NOVARTIS

Novartis acquires Kate Therapeutics for $1.1B, Barclays predicts challenging 2025 for European pharma, Trump picks surgeon Martin Makary to lead FDA, Novartis partners with Ratio Therapeutics for up to $745M, Kyowa Kirin pays Kura Oncology $330M upfront for leukemia drug rights, global measles cases rise 20% to 10.3 million, Brookfield considers €7B bid for Grifols, Bavarian Nordic's 2025 order book reaches €320M, FDA supports REGENXBIO's Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy, Merck's subcutaneous Keytruda matches infused version, Syndax Pharmaceuticals secures FDA approval for Revuforj, Aclaris Therapeutics licenses 2 antibodies from Biosion for over $40M upfront, Sandoz to cut 10% of workforce in France, Incyte halts testing and discontinues drugs, Sage Therapeutics discontinues dalzanemdor, Johnson & Johnson and Merck announce job cuts in China, Samsung Biologics signs $668M contracts, FDA grants accelerated approval to Jazz Pharmaceuticals' Ziihera, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals cuts 60% of workforce, Halozyme withdraws €2B bid for Evotec, mpox epidemic overwhelms hospitals in Kinshasa.

CRISPR Therapeutics' stock is down 47% since March due to slow Casgevy launch, despite FDA and E.U. approvals for treating SCD and TDT. The company has five other therapy candidates in clinical trials and $1.9 billion in cash, making its enterprise value $2.1 billion. However, the stock remains risky due to potential pipeline failures and slow Casgevy sales.

Tango Therapeutics reports Q3 2024 financials, highlighting progress in PRMT5 inhibitor TNG462 clinical trials, including positive data in pancreatic and NSCLC. The company plans to advance TNG462 into combination trials with RAS(ON) inhibitors and other treatments, expecting enrollment in 1H 2025. TNG908 trial enrollment is halted to focus on TNG462. Tango also announces the appointment of Dr. Maeve Waldron-Lynch as SVP, Head of Clinical Development.

The 2024 NCCN Breast Cancer guidelines update includes ribociclib plus an aromatase inhibitor as a preferred regimen for HR-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer. Ribociclib is the only category 1 CDK4/6 inhibitor for first-line treatment in combination with an AI. The guidelines also add adjuvant ribociclib for premenopausal patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative disease, and revise other treatment pathways. The FDA approval of adjuvant ribociclib may apply to a wider population than abemaciclib, with ribociclib given at 400 mg for 3 years, compared to abemaciclib's 2 years.

Novartis raised mid-term sales guidance, Pfizer's Hympavzi approved in EU for hemophilia, AstraZeneca's Tagrisso recommended for EGFR-mutated lung cancer, J&J and Lilly report positive study data.

Google DeepMind and the Royal Society convened the AI for Science Forum in London, celebrating recent Nobel wins in AI-related fields. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, highlighted AI's potential for a new era of discovery but also its risks, such as energy demands and misuse. AI applications include medical imaging, climate models, and drug development acceleration. Hassabis predicts AI will transition from black box to explainable systems within five years, potentially revolutionizing drug discovery timelines. The climate crisis remains a significant challenge, with AI's energy consumption a concern, though Hassabis believes AI's benefits will outweigh its energy usage, potentially leading to breakthroughs in energy solutions.

AlphaFold3, an AI model by Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs, predicts protein structures and interactions, potentially revolutionizing drug discovery. After initial code withholding, DeepMind open-sourced AlphaFold3, allowing academic researchers access for non-commercial use, accelerating scientific discovery and drug development.