Coming off a U.S. FDA approval of the first GLP-1 in pill format, Novo Nordisk A/S leaned further into oral drug delivery efforts, partnering with Vivtex Corp. to develop next-generation oral formulations of peptide and protein therapeutics targeting obesity, diabetes and associated comorbidities. The deal, which could total up to $2.1 billion in up-front, research and milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on any resulting products, marks the highest-profile news for Vivtex, since the firm spun out of MIT in 2018 with the goal of overcoming the barriers of gastrointestinal absorption that have limited oral bioavailability for biologics.

State of the biopharma industry filled with uncertainty

While the annual State of the Union address has morphed over the years from a summation of the state of the U.S. government and the president’s legislative agenda into political theater on both sides of the aisle, President Donald Trump did include some recommendations to Congress in his speech last night. Among them was a request for Congress to codify his most-favored-nation (MFN) pricing policy for prescription drugs. If Congress goes there, it would be “an enormous gut punch to a very successful American industry,” John Stanford, executive director of the Incubate Coalition, told BioWorld. It also could have the reverse effect of increasing drug prices while restricting patient access globally to new medicines, he warned, and add to the uncertainty facing the state of the biopharma industry.

Europe’s med-tech companies navigating geopolitical headwinds in 2026

This year, European med-tech companies continue to navigate an uncertain macro environment created by the reciprocal tariffs on goods entering the U.S., their primary market. Some companies, though, are adapting supply chains and manufacturing strategies, while others are looking to diversify into other regions. Their technologies, after all, address clinical needs, so the sector continues to innovate, conduct trials, present data, raise funds, and deliver products that improve patients’ lives.

Returning to pulmonary hypertension, GSK buys 35Pharma

GSK plc is paying $950 million cash to acquire 100% of 35Pharma Inc.’s equity and pipeline, including phase II-ready candidate HS-235 for pulmonary hypertension. The acquisition agreement comes a day after GSK added two small interfering RNA assets from Nanjing, China-based Frontier Biotechnologies Inc. through a license deal reaching up to $1 billion. The deals underscore the London-based big pharma’s expanding approaches to chronic diseases that affect the lung, liver and kidney.

CROI 2026: Neurodegeneration, the challenge of aging with HIV

Antiretroviral therapies against HIV have been in use for more than 30 years and have enabled people living with HIV to maintain undetectable viral levels. Many of them are aging in good health. However, others present symptoms of cognitive decline. HIV can reach the brain and establish a reservoir there. Yet, it is still unknown what this reservoir is like, which cells are affected, and which comorbidities are typical of aging or are associated with the virus. At the 33rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), held Feb. 22-25, 2026, in Denver, several studies, discussions and symposia examine how this reservoir is established, how brain aging affects people with HIV, in which cases it leads to neurodegeneration, and how to reduce its impact throughout their lives.

GSK nabs two Frontier Biotech siRNA assets in $1B deal

GSK plc will pay Frontier Biotechnologies Inc. $40 million up front and up to $963 million in milestone payments to license two of Frontier’s small interfering RNA-based assets in the field of immunology. The British big pharma gained worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize the assets, one of which is at the IND stage and the other is a preclinical candidate. Frontier will handle their initial advancement, taking one asset through the phase I clinical trial in China, and completing IND-enabling activities with the other. GSK will be responsible for all subsequent global clinical development, regulatory submissions, and commercialization activities.

Another lawsuit challenges changes to ACIP, US vaccine schedule

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy is facing a second lawsuit challenging his replacement of all the members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and seeking to undo the CDC’s Jan. 5 revision of its childhood immunization schedule. Attorneys general and a governor representing 15 states signed onto the suit that was filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical organizations filed a similar suit against Kennedy last year in federal court in Massachusetts.

Also in the news

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