Who Is Dr. Houman Hemmati, Potentially CBER’s Next Leader?
Dr. Houman Hemmati, a board‑certified ophthalmologist and biotech entrepreneur, is the leading candidate to replace Dr. Vinay Prasad as director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). Hemmati co‑founded Optigo Biotherapeutics, held senior roles at companies such as Allergan and Capricor, and teaches at USC Keck School of Medicine. He is a frequent Fox News guest who backs conservative drug‑cost initiatives and FDA reforms while criticizing rapid COVID‑19 vaccine authorizations. His potential appointment would place a politically vocal figure at the helm of a highly scrutinized regulatory office.
Roche’s DAC Investment; Big Pharma’s Lavish CEO Bumps
Roche has pledged $20 million to deepen its partnership with C4 Therapeutics, targeting the emerging degrader‑antibody conjugate (DAC) platform that blends protein degradation with antibody‑drug conjugates. The move places Roche alongside Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck, which are also backing early‑stage...
Can an LSD Candidate Do for Anxiety What Spravato Did for Depression?
Johnson & Johnson’s 2019 Spravato approval unlocked the pharmaceutical market for psychedelics, proving they can become blockbuster drugs. Definium Therapeutics is now advancing DT120, an LSD‑based candidate for generalized anxiety disorder, after phase 2 data showed a 78% clinical response and...
Will Cancer Drugmakers Ever Conquer P53?
Elephants’ 20 copies of the TP53 gene give them a powerful p53‑driven cancer shield, while humans rely on a single copy that is frequently mutated. Restoring p53 function has long been labeled “undruggable,” leading to a string of high‑profile failures,...
5 Notable Pharma CEO Pay Hikes in 2025
Pharma CEOs saw compensation surge in 2025, with five executives joining the $30 million club. Eli Lilly’s David Ricks earned $36.7 million after a 45% revenue jump, while AbbVie’s Robert Michael’s pay leapt 75% despite losing Humira exclusivity. GSK’s Emma Walmsley received a 50%...
The Era of Big Pharma’s One-Size-Fits-All Pipeline Is Fading
Big Pharma’s pipeline volume remained steady in early 2026, but its composition is fragmenting. While the ten largest developers still dominate, the number of boutique firms with one or two candidates surged past 4,000, reflecting investor appetite for niche innovation....
Predictive Analytics in Pharma Turns Lab Data Into Launch Strategies
Pharmaceutical firms pour over $300 billion into R&D each year, yet only about 12% of clinical‑trial candidates secure FDA approval. As therapies become more precise, identifying eligible patients and the physicians who treat them grows increasingly complex. Quest Diagnostics highlights that...
Will RFK Jr.’s Peptide Push Bolster the Gray Market for Obesity Drugs?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is urging the FDA to reclassify more than a dozen synthetic peptides from the restricted Category 2 list to Category 1, allowing compounding by licensed pharmacies with a prescription. The move follows a high‑profile appearance on the Joe...
Biotech’s IPO Comeback; Trump’s Tariff Loophole for Pharma
Biotech IPO activity is resurging, highlighted by Evommune’s public listing and a panel at the BIO International Convention discussing renewed exit opportunities. AI-driven collaborations, such as Insilico Medicine and Aska Pharmaceutical, aim to tackle unmet needs in women’s health by...
One Doctor Helped Kickstart US Nuclear Medicine’s New Wave. Now He’s Refining It.
Dr. Ebrahim Delpassand, a pioneer of U.S. nuclear medicine, launched the first FDA‑approved lutetium‑based radioligand therapy (Lutathera) in 2010 and later helped bring Pluvicto to market, driving blockbuster sales in 2025. He founded Excel Diagnostics, where he ran the sole...
Women Have Awaited a Revolution in Menopause. It Hasn’t Arrived.
The menopause market has surged to roughly $17 billion, driven by celebrity awareness and telehealth startups, yet scientific backing lags behind demand. Only about 6 % of private healthcare funding is allocated to women’s health, leaving many treatments unproven and clinical guidance...
Boehringer Ingelheim’s Confident New Leap in the Obesity Market
Boehringer Ingelheim has created a new obesity and liver health unit led by senior vice president Vani Manja, targeting a rapidly expanding GLP‑1 market that could reach 25 million U.S. patients by 2030. The company’s pipeline features the dual glucagon/GLP‑1 agonist...
Evommune Bucked Biotech IPO Drought and Is Focused on the Long Game
Evommune became one of only eleven biotech companies to go public in 2025, breaking a severe IPO drought that followed the 2021 funding boom. The firm’s phase 2a trial of its IL‑18 biologic EVO301 showed promising results in atopic dermatitis, sending...
How Trump’s War in Iran Is Scrambling Pharma’s Shipping Options
U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have tightened the Strait of Hormuz blockade, cutting off a key east‑west artery that handles roughly 10% of global pharmaceutical shipments. Temperature‑controlled ingredients, which make up about 20% of those flows, are especially vulnerable,...
Will Pfizer’s Lyme Disease Gamble Pay Off or Set the Space Back?
Pfizer and French partner Valneva are seeking FDA approval for a 6‑valent OspA Lyme disease vaccine after a late‑stage trial showed more than 70% efficacy, though the study missed its primary statistical endpoint due to low infection rates. The candidate...