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Today’s Big News

Mar 20, 2025

'Not a cost-cutting exercise': Novo Nordisk CSO explains rationale behind pharma's R&D shake-up

Sanofi pays $600M upfront for Dren Bio's bispecific in latest immunology play

Elevation drops sole clinical-stage ADC over poor phase 1 data, lays off 70% of staff

Cell therapy biotech Century Therapeutics axes cancer trial, turns to autoimmune

Monte Rosa's broad molecular glue degrader plan comes unstuck, but prostate cancer work continues

BioNTech passes on Autolus’ CD19/CD22 CAR-T amid pipeline prioritization

UK cell therapy biotech lays off 25% of staff, turns to tool development over therapeutics

Featured

'Not a cost-cutting exercise': Novo Nordisk CSO explains rationale behind pharma's R&D shake-up

By James Waldron

Novo Nordisk may be reorganizing its early-stage R&D capabilities, but the Danish pharma’s chief scientific officer has insisted that the changes aren’t primarily about laying off staff.

Sanofi pays $600M upfront for Dren Bio's bispecific in latest immunology play

By James Waldron

The CD20-directed antibody, dubbed DR-0201, is a bispecific myeloid cell engager that Dren has been testing in a phase 1 trial for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Elevation drops sole clinical-stage ADC over poor phase 1 data, lays off 70% of staff

By James Waldron

Elevation is ditching its sole clinical-stage asset in the wake of disappointing phase 1 data, leading the antibody-drug conjugate company to lay off 70% of its staff.

Agenus CMO touts immunotherapy advances on The Top Line

Cell therapy biotech Century Therapeutics axes cancer trial, turns to autoimmune

By Gabrielle Masson

Century Therapeutics has joined the onslaught of cell therapy biotechs taking hits, discontinuing a phase 1 cancer study to turn its focus toward autoimmune diseases.

Monte Rosa's broad molecular glue degrader plan comes unstuck, but prostate cancer work continues

By Nick Paul Taylor

Monte Rosa Therapeutics’ plan to develop a molecular glue degrader in a wide range of cancers has come unstuck. Biomarker-positive patients were rarer than expected in some tumor types, prompting the biotech to focus MRT-2359 development on prostate cancer while continuing to advance its alliance with Novartis toward phase 2.

BioNTech passes on Autolus’ CD19/CD22 CAR-T amid pipeline prioritization

By Nick Paul Taylor

BioNTech has passed on Autolus Therapeutics’ dual targeting CAR-T cell therapy. One year after securing a chance to co-develop the prospect, BioNTech let the option expire as part of its portfolio prioritization.

UK cell therapy biotech lays off 25% of staff, turns to tool development over therapeutics

By Gabrielle Masson

Cell programming biotech bit.bio is slimming its workforce by 25% as the company pivots to focus on biomedical tools instead of therapeutics development.

Regulatory T-cell therapy calms autoimmune response from gluten-sensitive T cells in mice

By Darren Incorvaia

For the 80 million people worldwide who have celiac disease, the only treatment available is to cut grains like pasta and bread out of their lives. But researchers are hoping to change that with a new cell therapy that, in mice, was able to tamp down the immune system’s overreaction to gluten.

Newfound bacterial compound kills fungi that are resistant to multiple antifungals

By Darren Incorvaia

As fungi resistant to traditional treatments continue to spread around the globe, researchers from China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing have identified a bacterial compound that can kill infectious fungi even if they’re resistant to other antifungals.

Amid Trump's push to abolish DEI, Roche and Novartis adjust hiring initiatives: reports

By Kevin Dunleavy

Two months after U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed DEI programs “illegal and immoral,” Roche has reportedly scrapped its high-profile five-year plan to increase the diversity of its leadership. Meanwhile, fellow Swiss company Novartis will no longer use diverse panels in its hiring process for U.S.-based employees, according to Reuters.

Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

Fierce 15 of 2025: A breakdown

Executive Editor Heather Landi and Senior Writer Paige Minemyer sit down to chat about the evolution of the Fierce 15 project and honorees.

Breaking down pharma’s fourth-quarter sales boom

Ways providers can simplify patient billing

Resources

Whitepaper

The Oncology Market: 2025 Outlook

Read about four trends that will shape the innovations, therapies, & market landscape in oncology during 2025 & beyond.

Presented by Blue Matter, strategic consultants in the life sciences

Whitepaper

Redefining vaccine trial recruitment

Discover how to revolutionize your vaccine trials with Avacare's latest white paper. Gain exclusive access to innovative, data-driven recruitment strategies that ensure diverse, efficient, and high-quality vaccine trials.

Sponsored by: Avacare Clinical Research Network

Whitepaper