The embattled US biotech has gone into Chapter 11 and linked up with 'stalking horse' bidder Merz which has offered $185m to get hold of Ampyra for multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s therapy Inbrija.

The company had pivoted towards a drug with the opposite mechanism to Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, but ran out of time and money.

More than 100 biopharma executives and experts told Scrip their predictions for therapeutic area advances in the coming year. The recent commercial success of GLP-1s in diabetes and obesity and their potential in further disease areas fuelled excitement around the metabolic space. Expectations were also positive in neurology following the launch of Leqembi for Alzheimer’s disease in 2023, while the multiple opportunities to improve cancer treatment kept oncology top of the pile overall.

The group will take a $770m impairment charge thanks to the Phase III failure of AVP-786 – but further trials continue.