👋 If you’ve been sending out résumés into the biotech void and wondering if your Wi-Fi’s broken, it’s not you, it’s the system.
According to new data, landing a job in biopharma takes around four months on average. That’s double the time for most other industries. On Reddit, job seekers are describing the process as “more marathon than sprint,” and that’s putting it lightly.
Why the lag? Between hiring freezes, cautious budgets, and endless interview rounds, the industry’s still playing defense after last year’s funding slump. The good news: hiring is starting to thaw, just don’t expect overnight miracles.
📰 Headliners
🙌 Keytruda + Padcev slash bladder cancer deaths by 50%.Merck’s blockbuster combo continues to impress, showing a massive reduction in mortality for advanced bladder cancer. It’s a win for immunotherapy synergy and another notch in Keytruda’s belt as the industry’s reigning oncology workhorse.
❌ FDA flags “unacceptable” violations at Novo Nordisk’s Indiana plant.Regulators aren’t happy with the manufacturing conditions behind some of Novo’s high-demand products. The site now carries an “official action indicated” label, a major compliance headache that could ripple across production and supply chains.
🪁 Kite bets $1.6B on China’s Pregene for next-gen CAR-T.While others pull back from risky partnerships, Kite’s going all-in on in-vivo CAR-T development with Chinese biotech Pregene. The deal could reshape how cell therapies are delivered, or become another costly moonshot.
💵 J&J plans orthopedic spinout.The healthcare giant is carving off its orthopedics division to focus on faster-growing areas like medtech and pharma. Translation: leaner structure, tighter strategy, and a possible IPO down the road.
🎰 Takeda makes a $1B AI play with Nabal Bio.Takeda’s doubling down on artificial intelligence to fuel early-stage discovery. The pharma firm’s new partnership with Nabal Bio aims to use AI to identify and validate targets faster, part of its ongoing R&D refocus.
➕ Quick Hits
💊 Praxis shares rocket 200% after a Phase 3 win in essential tremor, marking a major comeback for the small-cap biotech.
💰 Novo Nordisk signs $2.1B deal for Omeros’ stalled PNH drug, expanding its rare disease footprint.
🧠 Roche gets FDA clearance for an Alzheimer’s blood test, a big leap toward accessible, non-invasive diagnostics.
🔥 Replimune stock doubles as the FDA accepts its melanoma resubmission, setting a new review date for April.
🤝 Merck KGaA’s EMD Serono inks deal with the Trump administration on fertility drug pricing, marking a rare example of cooperation in D.C. healthcare policy.
🪄 Alto Neuroscience shares double after announcing plans to fast-track its depression drug program following new private funding.
🧐 DEEP DIVE
💸 FDA Hands Out First-Ever Priority Review Vouchers
The FDA just pulled a Lloyd Christmas and started handing out its first-ever National Priority Review Vouchers, a brand-new program designed to speed up drug approvals for treatments that align with U.S. national priorities.
Normally, new drug reviews drag on for 10 to 12 months. But these vouchers can cut that timeline to one or two months, giving companies a fast pass through one of biotech’s most painful bottlenecks.
🎫 Who Got the Golden Tickets
Nine companies/drugs received one of these shiny new vouchers, each tied to a product that either tackles a critical health need or strengthens domestic drug manufacturing.
Merck KGaA / EMD Serono – Pergoveris for infertility
Sanofi – Teplizumab for Type I diabetes
Achieve Life Sciences – Cytisinicline for nicotine and vaping addiction
Regeneron – DB-OTO for deafness
Dompé – Cenegermin-bkbj for blindness
Revolution Medicines – RMC-6236 for pancreatic cancer
Disc Medicine – Bitopertin for porphyria
Ketamine – For domestic manufacturing of a critical anesthetic
Augmentin XR – For domestic manufacturing of a common antibiotic
That’s a wide range. From infertility and pancreatic cancer to ramping up production of basic meds.
⚡ Why It Matters
For the FDA, this signals a push to reward companies tackling “national priorities.” For drugmakers, it’s a serious competitive edge, shaving nearly a year off review time could mean hundreds of millions in earlier revenue.
This might also be a test run for a new incentive model. One that blurs the lines between public health priorities and market opportunity. Expect lobbying to spike as everyone fights for “priority” status.
🔮 The Takeaway
If your therapy hits America’s key needs (critical manufacturing, rare disease, public health), you might just skip the line.
🔢 KEY FIGURE
19%
That’s how much TV drug ad spending dropped in Q3, even with football season in full swing.
🌐 COMMUNITY VIBES
This week on Reddit’s biotech threads: mixed emotions.
“Finally got an offer after 7 months.” Others chimed in to say the R&D job market’s still brutal, while sales and marketing roles are trending up. 🕊️
“Which pharma has the best culture?” Consensus: Lilly’s a class act. Pfizer? Not so much. 🧑🔬
“I’ve given up on biotech (for now).” A surprisingly common sentiment. The frustration is real, but so is the hope for better days ahead. 😩
🧬 BioBits
💊 Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs teams up with Trump RX (Yes, that Trump) to expand low-cost generics.
🧠 Anthropic launches Claude for Life Sciences, a new AI assistant designed to accelerate data analysis and research workflows.
🧴 Veradermics secures $150M for its hair regrowth pill. Big bets on baldness continue.
💻 Lila Sciences grabs $115M from Nvidia, bringing its total funding to $350M to boost AI-driven drug discovery.
🩺 OpenEvidence raises $200M at a $6B valuation for its “ChatGPT for doctors,” a major milestone for clinical AI tools.
🐭 Diabetes drug relieves brain inflammation in female mice with multiple sclerosis, hinting at a surprising crossover benefit.
💭 Words to Remember
“Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.”
— Wernher von Braun
🌿 Lab Laugh
Q: Which biochemicals wash up on beaches?
A: Nucleotides. 🌊
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