The U.S. FDA’s new Precheck Pilot Program is taking flight with seven biopharma companies on board. As part of the Trump administration’s efforts to encourage onshoring of biopharma manufacturing, the program is intended to increase regulatory predictability, facilitate the construction of U.S. manufacturing sites and streamline the FDA’s plant assessments in advance of a specific product application.
Applied Biologics LLC has initiated a preclinical research program focused on osteoarthritis and other degenerative diseases. The program marks an expansion of the company’s research and development efforts beyond chronic wounds.
More than four decades on from the approval of the first biologic drug, the industry has reached a tipping point, and biotech drugs now outnumber small molecules in the global R&D pipeline.
More than four decades on from the approval of the first biologic drug, the industry has reached a tipping point, and biotech drugs now outnumber small molecules in the global R&D pipeline. At the start of the biotech industry, progress was slow. Between 1983 and 1995, the U.S. FDA approved an average of two biologics each year. Now, biologics have taken the lead by the smallest of margins, accounting for 50.1% of drugs in development at the start of 2026, according to the Pharma Annual Review 2026, published by Pharmaprojects, a firm that tracks global pharma R&D.
More than four decades on from the approval of the first biologic drug, the industry has reached a tipping point, and biotech drugs now outnumber small molecules in the global R&D pipeline.
South Korea is rolling out regulatory changes to speed biosimilar development, including reforms to shorten review timelines, ease phase III trial requirements and simplify oversight of manufacturing changes.
Gilead Sciences Inc. said after U.S. market close March 23 that it will acquire privately held Ouro Medicines LLC and its autoimmune BCMA/CD3 bispecific T-cell engager, gamgertamig, in a deal valued at $2.17 billion.
Bao Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., a developer of subcutaneous biologic drugs, priced its IPO at HK$26.38 on Dec. 2, aiming to raise about HK$1 billion (US$128 million). Bao expects net proceeds of HK$921.5 million after expenses, which will fund its “two-anti” strategy – developing both antibody and antibiotic drugs worldwide, mainly in China, the U.S. and Europe.
Celltrion Inc. announced plans to acquire from Eli Lilly and Co. a Branchburg, N.J.-based biologics cGMP facility for $330 million up front, with plans to invest up to a total of ₩1.4 trillion (US$1 billion) in plant acquisition and expansion.
Quantumpharm Inc., known as Xtalpi Inc., announced receiving $51 million up front from a potential $5.99 billion deal with Dovetree LLC on Aug. 6. The collaboration, first inked through a letter of intent between the two parties on June 23, will combine Shenzhen, China-based Xtalpi’s AI-based and robotics-driven discovery platform with Dovetree’s “biological insights.” The goal will be to select and validate potential first-in-class candidates for Dovetree across five areas of oncology, immunology and inflammatory diseases, neurological disorders and metabolic dysregulation.
