Novartis hits pause on several CAR T trials after three patient deaths, followed by Bristol Myers Squibb after separate safety signals; Revolution Medicines scores early FDA approval for groundbreaking pancreatic cancer drug; BioNTech suspends a mid-stage trial of its mRNA cancer immunotherapy after a futility analysis; and nine mid-sized biopharma companies join their big pharma peers in President Donald Trump’s Most Favored Nation drug pricing scheme.

Novartis’ and BMS’ paused CAR T trials, RevMed’s pancreatic cancer approval, more MFN deals

BioSpace

Hello, and welcome to BioSpace is the Weekly. I'm your host, Jeff Axe, and we've got a full show for you today. The biggest news so far this week is the pauses of several CAR T trials in autoimmune disease. Three patients died after taking Novartis' candidate, RepCell, prompting the company to suspend several ongoing studies. Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers Squibb also picked up some concerning safety signals for its own CAR T therapy, ZolaCel, and has also paused some trials as a result.

We'll also discuss the White House's latest announcement regarding Trump's most favored nation drug pricing. After signing with most big pharmas, the administration has now struck deals with several large biotechs. We'll also touch on Revolution Medicine's breakthrough approval for pancreatic cancer, Biontech's cancer vaccine flop, Wionua's worse-than-expected data, and a handful of new biopharma deals, including Eli Lilly's latest spend. Let's dive in.

Hi, guys! Don't have all four of us today, but it's good to have you guys back. You each had short vacations around the weekend. And now, Annalie, your kids are back to school? Yes! I feel like I'm at full power. I'm coming off a vacation. My kids are in school. It's great. I love it. Yes, we start insanely early here. My kids have, well, my older kid who goes to elementary school has been in school for a month now. Hard to believe. Almost a month.

But I am glad that everyone else is starting to feel that normalcy of a fall routine. I like it. Yeah. Annalie, your little guy, it's his first day of JK, right? Yeah, my little tight. He's four. I had to lift him up onto the school bus today. It was very cute. It feels so weird.

Novartis’ and BMS’ paused CAR T trials, RevMed’s pancreatic cancer approval, more MFN deals

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Novartis’ and BMS’ paused CAR T trials, RevMed’s pancreatic cancer approval, more MFN deals

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.