A surprising deal from Vertex Pharmaceuticals adds to Big Pharma’s acquisitive streak as Crinetics folds into the cystic fibrosis drugmaker. Meanwhile, IPOs and venture capital raises trend upward, but mostly for derisked companies. Plus, FDA decisions slow only slightly as the hunt for a permanent leader drags on.

Vertex carries M&A uptick into H2, IPOs and VC raises also grow, FDA on pace despite turmoil

BioSpace

Hello and welcome to BioSpace's The Weekly. I'm your host, Jeff Axt, and while it was a bit of a slow week with the 4th of July weekend, we do have one of the biggest biopharma acquisitions this year to discuss with you. That's Vertex's $10 billion purchase of endocrinology specialist, Crynetics Pharmaceuticals. We'll also talk about some market trends from the first half of the year. On the IPO side, Hair Loss Biotech, Viridermix is certainly a standout. They are up more than 650% since it debuted on the market in February.

And when it comes to VC funding, we have Isomorphic Labs' $2.1 billion series B raise from May that now ranks as the second largest biotech raise of all time. So certainly some interesting market trends to discuss. We'll also check in on the FDA. We know it's been a tumultuous year for the agency, but how do decisions so far this year compare to previous years? Let's dig in. Hi guys! How y'all doing? How was your 4th of July?

Hello! My 4th of July was great. We celebrated in Canada. I did as well. I took my parents out for ice cream and I wore a white t-shirt with blue stars. Aw. Very patriotic for the U.S. Yeah! I mean, like, I lived there for 10 years, so I figure, you know, like, it's my adoptive country. I love it. We went down to the St. Lawrence River and waved at America, which was nice.

I did go up north and honestly you guys probably celebrated more than I did. I didn't really do anything special. So far north that you went to Canada or you stayed in Wisconsin? Not north enough. Only Wisconsin.

Vertex carries M&A uptick into H2, IPOs and VC raises also grow, FDA on pace despite turmoil

Read the full transcript

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

Vertex carries M&A uptick into H2, IPOs and VC raises also grow, FDA on pace despite turmoil

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.