Layoffs hit Eikon 3 months after $350M fundraise

Today’s Big News

May 22, 2025

Sanofi inks $470M Vigil buyout, brushing off rivals' failures to join Novartis in Alzheimer's race

Gilead pays partner Hookipa $10M to take over HBV, HIV therapeutic vaccine programs

Eikon blames US funding cuts for 15% staff reduction centered on research tools business

France invests €1.3M into novel mRNA project led by OSE Immunotherapeutics

Scientists ID potential drug target to prevent cancer from spreading to bones

Zentiva inks €220M deal to commercialize AstraZeneca GI cast-off in Europe

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Featured

Sanofi inks $470M Vigil buyout, brushing off rivals' failures to join Novartis in Alzheimer's race

By Nick Paul Taylor

Sanofi’s 11 months watching over Vigil Neuroscience have led to a $470 million buyout. With the biotech into the last year of its cash runway, Sanofi has swept in to secure a small molecule that could challenge Novartis for the Alzheimer’s disease market.
 

Top Stories

Gilead pays partner Hookipa $10M to take over HBV, HIV therapeutic vaccine programs

By James Waldron

Gilead is paying $10 million for sole ownership of arenaviral immunotherapies for hepatitis B (HBV) and HIV resulting from the company’s long-running collaboration with Hookipa Pharma.

Eikon blames US funding cuts for 15% staff reduction centered on research tools business

By James Waldron

Only three months after banking an eye-popping $350 million series D round, Eikon Therapeutics is blaming government funding cuts for its decision to lay off 15% of its employees.

Built for the Journey: How Bridge Bank Builds Long-Term Banking Relationships in Life Sciences

Sponsored by Bridge Bank, a division of Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC

Here’s how experienced banking partnerships create value beyond traditional lending and why industry-specific expertise matters in navigating the complex life sciences landscape.

France invests €1.3M into novel mRNA project led by OSE Immunotherapeutics

By Gabrielle Masson

French biotech OSE Immunotherapeutics is taking charge of a new project aimed at fast-tracking nanodrug development and creating new mRNA therapeutics, with 1.3 million euros ($1.47 million) in support from the French government.

De-Risking Tech Transfer: A Smarter Path to Faster, More Reliable Outsourcing Outcomes

Sponsored by AGC Biologics

Tech transfer is conceptually a straightforward process, but it is fraught with minutiae and unknowns that can introduce delays, unplanned costs, and batch failures.

Scientists ID potential drug target to prevent cancer from spreading to bones

By Darren Incorvaia

A team of scientists has harnessed CRISPR technology to identify a protein that helps cancers spread to bone tissue, opening the door for potential therapies to prevent the common and painful disease progression.

Innovative Breakthrough in Cancer Testing Developed in Ohio

Sponsored by Ohio Discovery Corridor

Cleveland Diagnostics redefines cancer detection with new technology developed at the Cleveland Clinic in the heart of the Ohio Discovery Corridor.

Zentiva inks €220M deal to commercialize AstraZeneca GI cast-off in Europe

By Darren Incorvaia

Former Sanofi subsidiary Zentiva has bought in to an ex-AstraZeneca asset for gastric-acid-related diseases, forging a 220 million euro alliance with Cinclus Pharma to commercialize and manufacture linaprazan glurate in Europe.

Clinical trial diversity nonprofit launches with FDA, Big Pharma vets on its board

By Darren Incorvaia

After a two-year pilot period, Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development has officially launched a nonprofit meant to expand access to clinical trials.

FDA advisors unanimously snub Pfizer's Talzenna in broader prostate cancer population

By Fraiser Kansteiner

Eight outside experts on the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee delivered a unanimous ‘No’ vote on the question of whether Pfizer’s PARP inhibitor Talzenna has a favorable benefit-risk profile in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients without homologous recombination repair gene mutations.

New Evernorth program to cap out-of-pocket costs for Wegovy, Zepbound at $200

By Paige Minemyer

Cigna's Evernorth is rolling out a new pharmacy benefit management program that caps members' monthly cost for key GLP-1 drugs.

After WHO loses its top donor in US, Novo Nordisk Foundation and China step up with large contributions

By Kevin Dunleavy

With the withdrawal of the U.S. from the World Health Organization, the United Nations-backed agency has lost its top donor. Helping compensate for the funding shortfall is the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which has pledged up to 380 million Danish kroner ($58 million) from this year to 2028. China also has stepped up, pledging $500 million over the next five years.
 
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We interviewed 24 Medical Affairs leaders on the critical success factors for building a Best Practice Medical Affairs organization. This report shares what we learned.

Presented by Blue Matter, strategic consultants in the life sciences

 

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