G
ood morning. It's another busy news day, and I'm bracing for the chill of fall.
Pfizer has pulled its sickle cell treatment Oxbryta from global markets due to high risks of severe safety events, including deaths. The move is a significant blow to the drug, which Pfizer acquired through its $5.4 billion purchase of Global Blood Therapeutics in 2022. The European Medicines Agency had been set to review the treatment after clinical trial data showed more deaths among patients taking Oxbryta compared to a placebo.
ARCH Venture Partners has raised $3 billion for a new fund, one of the largest in the biotech industry. Despite the downturn in the market, ARCH is sticking to its strategy of investing in early-stage startups with experimental scientific platforms. "We don't really care what the market thinks," said Bob Nelsen, co-founder and Managing Director.
Medicare's decision to condition coverage for Alzheimer's drugs may take years to finalize. Tamara Syrek Jensen, a top CMS official, said that collecting data from registries and medical claims will be the next step in evaluating the drugs' performance. This process is expected to take several years.
Celldex reported positive results for its experimental medicine for chronic hives, but patient discontinuations due to side effects sent shares down 12%. The biotech also reported no cases of anaphylaxis and said that neutrophil levels did not drop with continued dosing.
The biotech real estate market remains upside down, with plenty of vacant lab space available. Rents have dipped nearly 9% over the past year, making it a good time for companies to expand but bad news for landlords. The situation is expected to stabilize within the next 6-12 months as demand increases and interest rates drop.
More reads: J&J folds cardiovascular and metabolic drug unit, Generic drug lobby taps former BIO exec as new CEO, Ozempic linked to lower opioid overdose rate in those with diabetes, Moderna scolded by a U.K. trade group for offering kids $2,000 to participate in a Covid trial.
