The competitive pursuit of Avadel Pharmaceuticals has intensified, with Alkermes presenting a revised acquisition proposal worth up to $22.50 per share. This enhanced bid comes after Lundbeck submitted an unexpected proposal valued at as much as $23 per share, surpassing Alkermes’ initial offer of up to $20 per share. Avadel’s board announced on Monday that it had classified Lundbeck’s proposal as superior, giving Alkermes a five-day window to modify its terms. The updated Alkermes proposal places Avadel’s worth at roughly $2.37 billion. The competition centers on an authorized treatment for daytime sleepiness prescribed to specific narcolepsy patients. Some market analysts have expressed skepticism about whether Alkermes should pursue a higher bid, pointing to potential commercial obstacles within the sleep medication sector.
A bipartisan analysis presented to Congress on Tuesday cautioned legislators about China’s expanding role in American pharmaceutical development, spanning from the provision of active pharmaceutical ingredients and therapeutic licensing agreements to contract manufacturing operations. The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission’s assessment highlighted that the global value of therapeutics licensed from China jumped to $48 billion in the previous year, with such agreements anticipated to persist as pharmaceutical corporations seek to compensate for expiring patent protections. According to the analysis, America faces the prospect of “falling behind” unless it acts swiftly to reinforce its scientific advantages by enhancing manufacturing capacity and pursuing strategies to draw entrepreneurs from across the globe.
On Wednesday, Moderna revealed its intention to relocate messenger RNA pharmaceutical production to a Massachusetts facility in Norwood. This decision enables Moderna to manufacture its mRNA medications entirely within American borders. In announcing this commitment, Moderna has aligned itself with other pharmaceutical manufacturers, including Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson and Roche, which have pledged to expand domestic drug manufacturing in reaction to tariff warnings from the Trump administration. Work on the new production site has commenced, with completion anticipated during the initial half of 2027, according to company statements.
The Food and Drug Administration has authorized expanded use of AbbVie and Genmab’s dual-acting antibody treatment for follicular lymphoma. The medication, Epkinly, initially received accelerated approval in 2024 for patients who had undergone two previous treatment regimens. Tuesday’s clearance makes Epkinly the first therapy in its category available for second-line treatment. The FDA additionally converted Epkinly’s 2024 accelerated approval to a standard approval, according to AbbVie. Epkinly recorded $281 million in worldwide sales in the previous year and has additional applications in treating diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
An investor consortium that includes Sanofi, Arch Venture Partners, Atlas Venture and 5AM Ventures has provided antibody-drug conjugate developer Lifordi Immunotherapeutics with an additional $42 million in capital, the startup disclosed on Tuesday. Lifordi is developing ADCs targeting autoimmune conditions, beginning with a candidate designated LFD-200 that is projected to yield preliminary results in rheumatoid arthritis before year’s end. The organization previously secured $70 million through a Series A financing round in 2024.
An investigational medication from Vanda Pharmaceuticals demonstrated effectiveness in preventing vomiting among patients taking the obesity medication Wegovy during a mid-stage clinical study. Vanda reported that only 29% of individuals receiving its therapy, tradipitant, experienced vomiting throughout the study compared with 58% of participants receiving placebo. Furthermore, 22% of treated subjects had either substantial nausea or vomited, versus 48% in the control group. Vanda is assessing an “efficient development path” and anticipates initiating a Phase 3 study during the first half of the coming year to evaluate whether its medication could enhance outcomes for patients using GLP-1 medications such as Wegovy.