Biopharma stocks saw a year of ups and downs in 2024, with the BioWorld Stock Index rising as much as 21% before dipping below 2% and ultimately closing the year up 5.16%. This performance follows a 33.59% gain in 2023 and a sharp 32.75% decline in 2022. Among the 509 stocks analyzed in the index, 169 companies (33%) ended the year with gains, while 340 (67%) saw their shares decline.
Though Pfizer Inc.’s work on a PD-1-targeting antibody has trailed far behind that of its fellow big pharmas, the company could be the first to market in treatment-naïve, high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer on the back of solid phase III data showing subcutaneously administered sasanlimab hit its endpoint of event-free survival. Pfizer anticipates meeting with regulatory agencies to discuss potential filings for what could be the first new treatment for that NMIBC population in decades.
The PD-1 receptor, a major immune checkpoint inhibitor whose signaling is the target of multiple blockbuster anticancer drugs, differs functionally between rodents and humans in previously unknown ways. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, and co-authors at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Cancer Institute reported these findings in the Jan. 3, 2025, online issue of Science Immunology.
Yuhan Corp., Oscotec Inc. and Genosco Inc. were three companies with Asian ties to reap benefit from Johnson & Johnson’s stellar top-line Mariposa study results, wherein J&J’s Rybrevant (amivantamab-vmjw) and Lazcluze (lazertinib) combo regimen beat out Astrazeneca plc’s standard of care in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The wheels of the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) juggernaut keep on turning, with Araris Biotech AG announcing a deal with a headline value of $780 million to apply its multi-payload linker technology to generate novel ADCs for Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
Vir Biotechnology Inc.’s 2024 deal with Sanofi SA is starting to look like a pretty savvy move. The company, which picked up three clinical-stage dual-masked T-cell engagers (TCEs) and rights to the platform technology as part of a pipeline overhaul, reported phase I data for TCE programs targeting HER2 and PSMA that indicated promising efficacy with a low prevalence of the cytokine toxicity that has hampered other TCE programs.
Strong interim safety and efficacy data from Hoth Therapeutics Inc.’s phase IIa study of HT-001 helped boost the company’s stock (NASDAQ:HOTH) on Jan. 7 as shares rose 178% to close at $2.28 each.
The curtain is coming down on one of Europe’s longest-established biopharmas, with Novartis AG announcing it is to shut Morphosys AG’s facilities, following its 2024 acquisition of the one-time antibody pioneer for $2.9 billion. The closure of sites in the U.S. and Germany by the end of 2025 will affect 330 employees.
The antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) arena continues to ring up deals, as Avenzo Therapeutics Inc. signed an exclusive license agreement with Duality Biotherapeutics Inc., whereby Avenzo will develop, manufacture and commercialize AVZO-1418/DB-1418, described as a potential best-in-class EGFR/HER3 bispecific ADC, globally (excluding greater China).
Tanvex Biopharma Inc. said its U.S. subsidiary, Tanvex Biopharma U.S.A. Inc., received an FDA complete response letter (CRL) on Jan. 3 for its TX-05 BLA, a biosimilar that references Roche AG’s Herceptin (trastuzumab). The CRL cites unnamed issues that need to be addressed by the downstream manufacturer of TX-05, which is a third-party service provider of Tanvex U.S. for its drug product.
RSS
