To view this email as a web page, click here

   Home

Subscribe

Advertise

 

 

 

 

January 15, 2020___

Today's Rundown

Featured Story

No sleep, exiled mattresses, cleared bank accounts: Getting deals done at JPM

We're always looking to ask the big questions at FierceBiotech, and, at this year's J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, we're asking: Where do all the orphaned mattresses go? Stick with us; it's a story of dealmaking madness at the biggest biopharma conference of the year.

Thank you to Rho for sponsoring this year's JPM 2020 coverage.

Top Stories

Pfizer CEO Bourla teases cost cuts ahead—sooner rather than later

Every drugmaker has three core units: R&D, manufacturing and commercial. But then there are what Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla calls “enabling functions”—think HR and digital—and that’s where he sees room for his company to cut costs.

Want clues into Gilead's M&A strategy? Check out last year's Galapagos deal

After taking the reins at Gilead early last year, CEO Daniel O’Day’s been heading up the company long enough to understand what investors really want: more transparency and M&A clues. He gave them both Monday at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

4 women discuss culture shock between Big Pharma, smaller biotech and their first CEO role

At this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, we caught up with four women who had moved up the ranks in biopharma and are leading companies in their first CEO role: Synlogic's Aoife Brennan, Turning Point's Athena Countouriotis, Cygnal's Pearl Huang and Lyndra's Patricia Hurter.

Bristol chief says one-third of Celgene cost cuts will hit in 2020

Last year, Bristol-Myers Squibb stole the show at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference with its $74 billion deal agreement for Celgene. But one year later, with the deal just recently closed, company CEO Giovanni Caforio says he feels “even better about our opportunity” then he did when BMS unveiled it.

Roche, Illumina unveil 15-year cancer diagnostic tie-up

Roche has inked a 15-year partnership with Illumina in oncology, which will include collaborating on new companion diagnostic indications for the DNA sequencing giant’s pan-cancer assay.

JetBlue, but for biopharma: Borisy's EQRx nabs $200M, takes aim at drug prices

It's not news: Over time, biopharma companies have raised the price of new medicines ever higher—simply because they can, says veteran biotech investor Alexis Borisy. Now, he’s throwing a wrench in the system with a new kind of biotech company, one that will “reshape the industry” by introducing new medicines at “radically lower” prices.

With new ethics plan, Novartis chief puts his money where his mouth is

Novartis' history of scandals—and apologies for those scandals—might make anyone skeptical of CEO Vas Narasimhan's pledge to make trust a top priority. But now, the company is taking the promise a step further. Into Narasimhan's own pocket, in fact.

Already prepping for Alzheimer's launch, Biogen scouts 'top talent' and talks pricing

Biogen hasn't even filed its FDA application for controversial Alzheimer's drug aducanumab yet. But it's already started gearing up for a launch, recruiting across biopharma for "top talent" for its rollout teams, building up manufacturing and talking to experts about one key number—price.

Synlogic CEO Brennan on lessons learned and what's up in 2020

Last August, Synlogic pulled the plug on its lead program: a “synthetic biotic,” or living microbe medicine, aimed at lowering ammonia levels in the intestine. Now, CEO Dr. Aoife Brennan is sharing what the company learned from that failure and what it means for Synlogic’s future.

With Tesaro staff and expertise in the mix, GSK gears up for 3 oncology launches in 2020

Zejula wasn't the only asset that came to GlaxoSmithKline with its Tesaro buyout, CEO Emma Walmsley said Tuesday at the J.P Morgan Healthcare Conference. It also picked up experts in cancer R&D and regulatory affairs, plus a "talented and competitive" sales team—and GSK can leverage that brain trust with three cancer launches this year.

Esperion tees up to launch cholesterol-busting meds—at affordable prices

With approvals looming for two cholesterol-busting drugs, Esperion is building a team of 300 sales reps to make sure doctors know to prescribe the new drugs to patients who struggle to control their cholesterol. And it plans to sell the drugs at a price that ensures patients prescribed them can actually afford them.

As the biotech world makes San Francisco home for the week, Janssen has longer-term plans

As the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference kicks off in San Francisco this week, Janssen has unveiled plans to double down on its own long-term presence in the area.

Ivenix taps new CEO as it brings its digital infusion pump to market

Ivenix brought on a medtech veteran to be its new CEO as the manufacturer prepares to bring its next-generation infusion pump to the market. The Boston-based company tapped Jorgen Hansen to be its next chief, after securing a 510(k) clearance from the FDA in June 2019.

Enrollment Showcase

Online Graduate Programs Designed for Your Career

Drexel University’s online graduate programs in biomedicine, clinical research, drug discovery, and molecular medicine were developed with working professionals in mind, providing you with the education, practical skills, and competitive edge you need to be successful in your career.  Learn more.

Resources

[Whitepaper] What to Look for in an Informatics Platform for Large Molecule R&D

As emerging modalities transform the needs of life science R&D, how can biotech and pharma companies use modern software approaches to increase productivity and reach breakthroughs faster?

[Presentation] Flexible Manufacturing Strategies

Get expert insights on strategies to implement flexible manufacturing and different technologies that are easily scalable and reproducible.

[Executive Summary] Overcoming Manufacturing Challenges for Accelerated Drug Development

Regardless of the assigned FDA expedited approval designation and approach, the key action items should be: the assurance of a detail-oriented plan and the adaption of a “forward-thinking” approach that will assist in any future challenges and opportunities for growth of each project.

[Whitepaper] Digital Disruption in Biopharma: How Digital Transformation can reverse declining ROI on R&D

The beginning of this digital transformation is well underway and is likely to accelerate. Read our white paper, “Digital Disruption in Biopharma: How Digital Transformation can reverse declining ROI on R&D,” to learn more.

[Whitepaper] Telemedicine: Facilitating Clinical Trial Participation

Download this white paper and read the expert feedback that snapIoT has gathered from industry thought leaders on the evolution, evaluation, and use of telemedicine solutions in clinical trials.

[Whitepaper] Are We Transforming in the Right Way? Why Launches Can’t Be Distracted By Empty Promises.

How are your launch strategies can convert “innovation” into value for patients?

[Whitepaper] Modernizing clinical trials with Amazon Web Services (AWS)

From IoT to data management to high-performance computing and machine learning, leading life sciences organizations are using Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop scalable, global, predictable, and secure solutions to modernize clinical trials while mitigating risks

[Whitepaper] Why Partner with CSP’s to Validate Mission Critical Apps in the Cloud?

Why companies leverage the expertize of industry focused cloud service providers to design and build quality systems and facilitate the FDA Validation of Mission Critical Apps in the Cloud.

[Whitepaper] How to Protect your Supply Chain from Security and Compliance Threats Utilizing On-Dose Authentication Technologies

Learn more: Best practices for defending supply chain security and compliance by efficiently managing product authentication.

[Whitepaper] The Unexpected Key to Building Value in Drug Discovery and Development

Small or emerging pharmaceutical and biotech companies pursuing novel molecules and targets have two important goals: achieve clinical success and attract new rounds of funding. While there’s never a guarantee of either, certain actions can influence the outcome in your favor.

[Executive Summary] Clinical Supplies - Made to Order

Learn how recent innovations in demand-led supply and direct-to-patient distribution are converging to create a next-generation clinical supply chain that is flexible, lean and most importantly patient-centric.

[Whitepaper] Digital Twins: Creating Digital Operations Today to Deliver Business Value Tomorrow

This whitepaper highlights the challenges of implementing the right digital twin strategy while providing key use cases in the manufacturing domain for which a digital twin is extremely useful and several examples of technology trends that will shape the future.

[Q&A] Embarking Upon the Commercial Manufacturing Journey for a Biologic

In this Q&A, four Catalent Biologics experts share how scale-up, regulatory expectations, demand forecasting and process validation all play a role in the success of a biologic when embarking upon the commercial manufacturing journey.

Events