Frank Vinluan is senior biopharma reporter for MedCity News. He previously held business reporting positions at Xconomy, The Seattle Times, The Des Moines Register, and the Triangle Business Journal.
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Windward Bio’s next-generation antibody drugs for immunology caught the interest of Sanofi, which bought shares in a private placement alongside the biotech’s IPO. Windward’s lead drug candidate addresses the same target as a blockbuster asthma drug from partners Amgen and AstraZeneca.
Blackstone Life Sciences is placing a bet on Pfizer’s berobenatide, a GLP-1 drug designed for monthly dosing. This GLP-1 drug comes from Metsera, which Pfizer acquired last year in a $10 billion deal.
Medical students, residents, and fellows are not waiting for formal guidance on artificial intelligence before putting it to use.
Merck KGaA drug Pimjetmi is now FDA approved for treating tenosynovial giant cell tumor. This drug complements other rare tumor assets the Germany-based drugmaker has acquired in a series of business deals.
Bayer’s asundexian, brand name Sunharbo, is the first FDA-approved drug in a new class of cardiovascular medicines. Approval of the once-daily pill covers secondary stroke prevention in adults.
Argenx’s Unnatural Products acquisition brings a macrocyclic peptides discovery platform for developing oral peptide drugs. The deal brings a new modality to Argenx, whose immunology R&D had focused on antibodies.
Nkarta will present initial clinical data for its natural killer cell therapy in two disorders, myositis and systemic sclerosis, during the American College of Rheumatology annual in Orlando this week. The biotech is part of a growing group of companies developing therapies that reset the immune system to treat autoimmune disease.
BTK inhibitor has become an important treatment option for certain B-cell malignancies.
Accelerated FDA approval of Johnson & Johnson’s Rybrevant Faspro covers advanced cases of head and neck cancer. The bispecific antibody was initially approved for treating certain lung cancers.
Growing use of wearable technologies and the data they produce was discussed by a panel at the MedCity News INVEST Digital Health Conference in Dallas.
Servier’s sevasemten came from the acquisition of the muscular dystrophy assets of Edgewise Therapeutics. While the small molecule had met the goal of a Phase 2 test in Becker muscular dystrophy, Servier said new results in a pivotal cohort do not show statistically significant benefit.
Flagship Pioneering unveiled Etcelera, a new startup formed by combining three of the firm’s portfolio companies. Etcelera's approach to drug R&D focuses on “causal intelligence,” which Flagship defines as predicting and understanding cause and effect in biology.
Discover the top AI-powered EAP providers for 2026. Compare platforms like Kyan Health and Spring Health on triage speed, global reach, and clinical quality to transform workforce wellbeing.
Inovio’s Voceryq will compete with a Precigen product that last year became the first FDA-approved drug for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, or RRP. While the two immunotherapies carry the same $460,000 list price, Inovio executives claim their product has another competitive advantage.
Setara Biosciences’ lead program is a potential treatment for the rare neuromuscular disorder Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2C and the prevalent condition overactive bladder. This small molecule came from Actio Biosciences, which was recently acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Bambusa Therapeutics’ IPO cash will support its pipeline of bispecific antibodies designed to offer advantages over currently available monoclonal antibodies. Aspen Neuroscience also debuted on the Nasdaq as it prepares for a pivotal test of its Parkinson’s disease cell therapy.
BioMarin gains rights to a Fabry disease enzyme replacement therapy with potential dosing advantages over products from Sanofi and Chiesi Group. BioMarin’s new clinical-stage asset could reach patients ineligible for the Fabry drug that came with its Amicus Therapeutics acquisition earlier this year.
Topline Phase 3 results show Eli Lilly’s retatrutide beat Novo’s Ozempic on measures of blood sugar and weight loss in adults with type 2 diabetes. Retatrutide is a peptide designed to activate three metabolic targets versus just one hit by Ozempic.