Bristol Myers Squibb's lung-scarring drug passes its final trial, but only the lower of its two doses worked

The rest of the day

13 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Merck's eye drug loses ground in full data

   Merck, a large US drugmaker, showed the full results of its eye drug remigromig at a meeting of eye doctors this weekend. [8] The drug is for diabetic macular edema, a leak of fluid at the back of the eye in people with diabetes, and Merck paid $1.3 billion up front in 2024 for the company that made it. [8] Last month Merck said it worked no worse than Lucentis, an older injection. [8] After a year, patients gained 9.1 and 8.7 letters on an eye chart, against 11.8 on Lucentis. [8]

   Remigromig 0.5 mg9.1 letters

   Remigromig 0.8 mg8.7 letters

   Lucentis11.8 letters

   Why it matters — New fragile blood vessels, a diabetes eye complication, appeared in 6.7% and 6.1% of patients on remigromig, against 0.9% on Lucentis. [7][8] Analysts at BMO said the drug looks weaker and less safe than Lucentis, while Merck says 30% to 40% of these patients are not helped enough today. [8]

2. 03

   Tezspire puts 7 in 10 into remission

   Amgen and AstraZeneca, two large drugmakers, said their drug Tezspire worked in a final-stage trial in eosinophilic esophagitis. [7] That is an immune disease of the food pipe, the tube that carries food to the stomach. [7] Nearly 70% of patients on the highest dose were in remission after 24 weeks, against 3.5% on a dummy drug. [7] Fuller results are due at a medical meeting on Wednesday. [7]

   Tezspire, highest dose70%

   Dummy drug3.5%

   Why it matters — The figure is higher than Dupixent, the only other antibody drug approved for the disease, showed in its own trials. [7] That comparison is across separate trials, which BioPharma Dive notes can mislead, and today's lesson explains why. [7]

3. 04

   First drug for Alexander disease approved

   The FDA, the US drug regulator, has approved Zanvastro, the first medicine aimed at the cause of Alexander disease, the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced. [9] The disease affects fewer than one in a million people and slowly damages the nervous system, harming movement, speech and swallowing. [9] It is caused by faults in the gene for GFAP, a protein in the brain's support cells, which then builds up in harmful clumps. [9] Zanvastro, developed with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, cuts how much GFAP cells make. [9]

   Why it matters — In a trial of 54 patients, those treated for just over a year walked faster than those who were not. [9] The drug is injected into the spine every three months, and the approval covers everyone from babies to adults. [9]

4. 05

   A celiac drug protects the gut in an early trial

   First Tracks Biotherapeutics, a US company, said its drug ANB033 protected the gut of people with celiac disease in an early trial. [10] In celiac disease, eating gluten, a protein in wheat, makes the immune system attack the small intestine. [10] 32 people took the drug or a dummy for four weeks, then ate gluten equal to about two slices of bread a day for two weeks. [10] The drug beat the dummy on three measures of gut damage, with no serious side effects. [10]

   Why it matters — No medicine is approved for celiac disease, so a strict diet is the only treatment. [10] Argenx and Teva are testing rival drugs of the same family, and First Tracks plans a final-stage trial in 2027. [10][11]

5. 06

   Kenya finds no new Ebola cases

   Kenya's health ministry said on Sunday it has found no new Ebola cases since its first patient died in Nairobi on 5 October. [12] The 40-year-old man had tested positive in Congo, where an Ebola outbreak was declared in May, and then travelled to Kenya. [12] Tests on 293 samples were all negative. [12] 108 of the 122 people on his contact list are in quarantine and have no symptoms. [12]

   Why it matters — Congo has recorded 8,978 cases and 4,336 deaths in this outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain, which has no treatment or vaccine. [12] Africa's public health agency calls Kenya's case imported, not an outbreak. [12]

6. 07

   Roche sets a July 2027 date for an eye drug

   Roche, the Swiss drugmaker, said the FDA has accepted its request to approve vamikibart, with a decision due by July 2027. [13] The drug is injected into the eye to treat uveitic macular edema, a swelling at the back of the eye caused by inflammation. [13] Roche ran two final-stage trials designed to be identical, and last year one met its main goal while the other did not. [13] New one-year data showed lasting gains in sight, and about two-thirds of patients needed no repeat injection after week 16. [13]

   Why it matters — About 20% of people with this condition go on to lasting blindness within three years. [13] Today they are treated with steroids and with drugs used outside their approval, and steroids in the eye bring risks such as glaucoma and cataracts. [13]

7. 08

   A schizophrenia drug from China passes a mid-stage test

   Tortugas Neuroscience, a US start-up, said its schizophrenia drug obuprazine passed a mid-stage trial run in China by Hansoh Pharma, the Chinese company it licensed the drug from. [14] The trial gave 363 adults recently in hospital with schizophrenia one of five doses, an older drug called aripiprazole, or a dummy. [14] Every dose cut symptoms more than the dummy after six weeks. [14] The best group improved 16.7 points more than the dummy group on a standard symptom scale. [14]

   Why it matters — Slightly fewer people stopped taking obuprazine than stopped the dummy, 2.1% against 2.5%. [14] Tortugas now wants FDA permission to test it in the US. [14] So far every patient in the trial was in China. [14]

8. 09

   $500 billion of drug sales near their patent end

   More than $500 billion of drug sales worldwide could face cheaper copies between 2026 and 2032, forecasts from the data firm Evaluate show. [6] When a drug's patent ends, rivals can sell cheaper copies of it. [6] The worst single year is 2031, with $158 billion at risk. [6] In 2028, $99 billion is at risk as Merck's cancer drug Keytruda loses protection. [6]

   202899 bn

   2031158 bn

   Why it matters — Drugmakers facing these gaps are buying other companies: Merck has spent $30.9 billion on six deals since the start of 2024, and Eli Lilly $27.2 billion on nine. [6] Bristol Myers' two trial wins today answer the same pressure on its own best sellers. [2]

9. 10

   Parkinson's cell maker files to sell shares

   Aspen Neuroscience, a San Diego company, filed on 9 October to list its shares on the Nasdaq stock market. [15] It turns a patient's own skin cells into stem cells, grows them into nerve cells that make dopamine and implants them in the brain. [15] Parkinson's disease destroys the cells that make dopamine, a chemical the brain needs for smooth movement. [15] Making one patient's treatment takes about four months, and the therapy is entering its final stage of testing. [15]

   Why it matters — Aspen wrote that its cash will not last another year and that there is substantial doubt it can keep operating. [15] Bambusa Therapeutics, which is testing an antibody drug for eczema, filed for a listing the same day. [16]

10. 11

    Bausch + Lomb's chief leaves suddenly

    Bausch + Lomb, a large eye-care company, said Brent Saunders is leaving as chief executive with immediate effect. [7] Its board chair, Thomas Appio, who has worked there since 2010, takes over for now. [7] Saunders had run and sold several drug companies before he joined in 2023. [7] On the same day the company raised its profit forecast for 2026. [7]

    Why it matters — An analyst at Leerink Partners called the exit unexpected but said the business is doing well. [7] The company said the board and Saunders mutually agreed on his exit. [7]

11. 12

    A third of Boston's lab space stands empty

    Lab and factory space for biotech companies in Massachusetts was 31.1% empty by mid-2026, eleven times the rate at the end of 2021, figures from the trade group MassBio show. [17] Builders around Boston, a centre of the biotech industry, put up labs without tenants after the pandemic, expecting demand to keep rising. [17] Such space grew from 21.5 million square feet in 2015 to more than 60 million by 2023. [17] One 15-storey building in Somerville has stood empty since 2024. [17]

    20155.9%

    20212.7%

    mid-202631.1%

    Why it matters — Investment fell while new buildings kept opening. [17] Landlords are now offering the labs to robotics and electronics firms, and one property group calls the slump a reset. [17]

12. 13

    Wales's endometriosis surgery at risk

    Surgeons told Welsh politicians that the specialist endometriosis centres in Wales are at risk and that a national service is needed. [18] Endometriosis is a painful disease that affects about one in ten women. [18] Cardiff and Vale health board put its centre on its risk register, because it may fail new rules from the body that accredits such centres. [18] One patient, Kelly O'Shea, woke from operations to find the surgery had not been done, and paid 20,000 pounds for private treatment. [18]

    Why it matters — If centres lose accreditation, women with the most complex cases would be sent to England, at a higher cost to the Welsh health service. [18] Wales's deputy minister for women's health said the current set-up is not sustainable. [18]

13. 14

    Northern Ireland not ready for its older people

    Northern Ireland's Commissioner for Older People, Siobhan Casey, said its government is planning for a population from a previous era. [19] The number of people over 65 is projected to rise by almost 45% in 25 years, while the whole population falls slightly. [19] By mid-2049 there would be 366 pensioners for every 1,000 people of working age, up from 269 in 2024. [19] Northern Ireland's Programme for Government, its main plan, mentions an ageing population only once. [19]

    2024269

    mid-2049366

    Why it matters — Fewer workers for each pensioner means less tax to pay for health care and pensions, and those are set by the UK government, not Northern Ireland's. [19] Casey says housing, transport and workplaces will feel it too, not only hospitals. [19]