Pharmaceuticals

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 19, 2025 - Eli Lilly's experimental daily oral obesity medicine orforglipron posted Phase III data suggesting it can help patients maintain weight loss after long-term treatment with injectable GLP-1 therapies-an outcome with direct implications for adherence, payer strategy, and competition with Novo Nordisk's coming oral semaglutide filing.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 19, 2025 - Merck reported positive topline Phase 3 data showing its immunotherapy KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) combined with the antibody-drug conjugate Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) improved event-free survival, overall survival and pathologic complete response when used before and after surgery in cisplatin-eligible muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), setting up a potential shift in the perioperative standard of care.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 19, 2025 - Merck said the EMA's CHMP has recommended approval of an expanded European indication for WINREVAIR (sotatercept) in adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a move that-if confirmed by the European Commission-could broaden use to include WHO Functional Class (FC) IV patients and strengthen the product's positioning around morbidity and mortality benefit.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 19, 2025 - The FDA is considering awarding Commissioner's National Priority Vouchers to two investigational Merck programs-PCSK9 pill enlicitide decanoate and antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab tirumotecan-an early signal that the agency may be willing to accelerate reviews for high-impact products even before formal filings, according to a Reuters report.

A new FDA lever that can reshape launch timing
Commissioner's National Priority Vouchers are designed to shorten the FDA's regulatory review window from the typical 10-12 months to 1-2 months. For large pharma, that time compression can meaningfully shift competitive dynamics-pulling forward commercialization, altering payer and guideline sequencing, and increasing the urgency of manufacturing readiness, launch supply, and field execution.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 15, 2025 - TuHURA Biosciences (NASDAQ: HURA) has provided a corporate update following a recent $15.6 million equity financing, detailing near-term milestones across its Phase 3 IFx-2.0 program in Merkel cell carcinoma, its VISTA-inhibiting antibody TBS-2025 in AML, and its Delta Opioid Receptor (DOR)-focused conjugate platform aimed at overcoming resistance to cancer immunotherapy.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 15, 2025 - TuHURA Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:HURA) announced that Kintara's REM-001 clinical trial in ten metastatic cutaneous breast cancer patients met its primary endpoint demonstrating safety, a contractual milestone that is expected to trigger distribution of TuHURA common stock to eligible contingent value right (CVR) holders.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 11, 2025 - A new convergence of obesity dealmaking, regulatory uncertainty at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and fresh neurology data out of the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) conference is forcing biopharma executives to recalibrate their 2026 playbooks across R&D, partnering and risk management.

Obesity Dealflow Enters a More Competitive, High-Stakes Phase

Pfizer continues to double down on cardiometabolic disease, following its $10 billion acquisition of obesity startup Metsera with an exclusive collaboration to license YaoPharma's oral GLP-1 receptor agonist YP05002. Together with other emerging oral and peptide GLP-1s, this next wave of assets is pushing obesity beyond a single-product, single-modality market and into a diversified, highly competitive landscape.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 10, 2025 - Pfizer Inc. is expanding its cardiometabolic ambitions through an exclusive global collaboration and license agreement with YaoPharma, a subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, to develop, manufacture and commercialize YP05002, an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist currently in Phase 1 for chronic weight management. The deal strengthens Pfizer's position in the fast-moving obesity field and adds a differentiated small-molecule asset to its portfolio of metabolic disease candidates.

Strategic Bet on Small-Molecule GLP-1 in Obesity

Under the agreement, China-based YaoPharma will complete an ongoing Phase 1 study of YP05002 before transferring global development and commercialization rights to Pfizer. For Pfizer, the asset fits neatly into a strategy that aims to pair novel mechanisms with scalable, oral delivery formats for obesity and adjacent cardiometabolic conditions.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 10, 2025 - Pfizer Inc. is setting the stage for its next financial chapter with an analyst conference call and webcast on December 16, 2025, where the U.S.-based biopharmaceutical leader will present full-year 2026 financial guidance to investors and the broader market. The event underscores how large pharma companies use structured guidance cycles to frame expectations around revenue, R&D investment, pipeline execution and capital allocation.

Anchoring Investor Expectations with 2026 Guidance

Pfizer will host the live call with investment analysts at 8:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, with a simultaneous webcast for global stakeholders. The primary objective is to provide formal full-year 2026 financial guidance, giving clarity on topline trends, margin expectations, R&D spending and the company's capital deployment priorities.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 8, 2025 - Denali Therapeutics is facing another regulatory setback after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed a clinical hold on DNL952, its enzyme replacement candidate for Pompe disease, citing preclinical hypersensitivity signals and demanding protocol changes before the company can start Phase I studies.

FDA Flags Hypersensitivity Risk Before First Human Dosing

The clinical hold, disclosed in an SEC filing, stems from "hypersensitivity reactions" observed in mouse models. While the agency has not required additional non-clinical studies, it is insisting on a more conservative first-in-human plan. Denali has been asked to lower the proposed starting dose for DNL952 and implement "revised inclusion criteria, adjusted stopping rules and unspecified safety monitoring commitments" before the program can proceed.