Fierce 15 nominations now open

Today’s Big News

May 20, 2025

Pfizer pays 3SBio $1.25B for PD-1xVEGF bispecific, joining red-hot race with BioNTech, Merck


SV Health’s latest pharma-backed dementia fund raises $269M to invest in new therapies


Nominations now open for Fierce Biotech's 2025 Fierce 15


Stars align for CRISPR Tx, Sirius as pair pens siRNA collab with a focus on thrombotic disease


RegenXBio cashes in $250M worth of payments for Zolgensma, 2 other gene therapies


Tourmaline touts cardiovascular potential of former Pfizer antibody after phase 2 kidney disease win


Blueprint changes up $1.67B VantAI pact again, zeroing in on molecular glue potential


BioNTech pledges £1B to bolster UK presence while nabbing £129M grant from government


Prime Medicine CEO exits as biotech shelves sole clinical gene therapy, lays off 25% of staff


Atsena eye disease gene therapy hits safety goals, closes retinal splits in phase 1/2

The Top Line Podcast: Don’t miss out on the newest episode. Listen now.

 

Featured

Pfizer pays 3SBio $1.25B for PD-1xVEGF bispecific, joining red-hot race with BioNTech, Merck

Pfizer has joined the PD-1xVEGF bispecific gold rush. The Big Pharma is paying 3SBio $1.25 billion upfront for ex-China rights to a clinical candidate, establishing itself as a challenger to BioNTech, Merck & Co. and Summit Therapeutics in a scorching-hot area of immuno-oncology.
 

Top Stories

SV Health’s latest pharma-backed dementia fund raises $269M to invest in new therapies

A dementia-focused transatlantic venture capital initiative has secured $269 million in commitments for its second fund.

Nominations now open for Fierce Biotech's 2025 Fierce 15

Fierce 15 nominations are open! We're searching for the most innovative, resourceful and visionary biotechs leading the way through the industry's mercurial conditions.

Built for the Journey: How Bridge Bank Builds Long-Term Banking Relationships in Life Sciences

Here’s how experienced banking partnerships create value beyond traditional lending and why industry-specific expertise matters in navigating the complex life sciences landscape.

Stars align for CRISPR Tx, Sirius as pair pens siRNA collab with a focus on thrombotic disease

CRISPR Therapeutics is paying $25 million upfront to work on multiple siRNA targets with Sirius Tx with an early focus on the next-gen thrombotic disease asset SRSD107.

De-Risking Tech Transfer: A Smarter Path to Faster, More Reliable Outsourcing Outcomes

Tech transfer is conceptually a straightforward process, but it is fraught with minutiae and unknowns that can introduce delays, unplanned costs, and batch failures.

RegenXBio cashes in $250M worth of payments for Zolgensma, 2 other gene therapies

RegenXBio will fill its coffers with up to $250 million by monetizing more royalty rights for Novartis-partnered Zolgensma as well as anticipated payments linked to a gene therapy nearing approval and a third candidate in development.

Innovative Breakthrough in Cancer Testing Developed in Ohio

Cleveland Diagnostics redefines cancer detection with new technology developed at the Cleveland Clinic in the heart of the Ohio Discovery Corridor.

Tourmaline touts cardiovascular potential of former Pfizer antibody after phase 2 kidney disease win

Tourmaline Bio’s lead candidate sparkled in a new mid-stage data drop, prepping the biotech to develop the former Pfizer asset further in a pair of cardiovascular indications.

Blueprint changes up $1.67B VantAI pact again, zeroing in on molecular glue potential

Blueprint Medicines is revising a pact with VantAI again, this time adding a focus for historically “undruggable” targets and prioritizing new target-effector pairs that could be used to develop molecular glue therapeutics.

BioNTech pledges £1B to bolster UK presence while nabbing £129M grant from government

BioNTech plans to invest up to 1 billion pounds sterling ($1.3 billion) over the next decade to beef up its R&D base in the U.K. The project will include the construction of two new research centers in the country, plus a U.K. headquarters for the German biotech in London, which will also house an artificial intelligence “hub."

Prime Medicine CEO exits as biotech shelves sole clinical gene therapy, lays off 25% of staff

Despite hitting a clinical “milestone,” Prime Medicine is shelving its sole clinical-stage genetic medicine and laying off an undisclosed number of staffers.

Atsena eye disease gene therapy hits safety goals, closes retinal splits in phase 1/2

Hot on the heels of a $150 million fundraise, gene therapy outfit Atsena Therapeutics has debuted data showing that the company’s eye disease candidate led to no serious treatment-related adverse events and improved the structure and function of the retina.

All branded drugs not facing generic, biosimilar competition must abide by MFN order in 'all markets,' HHS tells pharma

President Donald Trump's recent Executive Order on drug prices applies to "all brand products across all markets that do not currently have generic or biosimilar competition," the HHS said in a Tuesday press release.

For Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi, first FDA-approved Alzheimer's blood test will take time to boost launch: analyst

With the FDA approval of the first blood-based test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, Eisai and Biogen’s acceleration plan for Leqembi has been set in motion. But bending the Leqembi sales curve may still take time, a Mizuho analyst argued.
 
Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

A Fierce breakdown of the 'most favored nation' executive order

This week on "The Top Line," Fierce Pharma breaks down President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting drug prices and what it could mean for the industry as broader policy shifts unfold.
 

Resources

Whitepaper

Accelerating Clinical Trial Excellence: A Seamless IRB & IBC Collaboration

Don’t delay your gene transfer trial’s start-up timeline by gaining the latest insights from WCG’s case study on the power of a seamless Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) review process.
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SpyLock Technology: A cutting-Edge Solution for Rapid Bispecific Antibody Screening

Learn how the SpyLock service can offer fast bispecific generation, reduce workload, and accelerate candidate selection.
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Best Practice Medical Affairs Organization Study Report

We interviewed 24 Medical Affairs leaders on the critical success factors for building a Best Practice Medical Affairs organization. This report shares what we learned.
 

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