Novo Nordisk’s $5.2 billion acquisition of Akero Therapeutics sits at the center of 2025’s hottest M&A space: MASH/metabolic disease. The deal, announced October 9, represents the largest of three major Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21) analog acquisitions in five months. Across the broader landscape, 2025 pharma M&A activity reached approximately $70 billion in upfront consideration…
J&J bets on nipocalimab and oral peptides in immunology
Dr. Katie Abouzahr, Johnson & Johnson’s new head of late-stage immunology development, draws on her NHS clinical roots and 11 years at Boston Consulting Group to tackle drug R&D’s most complex challenges. Having recently stepped into the role about a month ago, she oversees a portfolio that includes the newly FDA-approved nipocalimab for myasthenia gravis,…
How digital twins could support more affordable Alzheimer’s research
Alzheimer’s clinical trials are among the most challenging and expensive studies to conduct with a 2021 study pegging the total costs since 1995 at $42.5 billion. Phase 3 trials are the biggest cost drivers, involving hundreds or thousands of participants. “We’re talking about studies with sometimes two thousand people per phase three clinical trial in…
After withdrawal, GSK’s Blenrep shows promise in phase 3 DREAMM-7 study
In November 2022, GSK began the process of withdrawing Blenrep’s U.S. marketing authorization after the phase 3 DREAMM-3 trial failed to show an overall survival benefit compared to standard therapy. But GSK has signaled its hope that the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) antibody-drug conjugate could have a new lease on life with new data from…