STAT Plus: Coming for the king: Keytruda dominates the immunotherapy market, but challengers are lining up
Keytruda is the immunotherapy king. In the U.S., the Merck anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitor is approved…
Category: biotechnology
STAT Plus: Legend Biotech CEO detained in China as part of investigation
Legend Biotech’s man in charge will be working from home for the time being. The…
STAT Plus: Amgen’s KRAS-blocking cancer drug shows durable responses, with tempered expectations
Amgen said Sunday that patients with advanced lung cancer who were given its drug to…
STAT Plus: New drug combination extends survival with advanced kidney cancer. It’s poised to enter a competitive treatment market
Patients with advanced kidney cancer live longer when treated with a combination of drugs from…
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STAT Plus: Promising results for previously secret cancer drug data that ‘justified’ Gilead Sciences’ $21 billion acquisition
When Gilead Sciences announced its $21 billion acquisition of Immunomedics one week ago, Gilead executives…
STAT Plus: With Grail in its sights, Illumina pursues grand vision that could reshape the business of cancer diagnoses
Illumina, the dominant maker of machines to sequence DNA, is in talks to purchase Grail,…
Lilly’s Covid-19 antibody helps patients rid their systems of virus sooner
A drug being developed by Eli Lilly helped sick patients rid their systems of the…
STAT Plus: Compass Pathways set to become the first psychedelic biotech IPO
Compass Pathways isn’t the first company to fashion FDA-regulated therapies out of psilocybin, but it…
STAT Plus: What will it take for Gilead to break even on its $21 billion deal?
For years, investors have pestered Gilead Sciences with the same question in myriad phrasings: When…
STAT Plus: With a detailed rundown, Pfizer seeks to paint a picture of a research turnaround
Pfizer has been making headlines because of its work developing a Covid-19 vaccine. On Monday…
STAT Plus: Inside Gilead’s $21 billion purchase of Immunomedics: Lamb chops, steak, and a chance for transformation
Key negotiations that helped seal Gilead Science’s $21 billion purchase of Immunomedics, announced Sunday, took…
STAT Plus: How much is a startup worth? For biotech companies, the answer is rarely public
Valuations are fundamental information about any startup. Not only can high valuations give a company…
STAT Plus: Liquid biopsy startup Grail files for an IPO
Liquid biopsy company Grail has filed for a $100 million initial public offering, according to…
STAT Plus: Plasma giant Grifols to buy Silicon Valley startup targeting blood proteins for age-related diseases
The giant blood plasma processing company Grifols on Monday said it has agreed to buy…
STAT Plus: Blueprint Medicines wins U.S. approval for genetically targeted lung cancer drug
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a new drug from Blueprint Medicines for…
STAT Plus: Oncorus and three other startups got venture funding a year ago. Did it help them do what they said it would?
Most biotech startups are free to tell the world as little or as much as…
STAT Plus: Aimmune Therapeutics, maker of peanut allergy treatment, will be acquired by Nestle
Aimmune Therapeutics, maker of a peanut allergy treatment, said Monday that it will be acquired…
STAT Plus: Acadia Pharmaceuticals buys pain drug maker, part of effort to expand on psychosis treatment
Acadia Pharmaceuticals is purchasing a small Texas startup, CerSci, for $52 million in order to…
STAT Plus: In the race for a Covid-19 vaccine, Pfizer turns to a scientist with a history of defying skeptics — and getting results
For the pharma behemoth Pfizer, the race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine is not just…
STAT Plus: Biomarin, Gilead drug rejections don’t signal a change in attitude at the FDA
It’s tempting to interpret the Food and Drug Administration’s surprise rejections of drugs from Gilead…
STAT Plus: Stunning FDA rejection signals potential new hurdles for gene therapies
The Food and Drug Administration’s unexpected rejection of a gene therapy for the bleeding disorder…
STAT Plus: Turning Point releases positive data for targeted cancer drug, points to more rapid FDA filing
Turning Point Therapeutics, a San Diego developer of targeted cancer drugs, released positive data Wednesday…
STAT Plus: An expected blockbuster drug from Gilead is rejected, imperiling the biotech’s future growth
Back before remdesivir became a household name, Gilead Sciences’ most-discussed drug was filgotinib, a treatment…
STAT Plus: Applied Therapeutics’ muted response to a clinical hold speaks volumes
How a company communicates with investors can be just as meaningful as what it communicates….
STAT Plus: Q&A: Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson on a major acquisition, long-term strategy, and Covid-19 vaccines
It was less than 12 months ago that Paul Hudson took the reins at the…
STAT Plus: Unity Biotechnology fails early test, raising doubts its ability to develop drugs to reverse aging symptoms
Unity Biotechnology said Monday that its experimental treatment for osteoarthritis failed to improve knee pain…
STAT Plus: CytoDyn is in financial and clinical distress, newly filed annual report shows
An annual report disclosed by CytoDyn on Friday night describes a drug maker in distress….
STAT Plus: Sanofi, aiming to speed MS treatment, to acquire Principia Biopharma for $3.68 billion
Sanofi said Monday that it is acquiring Principia Biopharma for $3.68 billion, giving the French…
STAT Plus: CureVac’s value soars after IPO, as Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers become biotech’s hottest companies
The developer of a vaccine for Covid-19 saw its share price nearly triple within hours…
Listen: Pharma’s lobbying dollars, Alnylam’s future, and diversity in Covid-19 studies
Is pharma scared of Kamala Harris? Are there second acts in biotech? And why aren’t…
STAT Plus: ‘We’re going to keep going’: A new clinical trial for ALS gives patients hope
As a cardiologist, Dr. Marc Litt has plenty of arrows in his quiver for patients…
STAT Plus: 4 questions for neurology startups as venture investors pour millions into the field
As pharmaceutical companies stepped back from developing new drugs for neurological conditions, venture capitalists took…
Antibody drugs could be one of the best weapons against Covid-19. But will they matter?
From the moment Covid-19 emerged as a threat, one approach to making drugs to treat…
STAT Plus: FDA approves first oral treatment for a rare muscle-destroying disease
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first oral therapy for spinal muscular…
STAT Plus: Hospital president wrote opinion piece critical of drug pricing efforts, but didn’t disclose role on Moderna board
Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, president of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, earlier this year criticized efforts to…
The FDA accepted Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug submission. Next up, a highly anticipated outside expert review
The Food and Drug Administration has agreed to review a marketing application submitted by Biogen…
Listen: A health tech mega-deal, a Twitter vaccine debate, and media criticism from Operation Warp Speed
Does the future of health tech look like Facebook? Can we cut corners with Covid-19…
STAT Plus: CytoDyn CEO claims Covid-19 drug success while describing data suggesting study failure
CytoDyn CEO Nader Pourhassan used a conference call on Thursday evening to claim success with the…
Listen: Inside the NBA bubble, a DIY coronavirus vaccine, and the real VC numbers
How much should a Covid-19 vaccine cost? What can basketball teach us about pandemic safety?…
STAT Plus: Coles-led Cerevel Therapeutics to raise $445 million to develop brain drugs with fewer side effects
Cerevel Therapeutics, a Boston neuroscience company spun out from Pfizer in 2018 and led by…
STAT Plus: Venture capitalists are still showering biotechs with cash, even as the coronavirus upends markets
Venture capitalists are still spending big on biotech companies, even four months after the coronavirus…
STAT Plus: Ruling threatens to upend patents on Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine
Moderna, racing to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, lost a key patent decision Thursday, one…
STAT Plus: Among biotech venture capital firms, Flagship Pioneering got the best single-fund returns
A fund launched in 2012 by the biotech venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering is on…
STAT Plus: CytoDyn’s Covid-19 drug troubles escalate: Efficacy data are missing from study
CytoDyn released safety data on its experimental drug for Covid-19 on Tuesday, but efficacy data…
Acadia fails in attempt to expand use of antipsychotic to treat patients with depression
Acadia Pharmaceuticals reported negative results Monday from a pair of late-stage clinical trials seeking to…
STAT Plus: Corbus Pharma is nearing the readout of a pivotal drug study. Here’s what you need to know
Four years ago, Corbus Pharmaceuticals claimed success in a mid-stage clinical trial of its lead…
STAT Plus: Startup Spotlight: Glympse Bio hopes its test will show whether drugs are actually working
Cambridge, Mass.-based startup Glympse Bio has raised more than $45 million for its nanoparticle-based biosensors,…
STAT Plus: Moderna’s skyrocketing market value is an indictment of the U.S. Covid-19 response
Buoyed by newly published, early data on its experimental Covid-19 vaccine, Moderna on Wednesday cracked…
STAT Plus: Applied Therapeutics amends investor deck, bolstering accusations made by anonymous critic
One week after the New York City drug developer Applied Therapeutics announced it was working…
STAT Plus: FDA refuses application for HIV drug from CytoDyn, raising more questions about its credibility
The Food and Drug Administration refused to accept an application seeking the approval of a…