Caught between the rock and the hard place of most-favored nation (MFN) pricing and the threat of a hefty biopharma sector tariff, drug companies marketing in the U.S. are exploring their options. Several large firms already have committed millions and billions of dollars in investment in new or expanded U.S.-based manufacturing facilities to avoid tariffs on finished drugs.
Biopharma companies announced $73.38 billion in deals from 240 transactions during the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, bringing the year-to-date total to $212.44 billion, up from $149.87 billion in the same period of 2024. The total marks the highest deal value through Q3 ever recorded by BioWorld.
Sweeping “radical” changes in both the U.S. FDA and China’s drug development landscape are keeping the global life science industry on its toes in assessing what’s temporary and what’s not, speakers said at the Bioplus Interphex (BIX) Korea 2025 conference in Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 15.
While the pace of executive orders (EOs) coming out of the White House has slowed, the Trump administration is still churning them out. As of the end of the third quarter, President Donald Trump had issued 209 EOs. Of those, BioWorld tracked 37 that directly impact drug and device R&D, regulatory burdens, pricing and market competition.
One in six common bacterial infections diagnosed worldwide in 2023 were resistant to treatment with antibiotics, according to the latest surveillance data gathered by the World Health Organization (WHO). Drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria that cause bloodstream infections that can lead to sepsis, organ failure and death are an increasing threat globally.
A paper last month in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reported on the pooled analysis of data showing that the use of neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors work better than the frequently used FLOT regimen (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin and docetaxel) in certain gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA) cancers. But there’s plenty more coming down the pike, even as scientific knowledge about the disease advances.
Biopharma dealmaking was up 32% month over month in September, reaching $27.15 billion in total value, up from $20.52 billion in August. It was the fourth-highest month for deals of the year, which through the month average $23.6 billion a month. Year-to-date deal value (January through September) reached $212.44 billion, surpassing the nine-month totals of all previous years.
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