For a company founded only four years ago, Quotient Therapeutics Inc. entered its third major deal, this time with Merck & Co. Inc. to find novel drug targets for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using its somatic genomics platform technology.

Crushing the hopes of drug and device companies, the U.S. Supreme Court’s March 23 orders list showed it denied cert in Takeda Pharmaceutical v. Painters & Allied Trades, which sought to rein in the expansion of class action lawsuits.

T-cell engager company Kali Therapeutics Inc. licensed its lead product, CD19/BCMA/CD3 trispecific antibody KT-501, to Sanofi SA in a global deal that could be worth more than $1.2 billion. The San Mateo, Calif.-based biotech first emerged in 2024 and moved KT-501 into a phase Ia trial last week to treat adults with rheumatoid arthritis.

In a competitive and still-needy space where Apogee Therapeutics Inc. CEO Michael Henderson noted that “even modestly differentiated products are quickly becoming blockbusters,” his firm’s IL-13 antibody zumilokibart (zumi, APG-777) has turned up satisfying phase II data in part A of the phase II atopic dermatitis (AD) experiment called Apex in moderate to severe disease. “We’re still digesting the data,” Henderson added, pointing out that the results proved better than Apogee expected at both time intervals tested.

Overall, results from the phase III Valor trial testing Lyme disease vaccine PF-07307405 “strengthen confidence” in the candidate, according to partners Pfizer Inc. and Valneva SE, with the big pharma now looking toward regulatory submissions. Investors, however, focused on the fact that the study, which demonstrated more than 70% efficacy in preventing Lyme disease in individuals, ages 5 and older, failed to hit the statistical criterion for the first prespecified analysis.

Drug approvals by the U.S. FDA totaled 26 in the first two months of 2026, with eight approvals in January and 18 in February. Compared with 2025, when approvals reached 12 in January and 16 in February (28 total), early 2026 activity is consistent with historical ranges.

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.

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya is being fact-checked on his off-the cuff responses at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing in February. 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 the March 17 letter that questioned Bhattacharya’s veracity aren’t senators. They serve in the House.

Attacking attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from two different angles, thanks to a new asset just brought aboard, should help Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. protect its revenue stream in the pesky and widespread condition. Stoughton, Mass.-based Collegium disclosed its pact March 19 with Corium Therapeutics Holdings LLC for the former to buy the latter’s Azstarys (serdexmethylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate).

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.