Pharma and Biotech Daily: Cutting Through the Noise in the Industry

Pharma and BioTech Daily

Good morning from Pharma and Biotech Daily: the podcast that gives you only what's important to hear in Pharma and Biotech world. Merck has entered the obesity pill race with a $2 billion deal with Hansoh, allowing them to compete in the crowded oral GLP-1 space. The FDA issued warning letters against GLP-1 compounders, and the EMA will investigate the eye risk for Novo Nordisk's Ozempic. Novo has also collaborated with Photys to add a novel approach to their cardiometabolic pipeline. Intelligencia AI accurately predicted high-potential biotechs before the ASH conference, showcasing the reliability of its predictive AI methodology. Tenaya stock crashed due to underwhelming data on cardio gene therapy, with a focus on scaling in 2024. Manufacturing has become the hottest target in biopharma, with all of pharma vying for capacity and talent. AbbVie's Humira held 105 patents, preventing biosimilar competition for over 20 years, prompting discussions on policy reforms to prevent unjust extensions of drug monopolies. Moderna investors are advised to hold after a steep drop in 2024. The year saw cautious IPOs, restraint, and breakthroughs. BMS' cost-cutting campaign is in progress, while AbbVie continues its deal-making spree. Lilly and Pfizer executives express an optimistic outlook. Layoffs occurred at Outlook Therapeutics. Novo Holdings successfully closed its $16.5 billion acquisition of Catalent, despite facing pressure from various stakeholders to block the deal. The acquisition was approved by both the European Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, raising concerns about competition in the CDMO sector.