Clostridioides difficile, commonly known as C. diff, is a significant health threat in the U.S. Recent estimates suggest that C. diff, a common bacteria, can cause infection in roughly 500,000 patients annually in the U.S., with around 30,000 of these cases resulting in death. “Actually, it’s more like 5 million when you think about it…
Moving beyond buzzwords: When will a rising AI tide lift all Big Pharma boats?
For all of the talk about AI in drug discovery and development, few Big Pharmas are putting up big bucks in AI spending. A CRB survey from late 2023 painted a conservative picture: about half of drug developers planned on allocating between $1 and $10 million for data and AI projects over the next two…
Could an ‘extreme’ hibernating ground squirrel unlock new obesity treatments?
In late 2023, Eli Lilly, whose stock is now up close to 80% over the past year, inked a deal with the Emeryville, California–based Fauna Bio potentially worth $494 million that focuses on the discovery of novel drug targets for treating obesity. In 2020, Fauna entered into an obesity-focused collaboration with Novo Nordisk, Lilly’s primary…
Antibody-drug conjugates, genomics, and more: Key trends at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference
The 2024 JPMorgan Healthcare Conference showcased the resilience and innovation driving the biotech sector, even as the sector has recently grappled with financial headwinds such as declining IPOs, layoffs, and tightening cash reserves. Companies are tightening operations while still pushing forward in developing novel technologies like machine learning for drug discovery, cell and gene therapies,…
Quantum promises a bright future for the pharma industry
Quantum computing technology continues to advance closer to an everyday reality. While the potential applications of quantum in certain sectors are more speculative, the pharmaceutical industry is poised to be transformed by quantum technology.This sector is likely to be the fastest to unlock the benefits of quantum computing, once the technology is fully realized. But…
Deepcell’s CEO forges her own path to transforming cell science with AI and microfluidics
Deepcell co-founder Maddison Masaeli took an unexpected path from academic research to launching an AI-powered cell analysis platform. The company has raised close to $100 million in funding to support its mission. This includes a $73 million Series B round and an earlier $20 million Series A round. The company has entered into a research…
Biotech bounces back at JPM 2024 on optimism, breakthroughs and calculated bets, but uncertainties persist
At the dawn of 2024, there’s a sense of renewed optimism in the biotech sector despite recent sector-specific challenges. This week, the JP Morgan Health Care Conference witnessed strong deal-making activity. For instance, Merck agreed to acquire cancer drug developer Harpoon Therapeutics for roughly $680 million, highlighting continued interest in oncology cancer therapies. Meanwhile, Novartis…
Recursion partners with NVIDIA to unveil Phenom-Beta, democratizing access to its $1 Billion phenomics investment
In sync with the JP Morgan Health Care Conference, Recursion Pharmaceuticals has unveiled Phenom-Beta, a deep learning model designed to transform cell microscopy images into meaningful biological representations. “Phenom-Beta allows you to take images of human cells from a microscope or other sources and turn them into mathematical representations of biology,” said Chris Gibson, CEO…
Amgen, Deepcell tap NVIDIA’s AI to drive drug discovery and advance cell morphology research
In 2023, generative AI (GenAI) entered the mainstream, capturing the attention of both the public and a growing number of biotechs. One of the most prominent Big Tech firms driving the trend is NVIDIA, which has forged alliances with biotechs ranging from Genentech, Recursion Pharmaceuticals and Evozyne, among others. The momentum is continuing in early…
Medable: AI-powered platform can halve trial build times
Decentralized clinical trial pioneer Medable unveiled an intelligent automation technology at the JP Morgan Health Care Conference, claiming it can slash standard trial build timelines by at least 50%. This development hinges around electronic clinical outcomes assessment (eCOA) — a common bottleneck in trial startups. “We’ve used AI to essentially take a protocol and translate…
The global biotech funding landscape in 2023: U.S. leads while Europe and China make strides
In 2023, the U.S. continued to demonstrate its position as the biotech funding leader, commanding over one-third, 35%, of the global investment in the sector. Overall, U.S. biotech firms attracted $56.79 billion in funding, according to a survey of Crunchbase data. Next in line was China, which contributed about 12.7% to the global funding pool,…
What’s next for biotech? Q4 2023 funding trends point beyond the usual suspects
Oncology may continue be one of the hottest sectors across the pharma sector, but other therapeutic areas are catching up in terms of innovation and investment. While oncology and hematology jointly accounted for about one-third of the new FDA approvals in 2023, investors are increasingly betting on precision medicine, advanced drug delivery systems and the use of…
Core trends in 2023 FDA drug approvals: Oncology, neurology and hematology dominate
2023 was a big year for hematology, neurology and oncology, with the medical specialties seeing the most FDA approvals. In terms of sponsors, Pfizer had the most approvals with six total, followed by UCB and Chiesi, each with three apiece. When looking at commercial prospects, AstraZeneca’s respiratory syncytial virus antibody Beyfortus could be the biggest…
Zai Lab’s unified approach to tackling cancer, autoimmune, and neurological diseases
Zai Lab is a global biopharmaceutical company founded in 2014 and based in China and the U.S.. Led by Chairperson and CEO Dr. Samantha Du, the company now has more than 2,000 employees internationally. Focusing on developing novel therapies for oncology, autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases, and neurological disorders, it has built a broad pipeline of…
Pfizer veteran pays it forward through AAPS mentorship
When Cindy Oksanen started out at Pfizer’s Groton, Connecticut research headquarters in 1992, she entered an environment where female Ph.D.s in leadership positions were rare. Starting out as a lab scientist, she developed formulations for new drugs including oral dosage forms like tablets and capsules. “We would develop the dosage forms and then transfer the…
Pharma M&A activity primed for another high-flying year in 2024
Despite challenging interest rates and regulatory environment, pharma M&A activity surged in 2023 with deal volume up more than 30% from the prior year based on a review of more than 200 acquisitions since 2018. The total disclosed deal value in 2023 also more than doubled the prior year’s tally to surpass $100 billion. While…
Integrated bioanalysis strategies in nonclinical early in-vivo PK studies of siRNAs
In molecular biology, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have emerged as pivotal tools for regulating gene expression through RNA interference (RNAi). These double-stranded RNA molecules, consisting of 19-23 base pairs, play a crucial role in research and drug development by inducing the degradation of target mRNA and inhibiting gene expression. This article explores the complex world…
A J&J veteran highlights listening to address overlooked maternal-fetal needs
With nearly 20 years of experience at Johnson & Johnson, Cynthia Accuosti Jones now spearheads the company’s pioneering maternal-fetal medicine group tackling unmet needs in high-risk pregnancies. As vice president of global commercial strategy for autoantibody and maternal fetal health, she spotlights listening as the driver for patient impact. “You can’t have empathy if you…
Wrangling medical imaging data: Strategies to streamline AI-powered workflows
The value of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in medical imaging is undeniable: more accurate diagnoses, predictive insights and streamlined workflows. However, as Big Pharma and medical research institutions amplify their AI and ML endeavors, they confront pivotal challenges. Chief among these challenges are the intricacies of labeling and annotating medical images. Approximately…
ConcertAI acquisition will boost CancerLinQ data capabilities with AI focus
The AI oncology startup ConcertAI recently acquired CancerLinQ, one of the largest oncology real-world data and quality of care technology service entities. Originally developed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in 2013, CancerLinQ aims to use real-world data and technology to improve cancer care and advance evidence-based research. CancerLinQ has developed one of…
A nurse-turned-pharma-exec strives to advance care for those with an autoimmune liver disease
Now the vice president and head of medical affairs at CymaBay Therapeutics, Mary Standen‘s passion for healthcare was sparked in her high school years when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though her mother eventually recovered, Standen was galvanized to help provide both emotional support and practical assistance, such as administering weekly injections. The…
Using AI to unlock new uses for existing cancer medicines
Repurposing is a drug development strategy that has been widely applied in cancer. This strategy, sometimes called label expansion, involves obtaining FDA approval to market a drug for the treatment of new indications, alone or in combination with other drugs. Not only can this approach extend the window of patent protection for a commercialized drug,…
How a J&J exec found her calling in autoantibody drug development
Dr. Katie Abouzahr’s career, which began in the wards of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) before extending into management consulting, paved the way for her leadership of autoantibody and maternal fetal medicine programs at Johnson & Johnson. “It’s not a typical pharma executive’s straight line path,” she acknowledged. “Careers can often be jungle gyms…
Microsoft and 1910 Genetics are discovering health data’s hidden gems: Here’s how
In episode 2 of AI Meets Life Sci, DeviceTalks Managing Editor Kayleen Brown, and Pharma Editor Brian Buntz explore how Big Tech is developing artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in a variety of healthcare organizations. Elena Bonfiglioli, global business leader for Health and Life Sciences at Microsoft, weighs in on the subject, also sharing that she…
AbbVie bets on quality of life approach to gain share in migraine treatment market
In a crowded migraine treatment landscape, AbbVie is aiming to differentiate itself by redefining migraine treatment beyond just counting headache days and other traditional clinical endpoints. At the European Headache Congress (EHC), the company touted its patient-centered approach in evaluating quality of life, daily functioning, rapid relief, and balanced benefit-risk profiles, while aiming to continue…