| |   | Meghana here wishing you a happy Friday. Today, we discuss vaccine hesitancy and the contradictions therein, the implosion of biotech investment, and more. | | | A painful moment in time for biotech investment Biotech investors are forlorn: The sector, for years, was fabulously successful, with a pandemic-fueled peak in 2020. But stocks have tanked in recent months, and several investors spoke with STAT about their despondency: “Losing money sucks. I don’t care who you are or what you’re doing. It’s not fun,” one biotech fund manager said. “I’m just trying to figure out where the bottom is and how to make back the losses.” In all, the sector has fallen 20% already in the new year, erasing billions in value.
Now some investors see their jobs on the line. Executives at smaller companies have seen the environment for IPOs undeniably darken. And an entire industry is being reshaped. Read more. | Biogen sells its biosimilars business for $2.3 billion Biogen, on the verge of sizable budget cuts, is selling its share of a biosimilars joint venture for $2.3 billion.
Under the deal, disclosed last night, Samsung Biologics is acquiring Biogen’s roughly 50% stake in the biosimilars manufacturer Samsung Bioepis. Biogen will get $1 billion in cash once the deal closes, followed by $1.25 billion paid out over two years. The joint venture, founded in 2012, has six approved biosimilars and five more in development.
The agreement is likely to fuel speculation that Biogen will acquire another drugmaker to add to its pipeline of medicines. CEO Michel Vounatsos hinted at the company’s plans on a conference call last month, saying Biogen was discussing “tactical short-term measures but also strategic options.” The company had about $3 billion in cash as of Sept. 30.
Read more. | Who gets to be an 'expert' on Covid-19? Are Americans entitled to drugs that don’t work? And how does the FDA deal with states’ rights? We cover all that and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. First, we discuss the FDA’s decision to halt the use of two Covid-19 antibodies that don’t work against Omicron — and the surprising backlash that ensued. Then, acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock joins us to dig into the agency’s move and discuss the steps for regulation of Covid drugs (read a transcript of the chat here). We also go over the latest news in the life sciences, including some bad news for Gilead Sciences and a rare victory for a small biotech company. Listen here. | STAT Event: How biomarkers are changing cancer care The way doctors treat cancer is evolving. On Feb. 2, STAT looks into this by examining how advances in technology are changing the way biomarkers are used. Register here to join the conversation. | Selective hesitancy among the vaccine hesitant There's a contradiction among many of the vaccine hesitant: Though wary of the Covid-19 shots, many people are still bullish about unproven treatments. There's the ivermectin and hydroxychloriquine debates, of course, but this phenomenon became particularly clear in the past week: The FDA decided to restrict monoclonal antibody drugs made by Regeneron and Eli Lilly, saying they don’t work against Omicron. And Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who has misleadingly suggested that Covid-19 vaccines cause infertility, called the decision “fundamentally wrong” and plans to “fight back,” STAT’s Lev Facher writes. “It is confusing that people are willing to take what is really an experimental monoclonal antibody, but they aren’t willing to take a vaccine that millions of people have gotten, and has been shown to be safe and effective,” one Florida physician told STAT. Read more. | ITC examining AbbVie patent fight The U.S. International Trade Commission is investigating whether two companies stole trade secrets in order to market a biosimilar of AbbVie’s best-selling biologic, Humira. AbbVie has been trying to ward away competition from Teva Pharmaceuticals and its partner, Alvotech, which have been gearing up to create a cheaper competitor for the rheumatoid arthritis drug. At play is a strategy called a patent thicket, in which dozens of patents are filed to discourage lower-cost competition, STAT’s Ed Silverman writes. AbbVie filed more than 200 patents to protect Humira from interlopers. Notably, the Association for Accessible Medicines, a trade group for generic drug makers, told the ITC that siding with AbbVie would “adversely impact the public health and welfare of the United States by decreasing competition, raising already high drug prices, and ultimately reducing patient access to life-saving medications.” Read more. | More reads - With GSK, Alector has the Big Pharma backing to capitalize on a big moment in Alzheimer's drug development. (FierceBiotech)
- How mRNA and DNA vaccines could soon treat diseases like HIV, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. (PBS Newshour)
- Foresite and GV pour $40M into startup’s move to CHIP into new disease biology. (MedCity News)
| Thanks for reading! Until next week,  | | | |
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