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Upfront Briefing
Sanofi went back to the one partner that has reliably made it money: $1B upfront and up to $7B in milestones for four early Regeneron immunology assets, with the 2024 Dupixent lawsuit settled on the way in. That's a licensing pact, not a takeover. Think couples therapy with a cost-split. Over at EASD in Milan, Lilly's amylin-Zepbound combo posted 23.3% weight loss in patients with diabetes, edging its own triple-G, with Phase 3 starting this quarter. Less fun: Bristol Myers disclosed a liver-injury death in the admilparant programme ahead of a year-end IPF readout.
Tape Action
| Instrument |
Last close |
1D % |
YTD % |
| S&P 500 |
7,651.5 |
(0.3%) |
11.6% |
| Nasdaq 100 |
30,408.5 |
0.2% |
20.6% |
| Russell 2000 |
2,796.9 |
(0.4%) |
11.5% |
| Healthcare (XLV) |
168.4 |
(1.4%) |
8.3% |
| Biotech (XBI) |
157.7 |
0.6% |
29.8% |
| Nasdaq Biotech (NBI) |
7,114.5 |
(0.3%) |
24.7% |
| Clinical Trials (BBC) |
46.3 |
1.0% |
23.0% |
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- Equal-weight biotech decoupled from large-cap healthcare: XBI +0.6% against XLV (1.4%).
- Stocks rolled over in the final minutes of Q3's last session as the 10-year touched 5.30%, its highest since May 2002, swamping early relief from a cooler September core PCE (+0.2% m/m, 3.0% y/y vs 3.3% expected); Brent settled at $103.53.
- Market data: U.S. cash close Wednesday, 30 September 2026.
The Big 3
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1
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Sanofi pays Regeneron $1B upfront to find Dupixent's successor
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- Sanofi will pay Regeneron $1B upfront and up to $7B in milestones to co-develop four early immunology programmes on a cost- and profit-split: REGN20423, a long-acting IL-13 antibody in Phase 1 since May, plus three preclinical IL-4/IL-4Rα assets including an IL-4xIL-13 bispecific. Regeneron leads R&D, Sanofi leads global commercialisation, and the deal comes with settlement of Regeneron's 2024 Dupixent suit.
- Why it matters: This is Dupixent succession planning bought at a clinical-asset price for mostly preclinical science. Dupixent did €5.2B ($5.9B) in Q2 and loses U.S. patent cover in 2031, and new CEO Belén Garijo's opening BD move goes back to the partner that built the franchise. The $1B upfront buys one Phase 1 asset and three preclinical ones; for scale, Sanofi paid $640M upfront for the 2015 Regeneron immuno-oncology pact. Regeneron keeps the R&D pen plus an option to fold in Sanofi's lunsekimig after Phase 3 COPD data, so it holds the better end of the structure. The open risk is whether a rebuilt IL-4/IL-13 portfolio can beat Dupixent rather than just extend it.
- Source: Fierce Biotech
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2
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Lilly's amylin-Zepbound combo tops its own triple-G in diabetes
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- In a 367-patient Phase 2 in adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes, eloraTZP at its top dose (eloralintide 9mg + Zepbound 15mg) delivered 23.3% mean weight loss (54.1lb) at 48 weeks on the efficacy estimand, vs 34.4lb on Zepbound 15mg alone, with A1C benefit. Data presented at EASD; Lilly plans Phase 3 starts in Q4 2026.
- Why it matters: Type 2 diabetes normally shaves points off incretin weight loss, so 23.3% at 48 weeks is the number that matters: Citi called it comparable to tirzepatide in non-diabetics and well clear of its 17% bar. It also edges Lilly's own retatrutide, which posted 20.8% at 80 weeks in TRIUMPH-2's obesity-plus-diabetes population, on a shorter clock. Endpoints billed it as the best-ever result in this population. The caveats are standard but real: cross-trial comparisons on the efficacy estimand flatter, and the treatment-regimen figure and GI tolerability at 9mg eloralintide will shape the Phase 3 design.
- Source: Endpoints
- More: BioSpace; Fierce Biotech
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| 3 | Bristol Myers discloses liver-injury death ahead of admilparant IPF readout |
- Bristol Myers amended its Phase 3 admilparant (oral LPA1 antagonist) programme in IPF/PPF in May after a limited number of liver-injury cases and one death from liver injury, adding monitoring and stopping rules; a spokesperson said it is unclear whether the patient received drug. IPF data are due by year-end, PPF in early 2027.
- Why it matters: Admilparant is the IPF readout management has framed as among the most critical of the year, in a market BMS sizes at roughly $4B now and $8–10B by the mid-2030s. A liver signal is the specific fear: the first-generation LPA1 antagonist BMS-986020 was dropped for compound-specific hepatobiliary toxicity, and the amendment now lists liver injury as an important potential risk. Stifel describes the fatal case as multi-organ failure without a classic drug-induced pattern, and the DSMB requested no protocol changes. Contineum's PIPE-791, a different scaffold dosed at 10mg or less, now trades off BMS's safety tables.
- Source: Endpoints
- More: BioPharma Dive
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Everything Else that broke
- CMS finalized the GLOBE drug-pricing demo, but projected savings came in below earlier expectations. — Endpoints
- HHS launched an AI initiative aimed at speeding and expanding clinical trials in the U.S. — STAT
- FDA accepted Roche's fenebrutinib filing in multiple sclerosis, moving the oral BTK program into review. — BioPharma Dive
- FDA hit a second Fresenius site with a contamination warning letter in less than a month. — Fierce Pharma
- Atara and Pierre Fabre resubmitted Ebvallo after two prior FDA rebuffs. — BioSpace
- Hansoh's Tagrisso rival aumolertinib (Aumseqa) lost its EU approval, granted in February, after a legal challenge from AstraZeneca. — Fierce Pharma
- Connect's IL-4Rα antibody rademikibart cut 28-day treatment failure 81% and new moderate-to-severe exacerbations 85% vs placebo in the 159-patient Phase 2 Seabreeze STAT COPD study, but missed the day-7 FEV1 secondary; Connect will take a Phase 3 plan to FDA. — Fierce Biotech
- Amgen's ex-Horizon ILT7 antibody daxdilimab cut CLASI-A 6 points vs placebo at the low dose in a 72-patient Phase 2 in discoid lupus, with ~62% reaching CLASI-50 vs 23.7%; Amgen is moving it toward registrational trials. — Fierce Biotech
- Massachusetts awarded $40M in life sciences tax incentives expected to support more than 1,600 jobs. — BioSpace
- BioMarin will cut 117 California jobs as it consolidates its footprint. — Fierce Pharma
- Novo is trimming 108 jobs at its New Jersey headquarters by year-end. — Fierce Pharma
Deal Flow
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BioBucks 2026 Deal Trackers • Updated weekly ⬇️
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M&A / BD&L
- Sanofi / Regeneron — $1B upfront, up to $7B in milestones, four early IL-4/IL-13-axis immunology assets on a cost/profit split; settles the Dupixent litigation. — Fierce Biotech
- GSK / Wave Life Sciences — $12M upfront to take a hepatic siRNA candidate from the 2022 PRISM pact; up to $375M in milestones plus royalties. — Fierce Biotech
VC / Private Financings
- Varda Space Industries raised a $251M Series D for in-orbit pharmaceutical manufacturing; lead investor not disclosed in trade coverage at send. — Fierce Pharma
- R1 Therapeutics expanded its Series A to $80.5M ahead of Phase 2b hyperphosphatemia data; Samsara BioCapital joined Abingworth, DaVita Venture Group, F-Prime, Curie.Bio, SNMA Capital and U.S. Renal Care. — GlobeNewswire
IPOs / Follow-Ons
- No notable biotech IPO pricings or follow-ons in the last 24 hours.
Academic Corner - In a phase 3 trial, obexelimab lowered flare risk versus placebo in IgG4-related disease, while reducing glucocorticoid use and raising remission. — NEJM
- A NEJM editorial framed obexelimab as a proof point for nondepleting B-cell therapy in IgG4-related disease. — NEJM
- CTX310 showed one-year durability for CRISPR-Cas9 editing of ANGPTL3 in phase 1a without treatment-related dose-limiting toxic effects. — NEJM
- Nature Medicine published phase 2b data showing VCN-01 plus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel prolonged overall survival in metastatic pancreatic cancer. — Nature Medicine
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Nearly two decades, one lawsuit, and they're still splitting the bill.
— BioBucks Team
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