum and propel Kisqali to $4 billion in sales in early-stage breast cancer.

Sugar from soil bacteria restores pigment in mice with vitiligo: study

A sugar produced by soil bacteria may be able to stop the loss of skin pigment caused by vitiligo. A new study found that injecting the molecule into mice with the autoimmune disease slowed the rate of the rodents’ pigment loss and boosted the amount of pigment-protecting T cells.

Axsome secures hard-fought FDA nod for rapid-acting migraine drug Symbravo

Axsome Therapeutics has finally jumped all the hurdles in a challenging regulatory saga, winning approval for its oral migraine drug Symbravo. The rapid-acting treatment is approved for the acute treatment of migraine episodes.

Analysts tip thyroid disorder awareness push to boost health outcomes, market growth

As Thyroid Awareness Month draws to a close, GlobalData analysts have looked at how the push to catch millions of undiagnosed disorders could drive demand for drugs and diagnostics.
 
Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

What to expect from the biotech IPO market in 2025

This week on “The Top Line,” we zoom in on a Fierce JPM Week panel of industry experts discussing what it will take for biotechs to pull off a successful IPO in 2025.
 

Resources

Whitepaper

Communicating the Value of Biopharma Assets to Potential Investors

How can an emerging company attract the right partner for a therapeutic asset (& optimize its value in a transaction)? This paper offers some insights.
 

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