As Novo Nordisk cuts 400 jobs at the troubled site, Scholar Rock has seen enough progress that it included the facility in a resubmission for FDA approval.

Original title: “Layoffs at Novo’s Ex-Catalent Site Despite Signs of Turnaround, Continued Investment”

Of the 11 companies participating in the spring cohorts of the Drive program run by MassBio and SCbio, eight have locations in Massachusetts. One cohort focuses on biotech and the other on biomarkers and diagnostics.

Original title: “11 Startups Selected for National Life Sciences Accelerator Program”

The $100 million Series B round will be used to bring the biotech’s oral GLP-1 into early human testing.

Original title: “Ambrosia adds a megaround for obesity drugs”

Biogen, Eli Lilly, Merck and Novartis spent more than $20 billion to absorb biotechs with promising or approved drugs; the rare disease space notched approvals for therapies from Denali Therapeutics, Rocket Pharmaceuticals and Biogen; and Wave’s stock lost half its value after its RNA-based obesity candidate failed to impress investors.

Original title: “Biopharma M&A Heats Up, Rare Diseases Win Three Approvals, Wave Crashes”

While peptides are currently the dominant approach to GLP-1 agonism, Ambrosia Biosciences is pursuing a small-molecule approach.

Original title: “Ambrosia Eyes Next-Generation Small Molecule GLP-1s With $100M Series B”

The FDA advised IO Biotech last year to hold off on filing an approval application for its cancer vaccine Cylembio, pointing to a failed Phase 3 study in frontline advanced melanoma. The biotech has now gone under.

Original title: “IO Shuts Down Following Regulatory Roadblocks”

The recent uptick in IPOs is an encouraging signal after a drought for much of 2025. Experts point to AI as a driving force behind this resurgence.

Original title: “Biotech IPOs Rebound as AI Takes a More Central Role in Drug Development”

Deal-hungry Big Pharmas, a long-sought biotech prize, an infrequent buyer and one serial biotech rabblerouser highlight a busy quarter in biopharma M&A.

Original title: “Pharma Double-Dippers Lead Q1 Deal Activity to Nearly $47B”

The National Eye Institute, an institute of the National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services, is contemplating the grant of an Exclusive Patent License to practice the inventions embodied in the patent applications listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice to Perpetual Biosciences, Inc., a company located in New York, NY.

Original title: “Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor (PEDF) Peptides and Use for Treating Retinal Degeneration”

The deal secures two sleep disorder drugs that would fill a hole in the company’s portfolio and intensify a competition with Takeda and Eisai.

Original title: “Lilly beefs up neuroscience pipeline with $6.3B Centessa buyout”

In addition to delivering two approved medicines to Biogen’s portfolio, the acquisition of Apellis Pharmaceuticals will support the future launch of the pharma’s own kidney disease asset, currently in multiple Phase 3 trials.

Original title: “Biogen Secures ‘Running Start’ in Kidney Disease With $5.6B Apellis Buy”

The data did not meet investor expectations, and could bring “fierce investor debate on commercial feasibility,” according to an analyst.

Original title: “Viridian tumbles on positive data for key eye drug prospect”

Chief Financial Officer Robin Kramer explained how the deal not only provides two marketed products, but a team with nephrology expertise that will be valuable as Biogen prepares to launch felzartamab.

Original title: “Biogen, with $5.6B Apellis buy, builds out immunology offerings”

In the buyout, Eli Lilly picks up Centessa Pharmaceuticals’ lead asset cleminorexton, which could go toe-to-toe with Takeda’s oveporexton, currently under FDA review with a decision expected in the third quarter.

Original title: “Lilly Wakes Up Sleep Market With $6.3B Centessa Buy To Challenge Takeda”

Specialist group to review preclinical and clinical proposals ahead of funding decision

Original title: “Cure Parkinson’s convenes expert panel to assess £2 million combination therapy funding call”

In an R&D collaboration worth as much as $838 million, Merck will lean on Infinimmune to discover immune cell-directed antibodies for multiple targets.

Original title: “Merck strikes deal with antibody discovery startup”

Research into areas like cancer could become collateral damage of a broader anti-mRNA push, according to a new study.

Original title: “mRNA is poised to rise beyond infectious diseases, if it’s not derailed by R&D cuts”

The six companies that have priced initial public offerings so far banked a median of $287.5 million, a figure far surpassing what’s been observed over a similar timeframe in prior years, according to BioPharma Dive data. Renaissance Capital, a prominent IPO research firm, had similar sentiments in a quarterly review, noting how “surging volatility,” including the war in the Middle East, “grounded the IPO party before it took off.” · The biotechs that have managed to price an offering so far in 2026 continue to fit the mold of the companies that saw the most success in 2025. All but one had drugs in mid- or late-stage clinical testing. They also all previously raised large amounts of venture funding, and were developing drugs in hot areas of research such as autoimmune conditions or cancer. Biotechnology initial public offerings have continued to price at a slow pace in the first three months of 2026, but the amount raised in their initial share sales has soared compared to previous years. Biopharma companies collectively banked $1.7 billion in IPOs in the first quarter of 2026, the most of any quarter since 2021, according to BioPharma Dive data. Three of those companies raised more than $300 million, a benchmark rarely seen since the sector's peak in 2021. Trendline Inside the market of emerging biotech Supported by BRANY View all ... Science AIs can ‘memorize’ data they shouldn’t. Can they be forced to forget? View all ... Structured Intelligence: How AI Is Transforming High-Stakes R&D Decisions Webinar - on demand • Provided by Digital Science · Developing an Array of Diverse Vaccine Platforms Webinar - on demand • Provided by BioPharma Dive's studioID; Sponsored content by Novavax in partnership with studioID Biotechs built around one or even a few drug prospects have made up the bulk of recent biotech offerings, and the year’s best-performing newly public company, Veradermics, is primarily focused on a single therapy for hair loss. The investor demand for those offerings encouraged some platform-centric counterparts, such as Eikon Therapeutics and Generate Biomedicines, to test the public markets too. Both priced lucrative IPOs, but at lower valuations than they’d once commanded as private companies.

Original title: “Biotech IPOs stayed at slow pace, but grew larger in the first quarter of 2026 | BioPharma Dive”