Pharma
This week, Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb paused several clinical trials of CAR-T therapies in autoimmune diseases due to safety incidents such as severe immune reactions, leading to fluctuations in related companies' stock prices and prompting the industry to reassess the risks and prospects in this field.
Nine mid-sized pharmaceutical companies announced on Monday an agreement with the White House to participate in a Medicaid demonstration project, aligning prices for specific drugs with payment levels in other countries and increasing U.S. domestic manufacturing, in exchange for exemptions from Section 232 tariffs. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Analysts noted that, since Medicaid accounts for less than 2% of sales for the relevant companies, the commercial impact of the agreement may be limited.
A latest study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that the RNA drug eplontersen from AstraZeneca and Ionis failed to significantly reduce the risk of death or cardiovascular events in patients with TTR cardiomyopathy, contrasting with the positive data of Alnylam's Amvuttra from two years ago, sparking an industry debate over the actual benefits of RNA drug add-on therapy.
BioPharma Dive launches a new data chart series, with the first installment focusing on the upward trend in biotech M&A and IPOs, as well as the strong recovery of the XBI index after a downturn. Data shows that the number of biotech IPOs in 2026 has already surpassed the full-year total of last year, M&A activity is equally robust, and large pharma companies are accelerating acquisitions of mid-to-late-stage assets to address the patent cliff.
AstraZeneca and Amgen announced that their immunology drug Tezspire met all primary and secondary endpoints in a Phase III trial for eosinophilic esophagitis, and plan to communicate with regulatory agencies and publish detailed data. The drug is already approved for severe asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis, and if the new indication is approved, it will compete with Sanofi and Regeneron's Dupixent.
The Elecsys pTau217 blood test, developed jointly by Roche and Eli Lilly, has received U.S. FDA approval to aid in the assessment of Alzheimer's disease. The test targets individuals aged 55 and older showing signs of cognitive decline and helps clinicians evaluate the likelihood of amyloid pathology. Both Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics have announced plans to offer this test.
As 2027 brand planning kicks off, AI is changing how doctors access information. 81% of U.S. doctors use AI tools, and platforms like OpenEvidence reach 65% of doctors in a single month. Pharmaceutical marketers need to shift from traditional share of voice to answer share (SOA), optimizing budgets based on affinity data and AI platform engagement signals, avoiding blind investment.
This article summarizes the latest developments at Capricor Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Kynexis, and Network Bio, covering shareholder actions, AI drug discovery collaborations, RNA vaccine development, and financing for emerging companies.
AstraZeneca announced on Monday the termination of its phase III clinical trial (Evolve Lung 02) of the bispecific antibody drug volrustomig, because an independent data monitoring committee concluded in an interim analysis that the drug combined with chemotherapy was unlikely to improve overall survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer compared with standard treatment (Keytruda combined with chemotherapy). The drug, one of the key candidates for AstraZeneca's $80 billion sales target by 2030, is still being tested in other phase III trials for mesothelioma, cervical cancer, and head and neck cancer.