Annalee Armstrong

Pfizer, facing increasing pressure from Novartis, is touting a Phase III win for Ibrance as the first clinical evidence supporting the CDK4/6 inhibitor class’ use in patients with a specific type of breast cancer.

By far, the largest acquisition of 2024 was Novo Holdings' yet-to-be-closed buyout of manufacturer Catalent at $16.5 billion. Outside of that, the leading pharmaceutical companies kept to less than $5 billion per deal.

Not exactly known for its dealmaking, Sarepta Therapeutics has thrown down a massive wad of cash to work with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals on RNAi-based medicines.

Eli Lilly topped the list of the 20 biggest pharmas by market cap with a more than 39% improvement year-to-date in its share price. Other companies have not been so lucky.

With Amgen’s MariTide results at the lower end of investors’ expectation of 20% to 25% weight loss, the much-anticipated readout sent the company’s shares tumbling.

Novartis has disclosed roughly $19.4 billion in deals in the past five years. CEO Vas Narasimhan says there’s more to come.

Chris Boshoff will take over as Pfizer’s next chief scientific officer as of January 1, replacing Mikael Dolsten who led the pharma through the COVID-19 pandemic. The move comes weeks after Pfizer faced pressure from activist investor Starboard Value.

Analysts are split on whether the positive trial results will help Merck stem future Keytruda losses as the mega-blockbuster goes off patent in 2028.

Wegovy is being made available to Chinese patients five months after its approval in the country. Novo will sell the medicine for about $193.27 for a one-month supply.

Phase II results for Cybin’s psilocin therapy showed remission rates of 71%, but just eight patients made it to the 12-month milestone.