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Original reporting and analysis on the stories shaping biotech.

What Gilead Saw for $3.15 Billion Before Anyone Else Did

Deals & M&A6 min read

What Gilead Saw for $3.15 Billion Before Anyone Else Did

Gilead paid $3.15 billion upfront for Tubulis before anyone outside the company saw the ovarian cancer data. At ASCO 2026, TUB-040 finally showed its cards: a 61% response rate and 11-month progression-free survival that could reshape the ADC landscape.

May 31, 2026Read article

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Pharma's $10 Billion Bet That Robots Can Find Better Drugs Than Humans

Science & Discovery5 min read

Pharma's $10 Billion Bet That Robots Can Find Better Drugs Than Humans

Big pharma is pouring over $10 billion into AI partnerships to fix its brutal R&D economics, and early clinical data shows AI-designed drugs succeeding at nearly double the historical rate. But the ultimate test (a fully AI-discovered, FDA-approved drug) still hasn't happened.

Lung Cancer's Three-Horse Race Just Got a Lot More Interesting

Clinical & Regulatory5 min read

Lung Cancer's Three-Horse Race Just Got a Lot More Interesting

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AACR 2026 delivered three standout lung cancer datasets: Merck's new two-in-one antibody, a rescue drug for patients who've exhausted all options, and a pill keeping cancer at bay for over four years. The NSCLC landscape just got a whole lot more competitive.

May 31, 2026

Two Pharma Giants, One Drug Class, Totally Different Bets

Clinical & Regulatory5 min read

Two Pharma Giants, One Drug Class, Totally Different Bets

BioNTech/BMS and Pfizer are building nearly identical lung cancer drugs but just made opposite bets on how to prove they work. Their ASCO 2026 split on trial endpoints could reshape how the next generation of cancer therapies reaches patients.

Lilly Paid $3.25 Billion for a CAR-T That Skips the Factory

Clinical & Regulatory5 min read

Lilly Paid $3.25 Billion for a CAR-T That Skips the Factory

Kelonia's in vivo CAR-T therapy skips the factory entirely, reprogramming your immune cells inside your body. At ASCO 2026, all six patients in the trial hit the deepest possible cancer response, and analysts are calling the data 'nutty' in the best way possible.

Biotech's Confidence Is Soaring. Its Workforce Tells a Different Story.

Deals & M&A5 min read

Biotech's Confidence Is Soaring. Its Workforce Tells a Different Story.

Biopharma's confidence index just hit 96 out of 100, fueled by record M&A and a dealmaking frenzy that could top $170 billion this year. But underneath the optimism, a growing chasm between large pharma's steady hiring and small biotech's skeleton crews tells a very different story.

Biotech's Favorite New Trick for Pretending Everything Is Fine

Funding & Financings5 min read

Biotech's Favorite New Trick for Pretending Everything Is Fine

Biotech startups are dodging down rounds by reopening old funding rounds instead of raising new ones. It's clever financial engineering, but the strategy reveals just how much stress still lurks beneath the surface of private biotech markets.

The FDA Keeps Changing Its Mind, and Rare Disease Biotechs Are Spiraling

Clinical & Regulatory5 min read

The FDA Keeps Changing Its Mind, and Rare Disease Biotechs Are Spiraling

The FDA keeps approving rare disease drugs at a record pace, but surprise rejections, reversed decisions, and canceled meetings are rattling the companies and investors who make those treatments possible. The result: a funding crisis hiding inside a regulatory one.

The First Pill That Stops COVID Before It Starts

Clinical & Regulatory4 min read

The First Pill That Stops COVID Before It Starts

The FDA just approved the first oral antiviral that prevents COVID after exposure, not just treats it. Shionogi's Xocova cut symptomatic infection by 67% in a pivotal trial, filling a gap that's been wide open since Omicron killed off the antibody options.

The CAR-T Pioneer Who Thinks Gene Editing Is the Wrong Answer

Science & Discovery5 min read

The CAR-T Pioneer Who Thinks Gene Editing Is the Wrong Answer

The inventor of blockbuster CAR-T therapy Carvykti just launched a new company that ditches gene editing entirely. Wondercel Therapeutics debuted early clinical data at ASCO 2026, and the results are equal parts promising and sobering.

Half a Billion Dollars in One Day: Biotech's IPO Window Just Blew Wide Open

Funding & Financings4 min read

Half a Billion Dollars in One Day: Biotech's IPO Window Just Blew Wide Open

Two biotechs raised $556 million in a single day on the Nasdaq, with both deals upsized due to overwhelming demand. Hemab and Seaport's dual IPOs are the strongest signal yet that biotech's long IPO freeze is finally thawing.

BMS Just Bet $15.2 Billion on 13 Drugs That Don't Exist Yet

Deals & M&A5 min read

BMS Just Bet $15.2 Billion on 13 Drugs That Don't Exist Yet

Bristol Myers Squibb is betting up to $15.2 billion on 13 preclinical drugs from China's Hengrui Medicine, none of which have been tested in humans. It's one of the largest China-originated pharma deals ever, and it's landing right in the middle of a geopolitical minefield.

AstraZeneca's Boldest Bet: Filing for Approval After Failing the Test

Clinical & Regulatory5 min read

AstraZeneca's Boldest Bet: Filing for Approval After Failing the Test

AstraZeneca is pushing two drugs toward approval despite Phase 3 failures, betting that subgroup data and supplemental analyses can overcome the biggest hurdle in drug development. The outcome could redefine what "enough evidence" means for the entire industry.

Agios Bet Big That a Blood Cell Fix Could Fight Cancer. It Couldn't.

Clinical & Regulatory4 min read

Agios Bet Big That a Blood Cell Fix Could Fight Cancer. It Couldn't.

Agios' next-gen pyruvate kinase activator tebapivat just flunked its phase 2b trial in a blood cancer called lower-risk MDS, and the company is scrapping the entire program. The failure exposes a classic biotech trap: assuming a mechanism that works in genetic anemias will translate to cancer.

The Antibiotic That Outgunned the Last Line of Defense

Clinical & Regulatory4 min read

The Antibiotic That Outgunned the Last Line of Defense

The FDA just approved a first-of-its-kind antibiotic that doesn't just protect its partner drug from bacterial enzymes; it fights back on its own. In a head-to-head trial against a heavyweight carbapenem, it won by a 20-point margin.

BMS Just Found a Way to Make Myeloma's Best Drug Class Even Better

Clinical & Regulatory6 min read

BMS Just Found a Way to Make Myeloma's Best Drug Class Even Better

BMS's next-gen myeloma drug mezigdomide just doubled progression-free survival in a phase 3 trial of heavily pretreated patients. The ASCO 2026 data validate CELMoDs as a potent new drug class that could reshape how we treat one of blood cancer's toughest enemies.

Lilly Just Took a Shot at Oncology's Biggest Cash Cow

Clinical & Regulatory4 min read

Lilly Just Took a Shot at Oncology's Biggest Cash Cow

Eli Lilly unveiled early clinical data at ASCO 2026 for a next-generation Nectin-4 ADC that targets the same protein as Padcev but carries a completely different weapon. With Padcev anchoring a multi-billion-dollar bladder cancer franchise, the stakes couldn't be higher.

Congress Wants to Cut Off China's Biotech Pipeline. Pharma Has a Problem.

Clinical & Regulatory5 min read

Congress Wants to Cut Off China's Biotech Pipeline. Pharma Has a Problem.

U.S. lawmakers want to add biotech to the COINS Act, which already restricts investment in AI and chips flowing to China. With nearly 40% of major pharma licensing deals involving Chinese biotechs, the move could fundamentally rewire how drugs get developed.

The Cancer That Stumped Science for 40 Years Just Met Its Match

Clinical & Regulatory4 min read

The Cancer That Stumped Science for 40 Years Just Met Its Match

For 40 years, the protein driving pancreatic cancer was called "undruggable." Revolution Medicines just reported phase 3 results that nearly doubled survival in previously treated patients, and the oncology world is paying attention.

Pfizer Just Bet $10 Billion on a Chinese Biotech You've Barely Heard Of

Deals & M&A5 min read

Pfizer Just Bet $10 Billion on a Chinese Biotech You've Barely Heard Of

Pfizer is paying $650 million upfront (and up to $10.5 billion total) for 12 early-stage cancer drugs from China's Innovent Biologics. It's one of the largest cross-border biopharma deals ever, and it's landing right in the middle of a U.S.-China geopolitical minefield.

The $6 Billion Pill Just Got a Rival From Shanghai

Clinical & Regulatory4 min read

The $6 Billion Pill Just Got a Rival From Shanghai

A Shanghai biotech just beat chemotherapy in first-line EGFR-mutant lung cancer with an oral pill, crashing into a $6 billion market dominated by AstraZeneca and J&J. The timing couldn't be more politically charged.

The $5 Billion Trust Fall at the Heart of Clinical Trials

Clinical & Regulatory4 min read

The $5 Billion Trust Fall at the Heart of Clinical Trials

ICON plc overstated revenue by less than 2%, but the fallout wiped $5 billion in market cap in a single day. The largest CRO accounting scandal in memory is raising hard questions about trust across the clinical trials industry.