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August 30, 2019

This past week the biopharma industry lost longtime analyst Mark Schoenebaum and FibroGen founder and CEO Thomas Neff. Schoenebaum had previously taken medical leave from Evercore ISI in 2016, and subsequently left the firm in 2017. He was admired as much for his personality and sense of humor as for his hard work, according to his former colleague Umer Raffat. Neff’s passing comes as the drug he championed, the oral anemia med roxadustat, nears regulatory filings in the U.S. and Europe, and after its second approval in China. Neff lead FibroGen for 26 years following its founding in 1993.

Featured Story

Star biotech analyst Mark Schoenebaum, loved for his humor as much as his work, dies

Mark Schoenebaum, the longtime biopharma analyst admired as much for his personality as for his work, died over the weekend, wrote Umer Raffat, an Evercore ISI colleague that Schoenebaum mentored, on Sunday evening. The cause of death wasn’t specified, but he had taken medical leave from Evercore in 2016 and left the firm in 2017.

Top Stories Of The Week

FibroGen founder Neff dies suddenly as drug he championed racks up milestones

Thomas Neff founded FibroGen in 1993 and has led the company for decades. Now, the company is searching for its next leader with his unexpected death over the weekend. Neff's passing comes as FibroGen nears key filings.

GSK's anti-BCMA drug hits goal in pivotal multiple myeloma test

A phase 2 trial of GlaxoSmithKline’s BCMA drug has hit its primary endpoint, keeping Hal Barron’s group on track to file for approval in multiple myeloma by the end of the year.

Amgen, maker of Enbrel, to pick up Celgene's Otezla for $13.4B. Will FTC hit back?

Looks like Amgen might not be buying Alexion after all. Instead, it’s beefing up in psoriasis, where it already sells blockbuster TNF inhibitor Enbrel, by snatching up Celgene’s Otezla for $13.4 billion.

Novartis earlier acknowledged Zolgensma data errors to FDA but blamed them on poor reporting

In an inspection of the Illinois manufacturing facility for Novartis’ Zolgensma this year, top FDA officials met with AveXis staff. Although the assay now at the center of a Novartis scandal was discussed, the FDA found the situation “unremarkable.” 

FDA clears ‘cuffless’ blood pressure tracking smartwatch from Biobeat

Biobeat received clearance from the FDA for its smartwatch-based patient monitoring device, designed to track a user’s blood pressure and other vital signs without a traditional inflated cuff, alongside a similar 10-day patch worn on the upper torso.

Playing the pharma-to-biotech executive shuffle: The lure of raw science

When I first started being a biopharma reporter back in the recession period of 2009 when Pfizer and Merck were in the midst of megamergers, I remember asking my then-editor a question that really irked him.

Lackluster Amgen, Sanofi PCSK9 drugs could be under major threat from a new rival: analyst

It’s no secret that the two existing PCSK9 cardiovascular drugs on the market, Amgen’s Repatha and Regeneron and Sanofi’s Praluent, are suffering from painfully slow launches. And on top of that, they could soon face a serious threat thanks to a positive phase 3 readout from a more convenient option, one analyst argues.

Amgen-Alexion deal rumors resurface, to the delight of investors and analysts

Amgen may be on the verge of acquiring Alexion for $200 per share, a Spanish news site reported Thursday. Analysts say the deal makes sense and would prop up Amgen's top and bottom lines, which are under pressure from biosimilar competition to key drugs Neulasta and Sensipar.

CRISPR slows the growth of triple-negative breast cancer in mice

A team of researchers at Boston Children's Hospital has developed an innovative way to knock out the oncogene Lipocalin 2 using the editing system CRISPR and has shown its potential for treating triple-negative breast tumors in mice.

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