Gabrielle Masson

Twenty-five biotechs have used the IPO route to go public this year—with five of those debuts occurring this month alone. It's the most IPOs since 2021, when the industry recorded 78 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

FDA extends its review of Capricor Therapeutics' Duchenne muscular dystrophy cell therapy as an unhappy shareholder advocates for change; Merck and Moderna tout positive data for their mRNA-based cancer vaccine; Trump nominates White House aide Heidi Overton as FDA commissioner; and the oral obesity market heats up with rivals Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk going head-to-head.

Phase 1 data from Generate Biomedicines' ongoing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease study demonstrated “rapid and sustained reductions” across four disease biomarkers.

Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2026 1–2pm EDT Event Location: Virtual Biopharma manufacturing is heading into its most volatile stretch in a decade.

AstraZeneca and Ionis Pharmaceuticals' data drop divulging more details from its highly watched Phase 3 transthyretin silencer trial “further confuses the picture” for Wainua when combined with the standard of care for ATTR-CM, analysts say.

Almost as many biotechs have opted for a reverse merger to reach the public markets as those executing more traditional initial public offerings this year.

Novartis hits pause on several CAR T trials after three patient deaths, followed by Bristol Myers Squibb after separate safety signals; Revolution Medicines scores early FDA approval for groundbreaking pancreatic cancer drug; BioNTech suspends a mid-stage trial of its mRNA cancer immunotherapy after a futility analysis; and nine mid-sized biopharma companies join their big pharma peers in President Donald Trump's Most Favored Nation drug pricing scheme.

After the failure of Novo Nordisk's IL-6 inhibitor ziltivekimab sent waves through the industry, the company has terminated two other studies of the asset, bringing the total number of high-profile cardiovascular flops to six over nine months.

September has been a rough month already for Novo Nordisk, which canned two more late-stage trials of its embattled IL-6 inhibitor, and Novartis, which took Phase 3 hits in both cardiovascular and muscular dystrophy indications; Ultragenyx's big bet in Angelman syndrome failed to yield benefit in Phase 3 but Ionis' Pharmaceuticals nabbed the first targeted approval for Alexander disease; and on the business side, biopharma investment is back in a big way.

A few months after a new CEO stepped up to helm Takeda, the drugmaker will now have to prepare for another leadership change as its long-time R&D head plans his exit.