Biotech — September 2026

Beam sues ex-scientist over stolen gene-editing secrets

Beam Therapeutics accuses a former scientist of stealing CRISPR trade secrets to secretly co-found a Chinese biotech rival, YolTech.

FDA approves Egetis' Emcitate for rare MCT8 disorder

Emcitate is now the only approved treatment for a rare genetic disease that Endpoints reports used to cut life expectancy to about 35 years.

Genentech pays $55M upfront in $1.5B AI cancer drug deal

Roche's Genentech is paying AI biotech Earendil Labs to design cancer antibodies that hit two targets at once.

FDA approves AbbVie's once-daily Parkinson's pill, Juvmo

Tavapadon gives Parkinson's patients a new daily pill, built from AbbVie's $8.7 billion Cerevel deal.

FDA approves Lilly's once-weekly insulin shot, Onswik

The FDA cleared Eli Lilly's Onswik, a once-weekly insulin shot for type 2 diabetes that could replace daily injections for millions of patients.

Scientists doubt Anthropic's AI 'CRISPR' breakthrough

Researchers say Claude's newly found enzyme system isn't proven to work, days after Anthropic compared it to CRISPR.

Anthropic's Claude finds a CRISPR-like enzyme system

An AI model spotted a brand-new biological system in virus DNA — and it spooked gene-editing stocks like CRISPR Therapeutics and Beam.

Otsuka's ALS drug ulefnersen succeeds in Phase 3

Ulefnersen is the first drug to ever pass a controlled trial for FUS-ALS, a fast-moving genetic form of Lou Gehrig's disease.

AI drug startup Iambic files for IPO, signs AbbVie deal

The Nvidia-backed biotech had a big Monday: an IPO filing and a new AI partnership with AbbVie.

Jennifer Doudna's lab finds CRISPR's ancient ancestor

UC Berkeley scientists just published how an old molecular system may explain CRISPR's true origins.

Stanford's 37,000 AI agents design a real cancer drug

A Stanford system of AI agents mimicking a drug company proposed a lung-cancer treatment that Merck independently confirmed.

FDA approves first gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome

Fayuvi is the first-ever approved treatment for a disease sometimes called childhood Alzheimer's, which slowly steals kids' memory and language.

Novo Nordisk taps Anthropic's Claude to speed drug discovery

The Ozempic maker will use Anthropic's AI models and a new "Claude Science" tool to search for new medicines and speed up its own software work.

Montana lets firms sell unapproved drugs to patients

A private board with industry ties decides who can sell experimental medicine there.

Definium's LSD pill clears third straight Phase 3 trial

DT120, a dissolvable LSD tablet for anxiety, hit its main goal in a third Phase 3 trial, and the company is heading toward an FDA filing.

Diabetes Care editors boycott the ADA after police ouster

Police escorted five researchers out in June for handing out an editorial on research cuts. Now their journal's editors refuse to review new papers.

A gene therapy just reversed aging signs in senior dogs

Genflow's SIRT6 gene therapy hit its main goal in aged beagles, lowering their biological age and improving survival.

Kura spins off $50M diabetes biotech with Lilly's backing

The new company, Caspian Therapeutics, is chasing a treatment that could change how diabetes progresses, not just manage blood sugar.

Moonwalk raises $70M for a muscle-sparing fat drug

The Bay Area biotech's new injection aims to cut fat while keeping muscle, unlike today's popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.

A new cancer pill won FDA approval. Patients can't get it

Rasonque treats a genetic driver of pancreatic cancer, but insurance delays are leaving newly-approved patients stuck for weeks, STAT found.

Novo Nordisk halts two heart trials of ziltivekimab

A data-monitoring committee found the trials unlikely to succeed, another blow to the inflammation theory of heart disease.

Novartis' new heart drug fails its big trial

Pelacarsen lowered a key heart-disease marker, but that didn't mean fewer heart attacks or strokes in a big trial.

FDA approves first-ever drug for Alexander disease

Zanvastro is the first treatment that changes the course of Alexander disease, a rare brain disorder in kids and adults.

Akeso's drug beats Keytruda in a head-to-head trial

Ivonescimab outlived Merck's blockbuster in a Phase 3 lung cancer study, the first rival drug to do it.

Ultragenyx's Angelman syndrome drug fails Phase 3 trial

Ultragenyx's experimental drug for the rare disorder Angelman syndrome missed its main goals in a major trial, and shares dropped over 40%.

GSK moves its mRNA flu vaccine into Phase 3 trials

Early data show GSK's shot beats standard flu vaccines at triggering immune responses, in both younger and older adults.

Novartis halts CAR-T trials after three deaths

Three patients died from severe immune reactions in Novartis trials, prompting Bristol Myers to pause similar studies too.