Facing increasing competition to PI3Kα inhibitor Piqray (alpelisib) in breast cancer, Novartis AG looks to bolster its pipeline with next-generation programs, including phase I/II-stage candidate SNV-4818, by way of a potential $3 billion deal with Synnovation Therapeutics LLC. Terms call for the big pharma to pay $2 billion of that in cash up front to acquire Pikavation Therapeutics Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Synnovation, and its portfolio of PI3Kα inhibitor programs. The remaining $1 billion will be paid out in development, regulatory and commercial milestones. It marks the latest deal as industry focuses on candidates targeting mutant isoforms of the PI3Kα protein, aiming for the efficacy of earlier drugs such as Piqray but without the toxicity.

Doubling down in ADHD, Collegium buys Corium’s Azstarys

Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc.’s pact March 19 with Corium Therapeutics Holdings LLC for the former to buy the latter’s Azstarys (serdexmethylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate) added headlines for the already much buzzed-about condition of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Collegium agreed to acquire the central nervous system stimulant, approved by the U.S. FDA in March 2021, for $650 million in cash, with the potential for milestone payments to Corium of up to $135 million if commercial and regulatory goals are reached. Already on the market is Collegium’s once-daily Jornay PM (methylphenidate hydrochloride), green-lighted in the summer of 2018. Azstarys combines immediate-release and long-acting medicines in one capsule, while Jornay PM is designed to be taken at night, providing ADHD symptom control upon wake-up.

Australia’s R&D reset puts biotech translation in focus

Australia is attempting a once-in-a-generation reset of its innovation system, and biotech industry leaders have lauded the federal government’s independent review into Australia's slipping R&D ranks and its proposals to reverse the decline. The federal government’s Ambitious Australia: Strategic Examination of Research and Development report argues that world-class science often fails to translate into globally competitive companies. For a biotech ecosystem with strong academic output, robust clinical trial infrastructure and a handful of global successes, it highlights a persistent commercialization gap.

Lab-grown pig implant paves way to treat esophageal atresia

Scientists at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London have reported a new advance for tissue engineered grafts in a lab-grown esophagus that has sufficient muscle regeneration to coordinate peristalsis, enabling the recipient to swallow. The aim is to generate grafts that can be used to treat babies born with the rare congenital condition esophageal atresia, in which the esophagus fails to connect to the stomach, usually forming a close pouch instead. In the animal model study, described in Nature Biotechnology Mar. 20, 2026, eight pigs recovered well, with the transplant fully integrated within three months, with neuromuscular regeneration and vascularization. Five of the pigs survived to six months post procedure.

US lawmakers to Bhattacharya: Explain your answers

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya is being fact-checked on his off-the cuff responses at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing more than a month ago. The fact-checkers are nine Democratic lawmakers from Massachusetts, only one of whom (Sen. Ed Markey) is on the committee and attended the hearing. In fact, seven of those signing this week’s letter that questioned Bhattacharya’s veracity aren’t senators. They serve in the House.

Paradromics partners with academics to accelerate BCI development

As the development of brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies gain momentum, Paradromics Inc. is building an ecosystem to enable collaboration between the company and academic researchers. Given the complex nature of BCI systems, the breadth of academic research and the rapidly growing industry, progress cannot happen in isolation. Collaboration, not silos, will be key to developing these devices, identifying clinical targets, and getting these technologies into patients faster, Paradromics’ chief scientific officer Vikash Gilja told BioWorld.

US FDA clears four NMEs in February including dermatitis, achondroplasia

U.S. FDA drug approvals totaled 26 in the first two months of 2026, with eight approvals in January and 18 in February. The agency cleared four new molecular entities (NMEs) in the month: Acrotech Biopharma Inc.’s Adquey (difamilast ointment 1%), Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Bysanti (milsaperidone), Immedica Pharma AB’s Loargys (pegzilarginase) and Ascendis Pharma A/S’ Yuviwel (navepegritide).

ADPD 2026: Three inflection points to target Alzheimer’s disease

A new way of understanding Alzheimer’s disease (AD), based on biological inflection points that mark decisive moments in the progression of the disorder, could change how new drugs are developed to achieve more effective therapies. The classical processes that define this condition, from genetics to amyloid-β plaques, microglia activation, inflammation and tau, interact at critical thresholds that determine whether a therapeutic intervention can be effective or whether it is already too late. This new perspective could rethink strategies that depend not so much on the target itself, but on the precise moment at which it is addressed.

After judge’s injunction, will ACIP disband?

A member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), Robert Malone, who a judge earlier this week suggested lacked vaccine-related experience, wrote March 19 on X that the committee “has been disbanded.” Six hours later, he followed up, saying it was a “miscommunication.” Andrew Dixon, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), told BioWorld: “Unless officially announced by us, any assertions about what we are doing next is baseless speculation.” a U.S. federal judge, on March 16, stayed the CDC’s revision of the childhood vaccine schedule, as well as everything done by ACIP since it was reconstituted last June by HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy.

Imbiologics crosses $1B market cap with Kosdaq debut

Imbiologics Corp.’s market capitalization reached ₩1.5 trillion (US$1.02 billion) on its Kosdaq debut March 20, as the biotech seeks to become a leading antibody drugmaker for autoimmune diseases. Company stock (KOSDAQ:493280) rose 300% at the opening bell and closed at ₩104,000 each.

Also in the news

AC Immune, Aditxt, AL-S Pharma, Atossa, Bayer, Belief Biomed, Boost, C2N, Causeway, Clearmind, Clearnote, Collegium, Congruence, Conmed, Convergent, Corium, Endevica, Eurosets, Fluoguide, Formycon, GE, Gossamer, GSK, Harbour, Illumina, Intelerad, Kalohexis, Kelun-Biotech, Labcorp, Livanova, Micro-Tech Endoscopy, Nia, Orion, Pfizer, Regeneron, Remix, Reviva, Sarepta, Secarna, Serina, TG, Tirmed, Totus, Vaxcyte, Xcath, Xenoco