Biotech — August 2026

Alnylam defends its drugs after a rival's trial flopped

AstraZeneca's heart-disease drug missed its goal in a major trial, and Alnylam is making the case its own medicine is the better bet.

CRISPR therapy keeps cholesterol down a year after one dose

CRISPR Therapeutics says a single infusion of its gene-editing drug CTX310 kept cholesterol and triglycerides lower a year later, per new trial data.

BioNTech's cancer vaccine trial fails after rival's win

BioNTech and Genentech shut down a mid-stage cancer vaccine trial for futility, a week after Merck and Moderna's rival vaccine succeeded in a similar disease.

Retro Biosciences raises the dose in its Alzheimer's trial

The Sam Altman-backed startup is testing higher doses of its brain-aging drug after early results underwhelmed, per Business Insider.

FDA approves Revolution Medicines' pancreatic cancer pill

The daily pill is the first drug to target the genetic mutation driving most pancreatic cancers, and it roughly doubled survival in a trial.

Precision BioSciences doses first patient in DMD gene trial

The company dosed its first patient in a gene-editing trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe disease in boys.

FDA clears PrecivityAD2, an Alzheimer's blood test

C2N Diagnostics' test spots Alzheimer's biomarkers from a blood draw with over 90% accuracy, now cleared for symptomatic adults as young as 40.

Ramaswamy-backed biotech goes public via reverse merger

Ambros Therapeutics, co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, is merging with Werewolf Therapeutics and raising $150M to fund a rare pain drug's final trial.

FDA approves Ultragenyx's first gene therapy

Genglycos treats the genetic root of a rare blood sugar disorder, sparing patients a lifelong dependence on cornstarch.

A third patient dies in China's opaque trial system

RiboX confirmed a death in an unregulated China trial for its CAR-T therapy, the third such disclosed death in weeks.

Merck, Moderna's cancer vaccine succeeds in Phase 3 trial

Their personalized mRNA vaccine, paired with Keytruda, hit its goals in melanoma patients — the first Phase 3 win ever for this kind of cancer therapy.

Trump expected to pick Heidi Overton to lead FDA

The White House aide would take over an agency that's been without a permanent leader since its last commissioner quit.

New data dims Summit-Akeso's lung cancer drug in China

Ivonescimab won a third China approval last week, but longer follow-up shows its benefit fading versus earlier, more impressive data.

Quantum-Si delays its protein-reading device, cuts staff

Quantum-Si is cutting a fifth of its staff and pushing its next protein-sequencing machine, Proteus, back to 2027.

Cullinan's lung cancer drug clears Phase 3 trial

Zipalertinib, from Cullinan and Taiho, hit its goal in a trial for a hard-to-treat lung cancer, setting up a fight with J&J's Rybrevant.

Eli Lilly sues 6 sellers of black-market weight-loss drug

The pharma giant filed lawsuits accusing US vendors of selling fake versions of retatrutide, its unapproved weight-loss drug.

Novo Nordisk taps Amazon's AWS to speed up drug discovery

The Ozempic maker will use AWS's AI tools to search for new drugs faster, and the pair are opening a London lab together.

Cystic fibrosis drug flop sends Sionna stock down 90%

Sionna's add-on pill failed a key trial, and rival Vertex's stock jumped on the news.

Scientists gene-edit a beagle to stop triggering allergies

Bailey the beagle no longer makes the protein that causes most dog allergies, after researchers edited her genes.

Senators target biotech's deals with China in new bill

The bipartisan BINSA Act would force US drugmakers' China licensing deals through a national-security review.

Second child dies in China gene-editing trial in a year

HuidaGene Therapeutics waited nearly a year to disclose a boy's death in its Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene-editing trial.

FDA approves Moderna's first mRNA flu vaccine

The FDA approved mFlusiva Wednesday, the first flu shot ever built with mRNA, the same technology behind Covid vaccines.

Hinge Health buys Cylinder Health to enter gut care

Hinge Health, known for treating joint and muscle pain, is paying $105 million to add a digestive-health startup to its platform.

Curium to buy radiopharma rival Lantheus for $8B

The private equity-backed firm will take the 70-year-old cancer-drug pioneer private in one of radiopharma's biggest deals.

AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers explored $400B merger

The two drugmakers held preliminary talks about a deal that would create one of the world's largest pharma firms.

Apnimed raises $192M IPO for sleep apnea pill

Apnimed priced its IPO at $16 and raised $192M, betting a pill can replace the CPAP machine for sleep apnea.

Novo Nordisk's heart drug fails key inflammation trial

Ziltivekimab cut inflammation exactly as designed, but patients had heart attacks and strokes at the same rate as everyone else. Shares fell 10%.