Research & Development


  • A handful of syringes containing COVID-19 vaccine doses rest in a cardboard tray.
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    Thomas Lohnes via Getty Images
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    COVID’s remaining biotech contenders navigate a dwindling market

    With policy and funding evolving, companies are being forced to rethink strategies. 

    By Kelly Bilodeau • June 2, 2025
  • An AbbVie sign is seen on the outside of a building in California.
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    Courtesy of AbbVie
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    AbbVie’s ADC win shows how pharma can break through in solid tumors

     An oncology pivot recently paid off for the large pharma, which scored a milestone nod for its lead ADC.

    By May 30, 2025
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    Trendline

    Emerging biotech

    After years of financial turmoil, the biotech market is turning the page. Strong fundamentals, including solid clinical data, are key for biotechs hoping to capitalize on the improving conditions.  

    By PharmaVoice staff
  • A flag flies above the headquarters campus of Eli Lilly
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Lilly to buy pain drug developer SiteOne, challenging Vertex

    The acquisition expands Lilly’s pain pipeline with a slate of drugs targeting ion channel proteins like NaV1.7 and NaV1.8.

    By Jacob Bell • May 28, 2025
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    iStock via Getty Images
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    With new Alzheimer’s blood test cleared, a potential vaccine could be on the horizon

    Nuravax and others are working on the next wave of Alzheimer’s treatments to catch the disease before symptoms arise.

    By May 28, 2025
  • Utpal Singh
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    Permission granted by Zealand Pharma
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    Q&A // First 90 Days

    Lilly’s former small molecule head makes the leap to a rising biotech in obesity

    Utpal Singh joined the peptide-focused biotech Zealand Pharma last month after it notched a massive obesity deal with Roche.

    By May 21, 2025
  • 23andMe
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Regeneron wins bid to buy 23andMe out of bankruptcy

    The biotech, which has for years invested in genetics research, plans to acquire "substantially all" of testing firm 23andMe's assets for $256 million.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • May 20, 2025
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    Stock via Getty Images
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    The placebo effect: How a new FDA rule could pile more strain onto vaccine developers

    The proposed plan would require placebo testing for all new vaccines and could mean additional costs and time for R&D.

    By Alexandra Pecci • May 20, 2025
  • Theranos
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    Philip Pacheco via Getty Images
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    A startup with Theranos ties has another blood test in the works. This time, competition is waiting.

    A stealth startup built by the partner of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is taking a shot at a new blood test — an area where other companies are already making strides.

    By May 16, 2025
  • Amy Parison, CFO, Editas Medicine
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    Permission granted by Editas
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    Q&A // First 90 Days

    A new CFO tasked with taking ‘scrappy’ Editas from last year’s layoffs into new gene editing territory

    Amy Parison, who stepped into the lead financial role at the company in March, is managing Editas Medicine’s transition to a new gene editing platform while recovering from a major overhaul.

    By May 15, 2025
  • A person in a lab coat looks into a microscope while another person watches. A blown-up image of a cell is seen in the background on a computer monitor.
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    FatCamera via Getty Images
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    Women’s health faces growing headwinds, despite jump in venture investment

    While venture funding is rising, federal policy upheaval may affect women’s health research more acutely than other fields, one biotech CEO said.

    By Delilah Alvarado • May 14, 2025
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    Stock via Getty Images
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    AI is already delivering pharma value — and not just in drug discovery

    While AI-generated drugs grab headlines, the technology is making more of an impact doing less “glamorous” tasks.

    By May 12, 2025
  • A sign spelling Novartis hangs on the side of a building.
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    Sedat Suna via Getty Images
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    Lupus R&D has come a long way, and the next breakthroughs could come from cell therapy

    But the therapies will need to prove their worth in the clinic over the next few years.

    By Kelly Bilodeau • May 12, 2025
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    RFK Jr.’s autism fixation hearkens back to his stance on vaccines

    The head of HHS is seeking the “root causes” of autism spectrum disorder through a large government research project.

    By May 9, 2025
  • An Alnylam logo is displayed on a building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Sept. 5, 2024.
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    Jacob Bell/PharmaVoice
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    Alnylam keeps pushing the rare disease paradigm as RNAi promises even wider indications

    With another rare disease approval under its belt, Alnylam is still revving up the R&D engines for new indications.

    By May 8, 2025
  • FDA headquarters sign
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    Stock via Getty Images
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    Prasad’s FDA appointment pressures cell and gene therapy stocks

    A vocal opponent of his predecessor Peter Marks, Dr. Vinay Prasad will now lead the office tasked with reviewing some genetic medicines, adding more uncertainty to an already struggling field of research.

    By Ben Fidler • May 7, 2025
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    After an up and down year, pharma’s R&D landscape is shifting again

    While clinical trial funding was up, deal-making was down, and new uncertainties are coming into the picture.

    By Kelly Bilodeau • May 5, 2025
  • Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks Speaks At The Economic Club Of New York
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    With compounders out of the way, Lilly and Novo go after each other

    The two obesity leaders are pulling on all levers to stay on top of the market.

    By May 5, 2025
  • lab rat
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    Stock via Getty Images
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    Is pharma ready to let go of animal testing?

    Regulators have signaled their willingness to embrace alternative tests and guide the industry in new directions.  

    By May 2, 2025
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    Stock via Getty Images
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    Q&A

    Can real-world evidence bear some of the burden left by NIH cuts? This CEO sees an opportunity.

    Turmoil at the NIH has led to handwringing among researchers and drugmakers who rely on public funding. 

    By May 1, 2025
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    US backlash against mRNA vaccines could hinder scientific progress

    U.S. health agencies are taking the fight to vaccine and mRNA research, which could have lasting repercussions on medical and scientific advancements.

    By April 29, 2025
  • Bottles of Bristol Myers Squibb's Cobenfy, a new drug for schizophrenia, are arranged in this photo illustration.
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    Permission granted by Bristol Myers Squibb
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    Will Cobenfy’s clinical stumble derail a once-predicted rise?

    BMS hopes to broaden the applications for the new schizophrenia drug into areas such as Alzheimer’s disease.

    By Kelly Bilodeau • April 28, 2025
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    What’s being cut at NIH

    A look at the government’s far-reaching rollback in research grants so far.

    By April 25, 2025
  • A portrait of Avak Kahvejian, CEO of Ampersand Biomedicines.
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    Permission granted by Flagship Pioneering
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    Flagship’s latest venture reflects more than 25 years of leaping into the unknown

    A new AI-based company launched by the prolific venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering marks another platform approach in forward-thinking early science.

    By April 24, 2025
  • A picture of a man tied to a COVID-19 virus
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    wildpixel via Getty Images
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    Genetic breakthroughs could point pharma to a long COVID drug

    The discoveries also hold potential benefits for patients with other conditions, such as chronic fatigue syndrome.

    By Kelly Bilodeau • April 22, 2025
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    How a scrapped Pfizer drug became a winner for SpringWorks

    SpringWorks Therapeutics and the Children’s Tumor Foundation salvaged a shelved asset for neurofibromatosis and got it over the regulatory finish line.

    By Alexandra Pecci • April 21, 2025