Eli Lilly notches another win over Novo Nordisk, as Zepbound bests CagriSema in a head-to-head trial sponsored by Novo; The FDA kicked off Rare Disease Week, providing draft guidance on its new plausible mechanism pathway, while a bipartisan senate hearing on Thursday will focus on the authorization process for rare conditions; Another leadership change shakes up CDC; and Gilead acquires CAR T partner Arcellx for nearly $8 billion.
Everything is coming up Lilly. The Indianapolis-based pharma bested its chief rival, Novo Nordisk in a head-to-head test. In a Phase 3 trial initiated by Novo itself, Lilly’s Zepbound generated 25.5% weight loss while the Danish pharma’s CagriSema elicited 23%. The results sent Novo’s shares plummeting by an unprecedented 20% to a pre-Wegovy valuation while Lilly’s market cap continues to climb.
Novo attempted a comeback on Tuesday, announcing that its triple-G agonist UBT251 scored almost 20% weight loss after 24 weeks in a Phase 2 trial in China. By comparison, Lilly’s own triple-G competitor retatrutide led to 17.5% weight loss over the same timeframe, according to BMO Capital Markets analysts. Novo also sweetened the pot, announcing that it would slash the prices for all three of its GLP-1 medicines starting in 2027.
Meanwhile, the FDA kicked off Rare Disease Week with draft guidance on the new Plausible Mechanism Pathway for personalized therapies that was first teased in November. Jumping off last summer’s Baby KJ success story, the new pathway is aimed at advancing treatments for ultra-rare diseases. And a bipartisan senate hearing on Thursday will focus on the authorization process for rare disease therapies.
While the rare disease space has enjoyed recent regulatory progress, funding these vital therapies remains a challenge. Companies like the Orphan Therapeutics Accelerator (OTXL), a non-profit biotech, are trying to change this with creative approaches including tax exempt status and unique partnerships with CDMOs and CMOs. Finally, in a move that also has implication for the rare disease space, the FDA’s official pivot from a two clinical trial requirement to just one for new drug applications is lighting up biopharma social media.
And over at the CDC, there is more upheaval on the leadership front as National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya replaces acting director Jim O’Neill as head of the agency, and principal deputy director Ralph Abraham steps down, citing “unforeseen family obligations.”
On the business front, Gilead inked the biggest M&A deal of the year so far, acquiring CAR T partner Arcellx for nearly $8B. And Merck’s Keytruda should have a few extra years of dominance thanks to a web of patents, with billions on the line. Check it out in BioPharm Executive, in your inboxes Wednesday.
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