👋 Hey, let’s get into it. Novo Nordisk just looked at AI and said… yeah, we’re not dabbling, we’re going all in.

The Danish pharma giant is teaming up with OpenAI to deploy AI across basically everything, from drug discovery to manufacturing to commercial ops. Not a pilot. Not a side project. The whole stack.

The pitch is simple: analyze more data, find better targets, and move faster than competitors. The subtext is even simpler: if AI actually delivers here, the companies that hesitate are going to get left behind.

💰 Lilly Snags ADC Startup for $300M
Eli Lilly is back on the deal treadmill, picking up CrossBridge Bio and its next-gen dual-payload ADC platform for up to $300 million. The biotech’s lead program, a TROP2-targeting therapy, is expected to enter the clinic this year, aiming to improve on existing ADCs with better stability and multi-payload delivery. The company spun out of the University of Texas system just two years ago, making this a quick flip into Big Pharma hands. Lilly clearly sees ADCs as a long-term oncology pillar and is quietly building a deeper bench.

🏰 J&J Builds Its Next Immunology Empire
Johnson & Johnson is making a serious push toward a $100 billion revenue future, and immunology is front and center. With Stelara losing ground to biosimilars, the company is leaning on Tremfya and newly launched oral drug Icotyde to form what it calls a “dual powerhouse.” Icotyde’s once-daily oral format could shake up a market dominated by injectables, while Tremfya is already tracking toward blockbuster status. If both hit, J&J may not just replace Stelara, it might upgrade the whole category.

🧬 FDA Tightens the Rules on Gene Editing
The FDA just dropped new draft guidance aimed at standardizing how companies assess the safety of genome editing therapies. The focus is on using advanced sequencing to detect off-target effects, especially as bespoke therapies for ultra-rare diseases gain traction. Regulators are trying to walk a fine line here: move fast enough to support innovation, but not so fast that safety gets compromised. With CRISPR-based treatments gaining momentum, expect this framework to become the playbook going forward.

👎 Daiichi Dumps Consumer Health for $1.5B
Daiichi Sankyo is officially joining the “focus on innovative drugs” club, offloading its consumer health unit to Suntory in a deal worth roughly $1.5 billion. The move frees up capital and attention for its oncology pipeline, which has become the company’s core growth engine. It is part of a broader trend across pharma where anything that does not scream high-margin innovation is getting spun out. Toothpaste and cold meds are out. Cancer drugs are in.

🤖 Novartis CEO Joins Anthropic Board
Vas Narasimhan joins Anthropic’s board, tightening the link between pharma leadership and AI development as healthcare becomes a key battleground.

⚠️ FDA Flags Safety Questions for Lilly Obesity Pill
The FDA is asking Lilly for more data on cardiovascular risk, liver injury, and other safety signals tied to its oral GLP-1 drug Foundayo.

🌍 Spain Targets $200M Biotech Fund
Spain is launching a Boston-linked biotech fund to bridge ecosystems and give its startups access to world-class infrastructure.

🏭 Astellas Shuts Down Seattle Cell Therapy Site
Astellas will close its legacy Universal Cells site, consolidating cell therapy work into fewer hubs and cutting about 55 roles.

🧬 Takeda Ends mRNA Discovery Pact
Takeda has pulled out of its mRNA-targeting research collaboration with Veritas In Silico, ending the partnership amicably.

🥇 Travere Lands First-Ever FSGS Approval
Travere’s Filspari overcame trial setbacks to become the first FDA-approved treatment for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Happy earnings season to those who celebrate. The spreadsheets are open, expectations are calibrated, and pharma execs are about to explain exactly how they plan to navigate one of the weirdest macro environments in years.

On the surface, the industry looks steady. Biopharma is entering Q1 reporting on the back of a strong finish to 2025, where most major players beat expectations and reassured investors that growth is still intact. Underneath that, though, there is a lot to unpack.

Start with dealmaking. Nearly $47 billion has already been deployed across 19 deals this year, and investors will be looking for one thing: intent. Are these one-off opportunistic buys, or the start of a sustained M&A cycle? Companies like Gilead, Lilly, and Merck are going to get pressed hard on how aggressively they plan to keep shopping and how those deals actually translate into revenue.

Then there is obesity, which has not so quietly become the most important commercial battleground in pharma. This quarter will deliver the first real revenue read on Novo Nordisk’s oral GLP-1, just as Lilly enters the market with its own pill. Pricing pressure is already creeping in, shifting the narrative from premium blockbuster margins to a volume-driven market. Investors will be watching prescription growth, payer dynamics, and whether lower pricing actually expands the total addressable market or just compresses margins.

Beyond that, expect a steady drumbeat of pipeline questions. Amgen will face scrutiny over how far behind its obesity asset really is. Pfizer will need to defend both its obesity ambitions and a vaccine business dealing with inconsistent policy signals. Merck is staring down integration questions after recent acquisitions, all while managing the long-term erosion risk tied to Keytruda.

And then there is the FDA. Between leadership turnover, shifting guidance, and recent controversial decisions, companies will almost certainly get questions about regulatory clarity and how it is impacting timelines.

The bigger picture is this: biopharma still looks like a relative safe haven in a volatile global economy, but that does not mean smooth sailing. Q1 is traditionally the weakest quarter due to insurance resets and inventory dynamics, so expectations are tempered. What matters more is guidance and whether companies can convince investors that growth accelerates from here.

We will be tracking it all closely and breaking down the biggest winners, losers, and surprises right here as companies report over the coming weeks.

That is how many U.S. clinical trials have failed to report results, according to the FDA, prompting the agency to contact over 2,200 sponsors. Per the FDA, missing data does not just create gaps, it distorts reality by hiding failures and overstating success rates across drug development.

Here’s what biotech Redditors are talking about:

😬 Do People Actually Like Working in Biotech?
One Reddit thread called out the community’s constant negativity and asked a simple question: does anyone actually enjoy this career? The responses were surprisingly balanced. Many said they genuinely love the science, the people, and the mission, but the instability is impossible to ignore after multiple layoffs and long unemployment stretches. Others pointed out that online forums skew negative, especially among R&D-heavy crowds who were sold on the idea that a PhD guaranteed financial upside. The takeaway: people like the work, they just do not trust the industry.

📉 When Does Biotech Rebound?
Another thread tackled the question everyone keeps asking but no one can answer: when does biotech bounce back? The community landed somewhere between cautious optimism and mild pessimism. Some blamed the current AI funding boom for pulling capital away from biotech, while others pointed to political headwinds and reduced early-stage funding. A few took the long view, arguing the industry always moves in cycles and will recover eventually, just not overnight. Translation: everyone agrees it will come back, just not when.

🧠 Startup Promises “Infinite Memory”
A Harvard-linked AI startup claims it can recreate human memory using digital footprints, though how it actually works remains a bit… mysterious.

📉 ACA Coverage Quietly Drops
About 2.2 million Americans lost health coverage after enhanced tax credits expired, with more declines expected as premium bills kick in.

🌍 HIV Drug Access Still Falls Short
Doctors Without Borders says Gilead’s expanded supply of its HIV prevention drug is nowhere near enough to meet global demand.

🐝 Beeline Medicines Emerges with $300M and a Full Pipeline
Beeline Medicines just launched out of stealth with a massive $300 million Series A and five autoimmune programs already in hand from Bristol Myers Squibb. Led by the former SpringWorks CEO who pulled off two approvals and a $3.9 billion exit, the company is wasting no time. Its lead drug targets TLR7 and TLR8 to shut down overactive immune responses in lupus, with a pivotal trial already on deck. This is not a “build slowly” biotech. This is a fully loaded one from day one.

🚲 April 16, 1943 — The First LSD Trip
Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann accidentally discovered the hallucinogenic effects of LSD and then decided to test it on himself. What followed was a now-legendary bicycle ride home through Basel, complete with distorted vision and a complete break from reality. That moment not only launched decades of psychedelic research but also earned its own holiday: Bicycle Day. Probably the most productive lab accident of all time.

Some people discover drugs. Others discover entire realities. Either way, here’s to hoping your week involves fewer hallucinations and more good data…we’re looking at you ChatGPT.

That’s all for today. See you Tuesday for the next issue. 👋

If you found this useful, share it with a friend or coworker. We are a small operation, and every share goes a long way.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here 👇

Subscribe for free

Follow us on social and stay one step ahead