Pharma's biggest R&D budgets

Today’s Big News

Mar 31, 2025

As FDA's Peter Marks resigns, industry watchers size up vaccine, cell and gene therapy hits


The top 10 pharma R&D budgets for 2024


Sanofi snags GSK’s Chris Corsico to serve as global head of development


Merck's Winrevair slashes mortality-morbidity risk by 76%


Judge levies $1.64B penalty on Johnson & Johnson in HIV drug marketing case


Exact Sciences kicks off commercial launch of next-gen Cologuard Plus cancer test


AstraZeneca bulks up Imfinzi's prowess with FDA nod in bladder cancer around surgery


AstraZeneca's oral PCSK9 inhibitor halves cholesterol in phase 2 trial

 

Featured

As FDA's Peter Marks resigns, industry watchers size up vaccine, cell and gene therapy hits

In resigning as director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., blasted the promotion of vaccine disinformation under new HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
 

Top Stories

The top 10 pharma R&D budgets for 2024

While coming back down from 2023’s dizzying high, Merck & Co. still managed to hang on to the top spot of our annual research and development budgets list.

Sanofi snags GSK's Chris Corsico to serve as global head of development

Christopher Corsico, M.D., has left GSK to become Sanofi’s global head of development, effective immediately.

Merck's Winrevair slashes mortality-morbidity risk by 76%

Merck revealed data from a phase 3 study of pulmonary arterial hypertension drug Winrevair, which showed it reduced the risk of all-cause death, lung transplantation and hospitalization by 76% versus placebo, despite maximal background therapy.

Judge levies $1.64B penalty on Johnson & Johnson in HIV drug marketing case

Nearly a year after a jury decided that Johnson & Johnson should be fined just over $150 million in a lawsuit alleging that the company engaged in misleading marketing tactics for two of its HIV meds, a judge has upped the penalty more than tenfold.

Exact Sciences kicks off commercial launch of next-gen Cologuard Plus cancer test

Cologuard is getting an upgrade after 10 years on the market. Exact Sciences said the addition of new genetic biomarkers to the stool DNA test has cut its rate of false positives.

AstraZeneca bulks up Imfinzi's prowess with FDA nod in bladder cancer around surgery

Imfinzi is the first immunotherapy cleared in the U.S. to treat muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients before and after bladder removal surgery, making for a new treatment option in a disease with high rates of recurrence.

AstraZeneca's oral PCSK9 inhibitor halves cholesterol in phase 2 trial

AstraZeneca’s small molecule halved levels of a type of “bad” cholesterol after 12 weeks at its highest dose, hitting the goal of a phase 2 trial in patients with a lipid disorder.

Bluebird bio receives rival M&A bid worth 50% higher than Carlyle-SK offer

A rival bidder has emerged to acquire struggling gene therapy specialist bluebird bio, and the company's board is "carefully reviewing" the offer, which values the biotech 50% higher than the original deal.

Alphabet's AI biotech Isomorphic Labs hauls in $600M to power next-gen drug design model

AI drug discovery firm Isomorphic Labs has completed the company’s first external funding round since its 2021 founding within Google parent company Alphabet, raising $600 million to advance its programs spanning multiple therapeutic areas.

#FierceMadness: AstraZeneca battles itself in Final Four of 2025 Drug Ad Tournament—VOTE NOW

As the college basketball March Madness tournament gets underway, so too does Fierce Pharma Marketing’s annual #FierceMadness competition.

GE HealthCare unveils cardiac-focused CT scanner, launches coronary radiotracer

The Revolution Vibe scanner includes what the company describes as unlimited one-beat cardiac imaging—capturing low-dose, full-organ pictures fast enough so they can be used to clearly assess moving valves and clogged arteries across the pulsing heart.
 
Fierce podcasts

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What diversity means in medtech

This week on "The Top Line," we hear from Nada Hanafi, co-founder of MedTech Color, about the importance of diversity in healthcare settings.
 

Resources

Research

Best Practice Customer-Facing Organization Study Report

We interviewed 15 biopharma leaders on the critical success factors for building a Best Practice customer-facing organization. This report shares what we learned.
Whitepaper

The Oncology Market: 2025 Outlook

Read about four trends that will shape the innovations, therapies, & market landscape in oncology during 2025 & beyond.
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Redefining vaccine trial recruitment

Discover how to revolutionize your vaccine trials with Avacare's latest white paper. Gain exclusive access to innovative, data-driven recruitment strategies that ensure diverse, efficient, and high-quality vaccine trials.
Whitepaper

Solutions for CAR-Engineered Cell Characterization

Develop your CAR molecule faster
 

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