Plus the top M&A targets and deals in biopharma

This Week

Feb 3, 2023

SPECIAL REPORT—10 top M&A targets in biotech for 2023


SPECIAL REPORT—The top 10 biopharma M&A deals of 2022


Layoffs continue to batter biotech, with Big Pharmas piling on the pain


In mysterious FDA approval, Pfizer quietly wins Ibrance breast cancer expansion


Goldfinch Bio falls from the sky after failing to find a path forward for kidney treatments


Pfizer warns Comirnaty sales will plummet by nearly two-thirds in 2023. And Paxlovid won't fare much better


Researchers predict Alzheimer's progression 3.5 years early with unique blood test


Amgen, navigating 'industry headwinds,' puts 300 commercial jobs on chopping block


Pfizer CEO says R&D is the 'lifeblood that fuels us' as spending revs up post-COVID


Merck’s Keytruda reaches coveted postsurgery lung cancer use with broader FDA nod than Tecentriq


Size matters: Mechanism behind growing and shrinking cancer cells could be new treatment target


Sanofi offers retirement scheme to hundreds of staffers at 2 Indian vaccine plants

 

Featured

Layoffs continue to batter biotech, with Big Pharmas piling on the pain

More companies laid off staff last month than in January 2022, driven by trims at billion-dollar Big Pharmas and smaller biotechs that had to downsize for the second time in less than a year. 
 

Top Stories

In mysterious FDA approval, Pfizer quietly wins Ibrance breast cancer expansion

In an unusual move, the FDA requested an expanded approval of breast cancer drug Ibrance from Pfizer. And the New York pharma won the go-ahead without additional clinical efficacy data.

10 top M&A targets in biotech for 2023

After a slow 2022, will we see a return to form for biopharma M&A? And, if so, which biotechs does Big Pharma have in its sight? Here are our predictions.

The top 10 biopharma M&A deals of 2022

Heading into 2022, top drugmakers had $1.7 trillion in dealmaking firepower, fueling expectations among analysts that the industry was due for a gangbusters M&A year. Well, that didn’t quite pan out. 

Goldfinch Bio falls from the sky after failing to find a path forward for kidney treatments

Goldfinch Bio, a 2020 Fierce Biotech Fierce 15 winner, is closing its doors after seven years. Federal records show that both of the company's ongoing clinical trials have wrapped up.

Pfizer warns Comirnaty sales will plummet by nearly two-thirds in 2023. And Paxlovid won't fare much better

Despite a plan to significantly jack up the price of Comirnaty when the U.S. goes to a commercial model this year for COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer expects revenue from the shot to plummet by 64% in 2023. And COVID oral antiviral Paxlvoid will be in no better situation, Pfizer said Tuesday.

Researchers predict Alzheimer's progression 3.5 years early with unique blood test

Researchers at King’s College London have found that a blood test can help predict a person’s risks of Alzheimer’s disease years before a clinical diagnosis, by evaluating the body’s ability to form new brain cells.

Amgen, navigating 'industry headwinds,' puts 300 commercial jobs on chopping block

Amgen is cutting around 300 jobs in the U.S.—mainly along commercial lines—a company spokesperson said in an email confirming “recently announced organizational changes.”

Pfizer CEO says R&D is the 'lifeblood that fuels us' as spending revs up post-COVID

In the pandemic's third year, Pfizer could do whatever it wanted thanks to billions reaped from the COVID-19 shot Comirnaty and antiviral Paxlovid. Instead, executives are signaling a somewhat restrained approach, cutting rare disease assets, seeking external partnerships and bumping up the R&D budget by 8.7% for 2023. 

Merck’s Keytruda reaches coveted postsurgery lung cancer use with broader FDA nod than Tecentriq

Merck & Co.’s Keytruda won the FDA’s permission to enter early-stage disease with an approval that trumps Roche’s Tecentriq. But there are two small caveats.

Size matters: Mechanism behind growing and shrinking cancer cells could be new treatment target

Scientists found that melanoma cells can grow or shrink in response to therapy, paving the way for treatments that target them based on size.

Sanofi offers retirement scheme to hundreds of staffers at 2 Indian vaccine plants

Citing the evolution of India's healthcare scene during the COVID-19 pandemic, a spokesperson for Sanofi in India told Fierce Pharma that “some activities” at its Medchal and Muppireddypally sites near the city of Hyderabad “are no longer viable.” As a result, Sanofi is offering a voluntary retirement scheme to all staffers at the production facilities. The move could affect some 800 staffers, Reuters reports.
 
Fierce podcasts

Don't miss an episode

'The Top Line': What we can expect for the obesity market in 2023 and a recap of drugs approved last year

This week on "The Top Line," we discuss what we can expect from the obesity market in 2023. We also recap the drugs approved last year.
 

Resources

Whitepaper

The Power of Small & Safety: Nanoplasmid™️ Vector Platform

Discover the Power of Small with NanoplasmidTM – the next-generation plasmid for manufacturing today’s cell and gene therapies.

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Commercializing Gene Therapies, Part 3 – Cost Drivers

This paper explores the cost drivers behind gene therapies and how they are likely to evolve in the coming years.
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Unlocking the Therapeutic Potential of Previously Undruggable GPCRs

Exploring the biology of G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) and outlining a novel approach for developing therapeutics against previously undruggable GPCRs
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Leveraging Archetypes for Effective Launch Strategy

Learn more about critical success factors for your next launch based on the experience of 100+ pharma product launches.

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Reduce control arm sizes by up to 35% for Alzheimer's disease

RCTs with digital twins require fewer control patients and shorten trial timelines for Alzheimer's disease.
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Quality attributes that are important for GMP-grade NTPs

What makes nucleotides suitable for current good manufacturing practices?

On-Demand Webinar

Writing the Future of Antibody Discovery Solutions

See how high-throughput DNA synthesis combined with antibody engineering expertise provides end-to-end antibody discovery solutions.

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THE BIODRUG REVOLUTION

Accelerating bioproduction towards high performance and scale
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Linear Compression vs. Parallel Processing: Speeding Biologics Through Development and Into Clinical Trials

Download this paper to learn considerations on how to move a biologic through clinical trials faster, advantages of Parallel Processing, and more.

eBook

Orally Inhaled & Nasal Drug Delivery: A Pipeline of Opportunities

Catalent’s Carla Vozone discusses the significant trends in the Orally Inhaled & Nasal Drug Delivery (OINDP) segment including large molecules and novel indications.

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Clinical Supply Solutions for the Asia-Pacific Region

Learn how Catalent’s extensive network across APAC can meet a wide range of clinical supply needs for sponsors conducting trials within the region.
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Supply Services to Support Clinical Trials in Japan & Beyond

Explore Catalent’s newest clinical supply facility in Japan, including the comprehensive services & solutions it offers to help support trials both in-country & around the world.
Case Study

A Strategy to Standardize Process Characterization & Late Phase Development

Learn more on an approach for process characterization for the production of a monoclonal antibody, which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the process by targeting the right design and number of experiments.

 

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