Recent News

• Lilly’s triple-acting obesity drug hits goal in Phase 3 trial
  Biopharma Dive – May 21, 2026
  Retatrutide had already given strong signs it would be the shot to beat, with positive data in both diabetic patients as well as those with obesity and knee pain from osteoarthritis. The results came from “Triumph-1,” the largest and longest to date and the first from a trial focusing on those with obesity with a non-diabetic complication such as heart disease or high blood pressure. Investors have pinned high hopes on retatrutide to help sustain and expand Lilly’s already huge obesity franchise, with Zepbound posting sales of more than $13 billion in 2025 and a new pill, Foundayo, likely to have blockbuster sales.
• BioMarin notches win in study that could expand use of top-selling medicine
  Biopharma Dive – May 21, 2026
  The fresh results come as BioMarin faces increased competition for Voxzogo, a daily shot the company says may top $1 billion in sales this year. Ascendis Pharma in February won Food and Drug Administration approval for a once-weekly injection to treat achondroplasia and BridgeBio that same month reported success in a late-stage study of an experimental oral alternative. While the monopoly in achondroplasia is ending, the new study puts BioMarin well ahead of rivals in hypochondroplasia with a “relatively high efficacy bar,” Evercore ISI analyst Cory Kasimov wrote in a note to clients. He expects $600 million in peak sales for the condition.
• US taps small San Diego biotech for experimental Ebola treatment as epidemic worsens
  Fierce Biotech – May 20, 2026
  As an outbreak of Ebola in central Africa continues to worsen, the federal government has tapped a little-known biotech in San Diego to provide doses of an experimental antibody that may be used to treat the deadly virus. The biotech, Mapp Biopharmaceutical, “has shipped doses for potential use in high-risk individuals,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told Fierce, “as part of coordinated preparedness efforts.” The antibody was originally developed in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for Sudan virus, a species of ebolavirus separate from the Bundibugyo species that is causing the current epidemic.
• Relay drug shows early promise against rare blood vessel disease
  Biopharma Dive – May 19, 2026
  Drugs that target alterations to the PIK3CA gene are coveted in the biopharmaceutical industry because of their potential to treat a wide range of cancers. These mutations are associated with a constellation of different tumors, giving therapies that can effectively target and treat those malignancies the chance to become lucrative products. But these medicines have shown promise elsewhere, too. A few years ago, a retrospective study sponsored by Novartis proved blocking PIK3CA with a drug could treat “PROS,” a group of conditions that cause abnormal tissue growth. That study yielded a regulatory approval for what’s known as Vijoice, opening up a market Relay — and others chasing it — now hope to tap.
• FDA approves AstraZeneca’s new kind of hypertension drug
  Biopharma Dive – May 18, 2026
  The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-its-kind hypertension treatment that could become AstraZeneca’s next blockbuster product. A once-daily tablet, Baxfendy is now cleared, in combination with other antihypertensive drugs, to lower blood pressure for adults whose condition isn’t adequately controlled. The FDA based its decision on a late-stage trial that had results published in the New England Journal of Medicine last summer.
• Pfizer’s New San Diego R&D Hub Accelerates the Next Wave of Cancer Innovation
  Pfizer – May 14, 2026
  For more than two decades, Pfizer has pushed the boundaries of cancer care, developing medicines that have helped transform treatment for some of the world’s most challenging cancers. That progress continues to fuel an ambition to keep expanding what’s possible – an ambition brought to life in San Diego, where a new state-of-the-art campus has been purpose-built to help advance science and accelerate the next generation of cancer breakthroughs.
• Regenxbio says Duchenne gene therapy succeeded in clinical trial, paving way for FDA submission
  Stat News – May 14, 2026
  Regenxbio said that its experimental gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy produced sufficiently high levels of a miniaturized muscle protein broken in the fatal neuromuscular disease, paving the way for a submission to the Food and Drug Administration. The company is seeking to create a Duchenne gene therapy that is more effective and safer than Sarepta Therapeutics’ Elevidys, which has been hampered by safety concerns, particularly following the deaths of two recipients from liver failure.
• Novo Nordisk says high-dose Wegovy helped some patients lose nearly 28% of their weight
  CNBC – May 12, 2026
  Novo Nordisk released new data on Tuesday that could help boost the case for the higher dose version of its blockbuster obesity injection Wegovy. It comes just one month after the launch of that 7.2-milligram shot in the U.S.  Certain patients on that higher dose lost 27.7% of their weight on average at 72 weeks in a late-stage trial, according to a new analysis Novo presented at the European Congress on Obesity. Novo said those patients are a group of “early responders” who reacted faster to treatment, losing at least 15% of their weight after 24 weeks, or the first six months of treatment.
• D.A. Grants Early Access to Promising Drug for Pancreatic Cancer
  The New York Times – May 1, 2026
  The Food and Drug Administration said that it would permit some patients with deadly pancreatic cancer to receive early access to a promising, highly coveted drug. The treatment, daraxonrasib, taken as three pills a day, is not yet approved for use. But many patients have been desperate to try it. The drug recently generated the most encouraging clinical trial results the pancreatic cancer field has seen. Revolution Medicines, the Silicon Valley company developing the drug, requested permission to give it to patients under a regulatory pathway known as expanded access. Until now, no one has received the experimental drug outside of clinical trials, where patient demand far exceeds the limited number of slots, according to the company.