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Today’s Big News

Dec 18, 2023

Biotechs end year 'trading for nothing' as investors mull 'what is IPO-able today?'

Novo Nordisk Foundation sets up new vaccine initiative for respiratory diseases with $260M

Deadline looms for Point investors as phase 3 data matches Lilly's deal expectations

48% of biotechs leaning on Big Pharma as current funding method: ICON survey

Structure tumbles as midphase oral GLP-1 data underwhelm investors

Pivotal bioVenture Partners closes $389M fund, bringing total commitments to $689M

Featured

Biotechs end year 'trading for nothing' as investors mull 'what is IPO-able today?'

By Max Bayer

Biotech investors are licking their wounds after a year that's likely to have the lowest level of new fundraising in four years. Will 2024 finally be the rebound year?

Novo Nordisk Foundation sets up new vaccine initiative for respiratory diseases with $260M

By Gabrielle Masson

The Novo Nordisk Foundation is dedicating up to $260 million to create new or improved vaccines for serious respiratory diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB) and the flu.

Deadline looms for Point investors as phase 3 data matches Lilly's deal expectations

By Nick Paul Taylor

It's decision time for Point Biopharma investors. Having dragged out the Eli Lilly buyout, investors now have phase 3 radiopharmaceutical data to compare to Novartis’ results—and days to choose whether to cash out or reject the existing offer.

48% of biotechs leaning on Big Pharma as current funding method: ICON survey

By Gabrielle Masson

Against a backdrop of a tough funding environment, nearly half of biotechs are using partnerships with Big Pharmas as a financing method, according to a survey commissioned by CRO Icon.

Structure tumbles as midphase oral GLP-1 data underwhelm investors

By Nick Paul Taylor

Eli Lilly is casting a long shadow over the GLP-1 market. Structure Therapeutics linked its oral candidate to significant reductions in blood sugar and weight in a phase 2a trial on Monday, only for investors to halve the biotech's share price as they assessed the results in light of the competitive landscape.

Pivotal bioVenture Partners closes $389M fund, bringing total commitments to $689M

By Gabrielle Masson

Pivotal bioVenture Partners has closed its second fund of $389 million, money that will go toward North American and European companies working to develop new therapeutics.

Merck, Astellas and Pfizer bring down the house with Keytruda-Padcev FDA nod in bladder cancer

By Kevin Dunleavy

The FDA has signed off on Astellas and Pfizer’s Padcev in combination with Merck’s Keytruda as a first-line treatment for bladder cancer. The full endorsement, which follows an accelerated nod eight months ago, puts the combo on course to replace chemotherapy as the standard of care in locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer.

Spinal cord stimulation improves sensory link to prosthetic feet, cuts phantom limb pain in Pitt study

By Andrea Park

After racking up more than 30 years’ worth of experience in treating chronic pain, spinal cord stimulators have recently begun to expand their remit.

Organon pays $50M upfront to pick up rights to pair of Eli Lilly migraine meds in Europe

By Fraiser Kansteiner

Organon has unveiled a pact with Eli Lilly to take charge of Emgality and Rayvow marketing in Europe. Emgality is approved to help prevent migraines in adults who have at least four migraine days per month, while Rayvow is cleared for acute treatment of the headache phase of migraine attacks.

Kroger eyes opportunities in senior-focused primary care, rolls out service in Atlanta clinics

By Heather Landi

Kroger is piloting value-based primary care clinics as it joins a growing list of retailers looking to cash in on the booming sector of senior-focused medical care.

Zeiss offers €985M to acquire fellow ophthalmic devicemaker

By Andrea Park

Even after decades of experience developing eye-related devices under its belt, Carl Zeiss Meditec is still looking to expand its ophthalmic portfolio.

Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

'The Top Line': A closer look at the Fierce 50

The Fierce 50 honorees range from tech innovators to researchers developing novel therapies to providers on the frontlines of changing care. This week on "The Top Line," senior editor Paige Minemyer sat down with staff writers Dave Muoio and Anastassia Gliadkovskaya as well as senior editor Heather Landi to discuss a few of the honorees in more detail.

'The Top Line': Turning down the toxicity of nature’s most powerful antifungal

'Podnosis': Breaking down barriers with adaptive recreation

Resources

Whitepaper

The Essential Roadmap to Drug Development for Bioanalytical Success

Download this whitepaper to discover the 3 pillars of successful PK testing and conquer bioanalytical challenges.

Digital Health Innovation: From Concept to Commercialization

The road to digital health innovation is exciting but complex and requires thoughtful navigation; this whitepaper serves as your guide through this process.

S3 Connected Health

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Quantify microbial biomarkers with high sensitivity and dynamic range

qPCR Assay Design - Quantify microbial biomarkers with high sensitivity and dynamic range

Pathway to GMP Expectations for Gene-Modified Cell Therapies

Streamline your clinical cell therapy with our GMP-compliant ribonucleoprotein (RNP) manufacturing as you scale up without compromising on quality to tackle complex regulatory requirements.

Transitioning from using RUO to cGMP chemicals for clinical trials

By 2030, the global demand for biologics is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.7% and the challenges, risks, and costs of bringing large molecule products to market are growing exponentially.

The Potential of Predictive Algorithms for Pharma

Learn about the untapped power of AI-driven insights — where innovation meetings precision, effortlessly unlocking benefits for your organization.

The Convergence of Consumer Wearables & Medical Devices

Medical devices & consumer wearables are starting to overlap, creating risks & opportunities for traditional medical device companies as well as consumer wearables manufacturers. This paper explores pros and cons from both perspectives.

Fed-Batch Intensification To Increase Titer In Biologics Manufacturing

Improving efficiency and productivity in biologics manufacturing is a longstanding goal within today’s industry, especially now as new and increasingly complex molecules are fundamentally changing technological and operational approaches to drug development. Process intensification can help accelerate this pace of innovation through advanced process development techniques and high productivity manufacturing platforms.

Effective Technology Transfers for Mammalian-Derived Biologics

As a leader of technology transfer activities in the industry, Lonza understands the challenges associated with this critical step. Download this White Paper today to learn more.