Today Stories

The Publishing group behind the science magazine New Scientist, has closed its dedicated job portal New Scientist Jobs. The site, once a key place for employers to post science and research-oriented vacancies is no longer operating. This however cements PharmiWeb.jobs position as the primary dedicated job board for Life Sciences in Europe. Recruiters and Hiring Managers   Any organisations looking to promote their vacancies with the broadest reach to Life Science professionals across Europe, the USA and Australasia can reach out to PharmiWeb here - https://phrmwb.com/exnewscientistjobs  Job Seekers If you're a job seekers looking for your next Life Science role, PharmiWeb.jobs remains the best place to look - So if if you've not already, register and upload your CV for the best roles. www.…

The United Kingdom has struck a landmark agreement with the United States under which U.K.-origin medicines, pharmaceutical ingredients and medical technologies will be exempt from U.S. tariffs for the foreseeable future. In return the U.K. has committed to raise the prices paid by the National Health Service (NHS) for new and innovative drugs. Under the deal the threshold used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to judge cost-effectiveness will increase by around 25 per cent, making it easier for high-cost treatments (including cutting-edge cancer or rare disease therapies) to be approved for NHS funding. At the same time the rebate scheme applied to branded medicines will be relaxed, reducing the clawback from drug companies. This shift follows pressure from t…

The Swiss drugmaker Novartis has secured U.S. regulatory approval for Itvisma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-brve), a gene replacement therapy for individuals aged two years and older with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and a confirmed SMN1 mutation. Itvisma represents the first one-time gene therapy available for a broader SMA population beyond infants. The treatment delivers a functional copy of the SMN1 gene via an injection into the spinal fluid, eliminating the need for weight-based dosing. Clinical trials demonstrated statistically significant improvements in motor function and stabilization of disease progression. Novartis emphasises that this approval could reduce or even eliminate the requirement for chronic therapy in older patients. With this milestone, Itvisma becomes a major extensi…

Responding to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:   "NHS leaders across the UK understand the pressure on public finances and that's why they are reforming local services to deliver higher quality and more efficient care.   "To go further, they need more capital investment to create new facilities and fix the NHS' crumbling estate. That's why the decision the Chancellor has made in the Budget to allow private capital to be used to build new neighbourhood health centres in the English NHS is so important. Using private capital to build new facilities not only increases overall investment in the NHS but frees up public funding to tackle the £16 billion estates maintenance backlog.   "This is a first step to bringing vital investmen…

Gilead Sciences has struck a deal with Sprint Bioscience to license a pre-clinical oncology programme targeting TREX1. Under the agreement, Gilead will pay an initial fee of US$14 million and up to US$400 million more if the programme meets defined milestones. The deal gives Gilead access to potential first-in-class small-molecule TREX1 inhibitors developed by Sprint. TREX1 is a DNA exonuclease that degrades DNA fragments in the cell cytoplasm, helping cancer cells avoid detection by the immune system. Scientific studies have shown that inhibiting TREX1 can provoke strong innate immune responses: DNA accumulating in cancer cells triggers the cGAS–STING pathway, resulting in production of type I interferons, recruitment of T cells and natural killer cells, and enhanced tumour-cell killing.…

The UK government has announced a sweeping package of reforms and investment designed to put artificial intelligence at the centre of the country’s economic renewal. The measures include billions of pounds in additional funding and new initiatives aimed at supporting UK businesses, researchers and workers. Key elements of the plan include the creation of new “AI Growth Zones” such as one in South Wales which is expected to bring in more than 5 000 jobs over the next decade, including roles from construction to long-term AI research. Free access to computing resources will be expanded so British researchers and start-ups can train new AI models and deliver breakthroughs in science and industry. A dedicated “Sovereign AI Unit” will be backed with nearly £500 million to support high-potential…

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has unveiled its new initiative named Rise, an open-innovation platform designed to partner with startups and technology firms to tackle pressing challenges in drug development, manufacturing, supply-chain and digital health. The company says Rise will focus on areas such as using artificial intelligence to model clinical-trial outcomes, replacing animal models with human-derived platforms, and developing smart devices to monitor patients on long-acting injectable therapies. Teva plans to invest tens of millions of dollars into global collaborations with innovative firms through Rise. The platform marks a strategic push by Teva to embrace digital transformation and strengthen its innovation pipeline at a time when the pharma industry is rapidly evolving.…

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has announced that it will acquire Halda Therapeutics for approximately US$3.05 billion in cash. The acquisition brings Halda’s novel drug‐discovery platform and pipeline into J&J’s expansive oncology franchise. Halda specialises in a new class of small-molecule therapies called RIPTAC™ (Regulated Induced Proximity Targeting Chimeras) that selectively kill cancer cells by forging a harmful interaction between a tumour‐specific protein and an “essential” survival protein in the cancer cell. Early clinical data for Halda’s lead candidate HLD-0915, targeting metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), showed encouraging signs of antitumour activity and a favourable therapeutic index. Through this deal, J&J aims to enhance its solid tumour p…

GSK (GSK) and LTZ Therapeutics have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at developing novel myeloid-cell engager (MCE) therapies in oncology, leveraging LTZ’s proprietary Myeloid Engager Platform. LTZ’s platform is designed to harness the innate immune system by activating myeloid cells to phagocytose tumour cells, reprogram the tumour-microenvironment, enhance antigen presentation and engage adaptive immune responses. The approach offers potential advantages over T-cell engagers by tapping into the abundance of macrophages and other myeloid cells in many solid tumours and possibly reducing cytokine release risks. LTZ’s platform emphasises activation of innate cells with minimal pro-inflammatory cytokine release, enabling potent tumour cell killing with a more controlled immune-react…

The UK is pioneering a new frontier in cancer care by recycling used nuclear fuel to produce life-saving precision medicines. Backed by £9.9m from the Innovate UK Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme and £8.9m from industry, a new initiative led by the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL) and Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) will harness lead-212 – a radionuclide derived from nuclear waste – to develop Targeted Alpha Therapies. These radiopharmaceuticals selectively destroy cancer cells with minimal damage to healthy tissue, offering new hope for patients with previously untreatable cancers. UKNNL’s innovative process extracts minute quantities of lead-212 from recycled material, creating a sustainable supply to support large-scale clinical use. With the UK’s signif…

Global life sciences company Bayer has unveiled its new “Science Delivers” campaign, designed to highlight how science shapes everyday life and fosters progress across society. Launched on World Science Day, the initiative includes a wide-reaching advertising push, a public “Declaration on Science,” and interactive experiences that invite people to share personal stories of how science has made a difference in their lives. A central video montage showcases individuals in diverse settings while a voiceover narrates how scientific discovery powers medical breakthroughs, cleaner water, sustainable agriculture, and better energy solutions. The message is clear: for every community and for every tomorrow, science truly delivers. The campaign also features installations and a digital hub where p…

Global pharmaceutical leader Eli Lilly and Company has entered into a major research and licensing collaboration with clinical-stage biotech SanegeneBio. The deal is focused on advancing RNA interference (RNAi) drug candidates targeting metabolic disorders by leveraging SanegeneBio’s proprietary Ligand and Enhancer Assisted Delivery (LEAD™) platform, which is designed to enable tissue-specific silencing of disease genes. Under the agreement, SanegeneBio will discover and optimise LEAD-based RNAi molecules across undisclosed metabolic disease targets, while Lilly will take responsibility for IND-enabling studies, clinical development and worldwide commercialization. The agreement includes an upfront payment and equity investment, and stretches to potential milestone payments of up to US$1.2…

Braveheart Bio has officially launched with a mission to transform cardiovascular medicine through advanced small-molecule therapies. The new biotech, led by CEO Travis Murdoch, is backed by leading investors including Forbion and OrbiMed, and debuts with a high-value licensing agreement with Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals. Under the deal, Braveheart Bio gains exclusive global rights, excluding China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, to develop, manufacture and commercialise the cardiac myosin inhibitor HRS-1893. The agreement includes an upfront payment of 65 million USD, split evenly between cash and shares, with additional potential milestones worth over 1 billion USD and royalties on future sales. HRS-1893 is currently in Phase III trials in China for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopat…

Eli Lilly and Company has announced a landmark collaboration with NVIDIA to build what they describe as the most powerful artificial intelligence supercomputer ever operated by a pharmaceutical company. The new infrastructure, based on NVIDIA’s DGX SuperPOD design and powered by over one thousand B300 GPUs, will form the backbone of Lilly’s new AI factory. This supercomputer will accelerate the discovery and delivery of medicines by training models on millions of experiments, exploring vast chemical and biological spaces, and optimising production and manufacturing processes. It will also enhance medical imaging, support digital twins for manufacturing sites, and power enterprise-wide AI assistants. Lilly emphasises that artificial intelligence is no longer just a tool but a scientific col…

UK-based specialty pharmaceutical company CNX Therapeutics has agreed to acquire the global rights to Sativex (nabiximols) from global biopharma firm Jazz Pharmaceuticals. The deal transfers the worldwide business of the cannabinoid-based medicine, which is approved in many markets for symptoms of moderate to severe spasticity in adult patients, from Jazz to CNX. The acquisition deepens CNX’s focus on central nervous system (CNS) therapies and strengthens its specialty medicines platform across Europe and beyond. For Jazz, the move streamlines its portfolio by handing over an established asset to a partner with a targeted commercial infrastructure. According to one report the acquisition was announced just recently. With Sativex already licensed across multiple countries, CNX aims to lever…

Novo Nordisk has launched an unsolicited acquisition offer for Metsera Inc., greatly exceeding a prior agreement between Pfizer Inc. and Metsera. Novo’s bid values Metsera at as much as US$9 billion, offering US$56.50 per share plus contingent value rights (CVRs) tied to clinical and regulatory milestones. This is up from Pfizer’s earlier bid of US$47.50 per share plus US$22.50 in CVRs, valued at around US$7.3 billion. Metsera is developing next-generation obesity treatments, including its lead candidate MET-097i (a GLP-1 analogue) and MET-233i (an amylin analog), both designed for monthly dosing and aimed at the fast-growing obesity market. Novo’s aggressive move appears to reflect pressure on its position in the category as competitors close in. Pfizer responded by alleging Novo’s bid mi…

Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) has secured an exclusive, worldwide licence from Kyowa Kirin for a pre-clinical, first-in-class small molecule targeting fibro-inflammatory diseases, an area that includes many autoimmune conditions. The deal is valued at up to €410 million in upfront, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, plus royalties on future sales.  The programme will join BI’s immunology and respiratory research portfolio, supporting its ambition to develop breakthrough therapies in areas of high unmet need. The licence will enable BI to progress the compound globally, building on Kyowa Kirin’s discovery expertise and BI’s clinical development and commercialisation strengths. Meanwhile, Kyowa Kirin retains potential upside via milestone and royalty payments.  Fibro-infl…

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has announced a strategic collaboration with ModeX Therapeutics, a subsidiary of OPKO Health, to develop multispecific antibody treatments designed to target multiple disease pathways within a single molecule. The agreement includes an upfront payment to ModeX of around seven million dollars, with potential milestone payments exceeding two hundred million dollars per program and a total deal value that could surpass one billion dollars if multiple products reach development milestones. ModeX contributes its proprietary MSTAR platform, which enables the creation of antibodies with up to six binding sites in one construct. This technology is designed to address complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases that involve multiple biolog…

Novartis has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Avidity Biosciences in an all-cash transaction valued at around US$12 billion. Avidity shareholders will receive US$72 per share, representing a premium of approximately 46 percent to its recent closing price. The acquisition reinforces Novartis’ strategy to expand its leadership in RNA-based medicines and strengthens its late-stage neuroscience and neuromuscular disease portfolio. Avidity Biosciences is known for its Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates, or AOCs, which deliver RNA therapeutics directly to muscle tissue. The company has multiple clinical programs in development for rare neuromuscular disorders such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy type 1, and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Under the terms of…

Thermo Fisher Scientific has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Clario Holdings, Inc., a leader in endpoint data solutions for clinical trials, in a transaction valuing Clario at approximately US$8.9 billion in cash, with additional performance-based payments possible. The acquisition is expected to close by mid-2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Clario’s platform collects and analyzes clinical trial data from devices, sites and patients thereby enabling sponsors to derive deeper insights and make faster decisions.  Thermo Fisher says the move will strengthen its offerings for pharmaceutical and biotech customers seeking to accelerate drug development and bring therapies to patients more efficiently.  In financial terms the deal is expecte…