Research & Development


  • A photo of FDA CBER Director Peter Marks delivering remarks at a public workshop on March 3, 2020.
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    Ermath, Michael. (2020). "Individualized Therapies Workshop" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
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    Peter Marks, former top FDA vaccine official, joins Eli Lilly

    Six months after his abrupt resignation as CBER director, Marks has been hired to run discovery and infectious disease work at the big Indianapolis drugmaker.

    By Jonathan Gardner • Oct. 8, 2025
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    Permission granted by Vertex Pharmaceuticals
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    Vertex’s quest for a breakthrough in Type 1 diabetes

    The race is on for an insulin-producing treatment that doesn’t require immune suppressing drugs.

    By Kelly Bilodeau • Oct. 8, 2025
  • Trendline

    Artificial intelligence & machine learning

    After years of excited buzz around the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning, pharma has begun to realize the true implications and potential value of these technologies.

    By PharmaVoice staff
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    As setbacks plague other companies, MindMed becomes a front-runner in the psychedelics race

    Challenges faced by other drugmakers have reinforced, rather than discouraged, MindMed’s approach to psychedelic drug R&D for anxiety and other disorders.

    By Alexandra Pecci • Oct. 7, 2025
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    Q&A

    Overcoming past mistakes, generics powerhouse Teva embraces an innovative ‘mindset change’

    In the three years since a leadership change, Teva has evolved its R&D approach beyond a long history making copycat medicines.

    By Oct. 7, 2025
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    Leon Neal via Getty Images
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    With Emma Walmsley exiting GSK, who will be pharma’s top women CEOs?

    The only woman to head up a company in Big Pharma is stepping down from the role at the end of the year.

    By Oct. 3, 2025
  • A Takeda logo is displayed on a building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Sept. 5, 2024.
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    Jacob Bell/PharmaVoice
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    Takeda, in reversal, abandons cell therapy research

    The Japanese pharmaceutical company, which had made cell therapy a priority a few years ago, aims to partner its work while prioritizing investments elsewhere.

    By Delilah Alvarado • Oct. 2, 2025
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    Courtesy of Merck
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    Half of Merck’s sales are in jeopardy. Can Keytruda’s sequel save the day?

    This week’s launch of subcutaneously administered Keytruda Qlex gives Merck a safety net for the cancer drug’s daunting patent cliff.

    By Oct. 2, 2025
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    AstraZeneca’s at-home flu vaccine is a breakthrough that could pave the way for others

    FluMist Home could be a test case for at-home vaccines against a backdrop of challenging regulatory shifts.

    By Alexandra Pecci • Oct. 1, 2025
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    Top pharma industry conferences in 2026

    Where pharma leaders will converge, discuss and navigate the industry’s shifting landscape in 2026.

    By Oct. 1, 2025
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    Will the first fibromyalgia drug in 15 years deliver a breakthrough in pain?

    The new treatment may only offer modest benefits, but could gain traction in a market with few other options.

    By Kelly Bilodeau • Sept. 30, 2025
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    As obesity M&A heats up, pharmas could get ‘blinded by opportunity’

    With companies racing to secure GLP-1-related assets, there may be risks for moving too fast.

    By Kelly Bilodeau • Sept. 29, 2025
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    Dominik Bindl via Getty Images
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    Can a multibillion-dollar deal put Pfizer in the obesity big leagues?

    After a couple failed attempts on its own, Pfizer is hitting the M&A gas to bring in candidates that could help it become a weight loss heavyweight.

    By Sept. 25, 2025
  • Desks line a darkened medical laboratory in this stock image.
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    Sean Anthony Eddy via Getty Images
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    Why Xoma, a drug royalty firm, is hunting biotech ‘zombies’

    The collapse in value of many biotechs over the past few years has created an opportunity for specialists like Xoma to “do the right thing” for the ecosystem and liquidate them, its executives say.

    By Gwendolyn Wu • Sept. 25, 2025
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    Pharma’s next generation of blockbuster antibodies takes a ‘more is better’ approach

    Why multi-specific antibodies are seeing a fresh surge of industry buzz.

    By Kelly Bilodeau • Sept. 24, 2025
  • An illustration of a maze inside a brain to represent Alzheimer's.
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    Q&A

    Lilly’s Alzheimer’s efforts depend on newer, better biomarkers and diagnostics

    The pharma giant’s R&D in Alzheimer’s didn’t end with last year’s Kisunla approval, and diagnostics could define where the company goes next.

    By Sept. 23, 2025
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    3 FDA approval firsts that could be around the corner

    Several market-altering decisions are on the agency’s docket for the rest of 2025.

    By Sept. 19, 2025
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    How pharma can play a role in the $1 trillion healthcare reinvention

    A report from PwC takes a long-term approach to the shifts in healthcare and finds that efficiency in R&D and adaptable business models will define the drugmaker of the future.

    By Sept. 18, 2025
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    AI agents are coming to pharma. Here’s what it means for clinical trials.

    The high-tech helpers could autonomously navigate tedious tasks — but have to be carefully implemented.

    By Kelly Bilodeau • Sept. 17, 2025
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    Biotech’s VC slowdown forces young drugmakers to adapt in the ‘valley of death’

    Amid the sector’s long winter, startups are shifting gears to extend their cash runways.

    By Sept. 17, 2025
  • A BioNTech logo hangs on the side of an office building.
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    Sean Gallup via Getty Images
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    Moderna and BioNTech pioneered mRNA vaccines. But who will make a mark in therapeutics?

    While mRNA changed the game in vaccines, leveraging the technology to develop treatments has been trickier to navigate.

    By Kelly Bilodeau • Sept. 15, 2025
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    4 years from clinic to approval — Precigen’s ‘unprecedented’ FDA nod and what comes next

    The company scored the first-ever approval to treat a potentially deadly infection leveraging its gene therapy platform.

    By Sept. 12, 2025
  • A large group of dosing pens for subcutaneous injection of anti-obesity medication piled in a heap.
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    Ozempic for cancer? Signs point to potential benefits of GLP-1s in oncology.

    Growing research suggests various ways weight loss drugs could have an impact in cancer care.

    By Sept. 11, 2025
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    Pharma’s new boomtown? Why drugmakers are setting up shop in a small Swiss city.

    While the EU and UK attempt to lure scientists with new financial incentives, Basel’s stable economy and emphasis on science remains a draw.

    By Alexandra Pecci • Sept. 10, 2025
  • A brain scan is seen on a computer screen in an empty medical laboratory.
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    Dragos Condrea via Getty Images
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    A new class of sleep drugs draws Wall Street’s attention

    Clinical trial data presented this weekend show drugs from Takeda, Alkermes and Eisai significantly helped people with narcolepsy, heralding a new era of sleep medicine.

    By Jacob Bell • Sept. 10, 2025
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    Q&A

    Can new Alzheimer’s tests help clear the way for the next generation of therapies?

    A tau-related blood test could offer more insight in early-disease pathology to the complicated Alzheimer’s disease space.

    By Sept. 9, 2025