The sudden departure stands in contrast to other EU pharma leaders who have been given much longer transitions in recent months, including GSK’s Emma Walmsley and Novo Nordisk’s Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen.

Original title: “Sanofi Shares Decline as Paul Hudson Removed as CEO, Making Way For Merck KGaA’s Belén Garijo”

SpaceX's potential IPO has generated plenty of investor buzz, but all of the real action in tech capital markets is currently on the debt side. That's unwelcome news for venture capitalists, who have been waiting for an IPO resurgence since the market shut down in 2022 as inflation soared and interest rates rose. Certain venture firms, hedge funds and strategic investors have generated handsome profits from large acquisitions, including those disguised as acquihires and licensing deals, but startup investors historically need a healthy IPO market to keep their limited partners happy and willing to write additional checks. And as Tesla bolsters its infrastructure, the electric vehicle maker may look to outside funding, "whether it's through more debt or other means," CFO Vaibhav Taneja said following fourth-quarter earnings. ... With some of the world's most valuable companies adding to their debt loads by the tens of billions, Wall Street firms are plenty busy as they await movement on the IPO front. There were 31 tech IPOs in the U.S. last year, more than the three years prior combined, though far below the 121 deals completed in 2021, according to data compiled by University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter, who has long tracked the IPO market. Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, left, and Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc., during a media event at the Google Midlothian Data Center in Midlothian, Texas, US, on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. ... Alphabet has shown that the debt market is extremely receptive to its fundraising efforts, for now at least. In a report late last month, UBS estimated that after tech and AI-related debt issuance across the globe more than doubled to $710 billion last year, that number could soar to $990 billion in 2026. Morgan Stanley foresees a $1.5 trillion financing gap for the AI buildout that will likely be filled in large part by credit as companies can no longer self-fund their capex.

Original title: “Tech IPO hype gets drowned out on Wall Street by prospect of $1 trillion in debt sales”

New group aims to address structural barriers holding back Europe’s biotech scale‑up

Original title: “European life sciences coalition launched to boost investment ecosystem”

The rare disease drugmaker is facing potential competitors for achondroplasia drug Voxzogo. Is a big M&A deal with two approved assets enough to maintain investor interest?

Original title: “BioMarin Bet on Amicus To Ease Voxzogo’s Decline. Will It Work?”

We are excited to be working with ... a gene therapy product.” · “By working together with families and foundations, like the Raiden Science Foundation, we can build a pipeline that seamlessly moves fantastic basic science research toward new treatments and clinical trials with regulatory support for patients suffering from rare genetic diseases,” said Miguel ... We are excited to be working with such highly motivated and skilled professionals at RSF and look forward to the next steps of clinical development for a gene therapy product.” · “By working together with families and foundations, like the Raiden Science Foundation, we can build a pipeline that seamlessly moves fantastic basic science research toward new treatments and clinical trials with regulatory support for patients suffering from rare genetic diseases,” said Miguel Sena-Esteves, PhD, associate professor of genetic & cellular medicine and neurology and director of the Translational Institute for Molecular Therapeutics (TiMT) at UMass Chan. Established in 2022, the TiMT was formed to leverage UMass Chan’s extensive experience in researching gene therapies to develop early-stage clinical trials for patients suffering from rare genetic diseases. The institute includes infrastructure to assist investigators with manufacturing, regulatory matters and the drug-enabling studies needed to conduct first-in-human clinical trials. This allows the TiMT to reduce the costs associated with human gene therapies while increasing the number of clinical trials for rare genetic diseases. UMass Chan has licensed an adeno-associated virus gene therapy to the Raiden Science Foundation to develop a clinical treatment for UBA5 disorder.

Original title: “UMass Chan licenses gene therapy for rare genetic disorder to Raiden Science Foundation”

The FDA issued a rare Refusal-to-File letter to Moderna over its mRNA-based influenza vaccine application, in an unusual move that sent the biotech’s shares tumbling.

Original title: “All the Ways Moderna’s Flu Vaccine Rejection Letter Shocked Us”

Last month, biopharmas let go or projected they would let go of less than 500 people combined, based on BioSpace estimates, down almost 1,000 from January 2025. Still, competition for open jobs remains strong, with employed and unemployed biotech and pharma professionals eyeing their next roles.

Original title: “Hiring Outlook: January Brings Year-Over-Year Layoff Decline”

A recurring theme Tuesday morning at Phacilitate’s Advanced Therapies Week was the quickly emerging potential of in vivo approaches to cell and gene therapy—a trend also reflected in recent investments by Eli Lilly and Regeneron.

Original title: “In Vivo Is Having a Moment as Cell and Gene Therapy Sector Gathers in San Diego”

The Taiwan-based company is establishing a manufacturing center for the U.S. market.

Original title: “PharmaEssentia Shores up Supply with $46M Investment in Puerto Rico Plant”

The pact between Madrigal Pharmaceuticals and Ruzhou Ribo Life Sciences could complement the former's Rezdiffra, the first FDA-approved therapy for MASH. That drug made $287.3 million in the third quarter of 2025.

Original title: “Madrigal Dives Further Into MASH With up to $4.4B siRNA Deal With Chinese Biotech”

Biocodex secures rights to Batten-1 and TX01 in agreement worth up to €173 million

Original title: “Thx Pharma and Biocodex sign rare disease licensing deal”

With 10 launches planned in the coming quarters, Gilead isn’t feeling the same acquisition urgency as its pharma peers—though the prospect of a takeover isn’t off the table.

Original title: “Gilead To Stay ‘Proactive And Disciplined’ With Deals But M&A Not Urgent Priority”

A lawsuit and FDA warning ensued after Hims & Hers launched a compounded version of Novo Nordisk’s new obesity pill, more Big Pharma report earnings—including from weight loss rivals Novo and Eli Lilly—and the gene therapy space sees another rejection.

Original title: “Weight Loss Drama Compounds on Heels of Novo, Lilly Earnings, Plus Gene Therapy News”

Looking for a biopharma job in Boston? Check out the BioSpace list of nine companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.

Original title: “9 Companies Hiring in Boston”

Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca are all ramping up the use of AI, but drug discovery is not the primary success story—yet.

Original title: “AI Is Changing Pharma’s Bottom Line Now—But Not Through Splashy Drug Discovery”

This webinar provides a clear-eyed assessment of current hiring conditions across biopharma, exploring which roles and skills are in demand, where opportunities are emerging, and how hiring practices are evolving.

Original title: “Webinar: 2026 Hiring Trends and Job Market Signals”

Kailera will launch a global Phase 2 study of ribupatide this year, while Hengrui will push the asset into Phase 3 in China.

Original title: “Kailera, Hengrui Push Oral GLP-1/GIP Pill to Phase 3 After Clearing Mid-Stage China Study”

AstraZeneca will push the pill, elecoglipron, into a comprehensive late-stage program that will test the drug as a monotherapy, as part of a combination regimen and for several indications.

Original title: “AstraZeneca Teases ‘Very Competitive’ Weight-Loss Pill—But Stays Mum on Details”

Generate Biomedicines files for IPO to fund Phase III trials of GB-0895, an AI-designed antibody targeting severe asthma patients Generate has raised $805 million in private funding since its founding, while maintaining billion-dollar partnerships with Amgen and Novartis. Following the announcement of Eikon Therapeutics and Veradermics upsized IPOs, two further biotechs shared their plans to go public. Belgium-based AgomAb Therapeutics priced its IPO at $16, raising $200 million from 12.5 million shares. Its lead asset ontunisertib (AGMB-129) is an oral, GI-restricted ALK5 inhibitor for fibrostenosing Crohn's disease. The Massachusetts-based biotech is yet to disclose the pricing of its initial public offering (IPO). However, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the money raised will be used to “advance GB-0895 through the completion of our two Phase III trials in severe asthma, complete our ongoing Phase Ib clinical trial of GB-0895 for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and to initiate the next phase of clinical development.” “GB-0895 could provide an important treatment alternative for patients with respiratory diseases, including severe asthma, building on the established benefit-risk profile associated with an anti-TSLP mechanism of action,” Dave Singh, principal investigator of the Phase I trial, said.

Original title: “Generate Biomedicines plans IPO for AI antibody”

As the field grows rapidly, companies are luring people from other nuclear industries and tapping the expanding educational talent pipeline, but are constrained by a steep learning curve and the value of real-world experience.

Original title: “Facing Talent Crunch, Radiopharma Field Casts a Wide Net”