Growth

Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide, a GLP-1 agonist marketed in an injected formulation as Ozempic, and an oral tablet form as Rybelsus, is a success story with the potential for an epic third act. First approved as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, semaglutide is under FDA review as a treatment for obesity, with additional clinical programs in NASH and Alzheimer’s disease. 

After 45 years as a domestic Japanese biopharmaceutical company, JCR Pharmaceuticals is expanding into global markets. The company is betting that its manufacturing strength – which helped land a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing deal with AstraZeneca – and blood-brain barrier crossing J-Brain Cargo technology will lead to success in Western markets.   

The number of gene therapies in development continues to rise, as trial sponsors widen the scope of addressable conditions, beyond ultra-rare diseases. Will manufacturing capacity – and payer budgets – be able to keep up?

The merging of the capabilities of Belgium’s SERB and the UK’s BTG Specialty Pharma could produce the world’s biggest antidotes manufacturer.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for society to address health care challenges at speed – we ignore them at our peril. Equally, it has highlighted the power that can be deployed to develop new pharmaceuticals when the life sciences sector collaborates internationally to tackle a common cause.  

Kodak, Fujifilm and startups Civica Rx and Phlow fight with grit, vision and government support to restore US pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Touchlight has secured £42m ($60m) in funding to support efforts to triple its manufacturing capacity of synthetic DNA based on the company’s proprietary dbDNA platform – an enzyme made minimal linear DNA vector. The completed facility will have the capacity to produce 1kg of GMP DNA per month, enough for one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses.

A 10-year review of the top 20 biopharmaceutical companies by revenue found that portfolio focus, not therapeutic area diversity, delivered the strongest growth rates.

For In Vivo's 13th annual Deals of the Year contest, we selected 15 nominees in three categories – Top Alliance, Top Financing and Top M&A. The polls are closed, and it is time to reveal the winners.

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) homed in on the biopharma industry in 2020, providing biotech companies with a faster and looser route to the public market. Is there a downside?

The pandemic has shaken up investor priorities and changed the outlook for health care start-ups – or has it? Nooman Haque managing director, life sciences and healthcare at Silicon Valley Bank, gives his view of what has changed over the past year, and looks at future trends.

Privately held Chiesi Farmaceutica, a global health care and biopharmaceuticals firm headquartered in Italy, became a certified B Corporation in 2019. The B Corp impact assessment framework helped Chiesi demonstrate its mission of becoming a “double purpose” business, one that executes on business objectives but also works to protect the environment and promote social justice. Will other companies follow suit?