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Today’s Big News

Jul 9, 2025

AstraZeneca’s Alexion strengthens gene therapy offering with $825M AAV capsid pact

Rhythm’s phase 2 obesity pill trial hits primary endpoint, sending stock up

Biopharma layoffs for first half of the year jump 32% YOY

Novartis inks $175M option deal for Sironax’s blood-brain barrier tech

Trump renews 200% tariff threat on pharmaceuticals, indicates plan for grace period

Jasper halves workforce after dud drug surprise, narrows R&D focus

Revolution lines up Iambic's AI platform in discovery collab worth up to $25M

Veteran venture capitalists launch new firm to Vie for autoimmune success

Fierce Biotech Fundraising Tracker '25: Actithera raises $75.5M for radiopharma push; Actio's $66M series B

Featured

AstraZeneca’s Alexion strengthens gene therapy offering with $825M AAV capsid pact

By James Waldron

AstraZeneca’s rare disease unit Alexion has penned a $825 million deal for adeno-associated virus capsids from existing partner JCR Pharmaceuticals to develop genomic medicines.

Rhythm’s phase 2 obesity pill trial hits primary endpoint, sending stock up

By Nick Paul Taylor

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals’ push to move obesity patients from jabs to tabs has stayed on beat. A phase 2 trial of the biotech’s next-generation oral candidate hit its primary endpoint, sending the stock up 26%.

Biopharma layoffs for first half of the year jump 32% YOY

By Gabrielle Masson

Biopharma layoff rounds reported this May hit an all-time high, with 29 RIFs occurring—the most of any month reported over the last four years Fierce Biotech has spent tracking the measure.

SAP, Answerthink Help Emerging Biopharma Firms Scale With Confidence

Novartis inks $175M option deal for Sironax’s blood-brain barrier tech

By Gabrielle Masson

Novartis has inked a deal with China-based biotech Sironax that gives the pharma the exclusive option to acquire the biotech’s blood-brain barrier crossing technology after a trial period.

Trump renews 200% tariff threat on pharmaceuticals, indicates plan for grace period

By Angus Liu

President Donald Trump has renewed his pledge of drug tariffs to the tune of 200%, but with a grace period of around one year.

Jasper halves workforce after dud drug surprise, narrows R&D focus

By Nick Paul Taylor

Jasper Therapeutics’ dud drug lot has cost half of the biotech's employees their jobs. Days after reporting a blow to a study, the company has revealed plans to lay off staff, part ways with its chief medical officer and halt work outside of its lead indication.

Revolution lines up Iambic's AI platform in discovery collab worth up to $25M

By Zoey Becker

Iambic will train its AI models with Revolution's collection of proprietary data to pinpoint potential new oncology targets. The deal could yield the AI discovery outfit up to $25 million in upfront and milestone-based payments.

Veteran venture capitalists launch new firm to Vie for autoimmune success

By Darren Incorvaia

Two veteran biotech investors have reunited to form a new venture capital firm focusing on autoimmune diseases. Steven St. Peter, M.D., and Luke Evnin, Ph.D., launched Vie Ventures on July 9 with the intent to direct funds to biotechs during the series B and C stages.

Fierce Biotech Fundraising Tracker '25: Actithera raises $75.5M for radiopharma push; Actio's $66M series B

By Gabrielle Masson,Darren Incorvaia,James Waldron

The Fierce Biotech Fundraising Tracker records venture capital rounds of $50 million or more secured by biotechs.

Eli Lilly's Kisunla wins FDA nod for new dosing with fewer side effects in Alzheimer's

By Angus Liu

The benefit-risk balance is tipping more in favor of Eli Lilly’s Kisunla in early Alzheimer’s disease as the FDA approves a new dosing regimen of the drug with an improved safety profile.

Supreme Court reopens floodgates for federal agency mass layoffs, agency restructurings

By Noah Tong

The Supreme Court is letting federal RIFs continue, reversing a pause from a lower court. But it left open the door for an appeals court or SCOTUS to rule on the legality of the RIFs at a later time.

CRO Veeda picks Mango’s generative AI platform for clinical trials

By Darren Incorvaia

Newly rebranded Indian CRO Veeda Lifesciences has invested in Boston health tech firm Mango Sciences, giving Veeda access to the fruit of Mango’s generative AI labors.

Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

Teva’s CEO shares ‘Pivot to Growth’ progress

In this episode of "The Top Line," Teva CEO Richard Francis shares progress on the company’s “Pivot to Growth” strategy and what lies ahead.

What employers want from specialty care

AbbVie, ADCs and the future of cancer care

Resources

Whitepaper

Industry-backed, data-driven approaches to enhancing container closure integrity

This white paper outlines how we apply industry-backed practices and proprietary technologies to proactively safeguard sterility and performance.

How Will US Policy Impact the Growth of UK Biotech?

Presented by Blue Matter, strategic consultants in the life sciences

Specialized Support to Accelerate Biotech Success

Biotech innovation doesn’t slow down—and neither should your lab partner. This brief outlines how early scientific engagement, operational transparency, and integrated global lab services help reduce risk, stay on schedule, and deliver results. Whether you're navigating your first trial or scaling a growing pipeline, see how a purpose-built lab model can help you move smarter and faster.