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What’s in Today’s Brief? (February 5th Preview)
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Eikon upsizes IPO: $381M raise crowns biotech rebound
Eikon Therapeutics priced an upsized Nasdaq offering that raised $381 million, marking the largest biotech IPO since 2024. The company said proceeds will prioritize clinical development of EIK1001 and advance multiple oncology programs acquired from Seven and Eight Biopharmaceuticals and Impact Therapeutics. Eikon’s leadership—former Merck executives including Roger Perlmutter—positioned the raise as fuel for phase 1/2 and phase 2/3 trials across melanoma, NSCLC, ovarian and brain cancers. The deal signals renewed investor appetite for well‑capitalized, late‑stage-focused biotechs after a slow IPO market.
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Generate:Biomedicines files for IPO – AI‑designed drugs on deck
Flagship Pioneering‑backed Generate:Biomedicines filed for an IPO, highlighting an AI-enabled discovery engine and several clinical programs including GB‑0895 (anti‑TSLP) now in phase 3. The S‑1 frames programmable biology and machine learning as the core engine that produced GB‑4362 and other candidates rapidly, and names Amgen and Novartis as existing partners. The filing notes proceeds will support ongoing phase 3 trials, GLP manufacturing and advancing AI‑nominated discovery assets into the clinic. Generate’s move follows a wave of AI‑driven drug developers testing public markets.
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Novo warns sales to shrink in 2026 – Pricing deal cited
Novo Nordisk told investors it expects 2026 sales and operating profit to decline—forecasting a 5–13% drop—after agreeing to U.S. price concessions for Wegovy. Executives said the company still sees strong early uptake for the Wegovy pill and cited 50,000 prescriptions within the launch window, but warned that lower cash‑pay pricing and government deals will dent near‑term revenue. The announcement triggered a sharp selloff in the company's shares as Wall Street recalibrated growth expectations in the intense GLP‑1 competitive landscape.
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Pfizer’s Metsera shot meets Phase 2 marks – Phase 3 dose to double
Pfizer reported Phase 2 results for PF‑3944, the monthly GLP‑1 acquired via its $10B Metsera buyout, showing mean placebo‑adjusted weight loss up to ~12.3% at 28 weeks in some cohorts. The company signaled plans to advance a higher dose into a broad Phase 3 program of roughly 10 pivotal studies and said the Phase 2 readout increased confidence in the asset. Investors reacted with modest selling, reflecting cross‑trial comparison questions and the competitive bar set by Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
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Congress paves Medicare path for MCED tests: FDA approval now key
The federal appropriations bill includes a provision that makes FDA‑approved multi‑cancer early detection (MCED) tests eligible for Medicare coverage, bypassing the longer USPSTF endorsement route. Coverage would begin in 2029, with reimbursement tied to the rate for multi‑target stool DNA tests and staged eligibility for ages 50–65. The change clears a major commercial barrier for MCED developers and sets a specific reimbursement framework that industry players say materially improves commercial viability for FDA‑cleared MCED assays.
...and 5 more selected Biotech stories in today’s full edition — or archive.
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