Your essential life science news digest: the past week’s biggest stories in pharma, biotech and healthcare. 👇
This week’s life science news was defined by regulatory uncertainty and clinical momentum. A landmark FDA leadership departure sent rare disease stocks rallying, while fresh Phase 3 data from Vertex and BridgeBio reminded investors why biotech pipelines still command attention. Amid the noise, restructuring continued, and the UK staked an unlikely claim to the future of drug manufacturing.
- Vinay Prasad will depart the FDA at the end of April, ending a tumultuous tenure as head of the Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research during which he reworked vaccine guidelines and drew sharp criticism over the agency’s stance on several rare disease and gene therapy drugs. Rare disease biotech stocks rallied on the news, with investors anticipating a more industry-friendly regulatory environment under his successor.
- Evotec will cut 800 jobs and close four sites over the next two years as part of its “Horizon” restructuring programme, targeting annual savings of approximately €75 million by end of 2027. The cuts represent around one-sixth of the German contract research organisation’s global workforce and follow 600 previous redundancies made between 2024 and 2025. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/evotec-reveals-sweeping-800-person-layoffs-more-site-closures-restructuring-rolls
- Salspera has set terms for an IPO that could raise up to $91 million, making it potentially the seventh biotech to go public in 2026. Proceeds would support late-stage clinical testing of its pancreatic cancer drug candidate.
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals released Phase 3 interim data for povetacicept in IgA nephropathy, showing a 49.8% reduction in proteinuria versus placebo and sending company shares up 8.4% in a single session. Vertex is targeting a regulatory submission in the first half of 2026, using a priority review voucher to compress the FDA review timeline from ten months to six. https://markets.financialcontent.com/stocks/article/marketminute-2026-3-10-the-great-biotech-divide-vertex-soars-on-multi-franchise-breakthroughs-as-novo-nordisk-stumbles-in-the-weight-loss-war
- BridgeBio Pharma presented additional Phase 3 FORTIFY data for BBP-418 in limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2I/R9 at the MDA Clinical and Scientific Conference in Orlando, showing sustained improvements in motor and pulmonary function through 12 months. The company is planning its FDA new drug application submission in the first half of 2026, with analysts forecasting a potential US launch in late 2026 or early 2027. https://www.biospace.com/drug-development/bridgebio-builds-case-for-early-2027-launch-of-dystrophy-drug
- Vertex‘s non-opioid painkiller JOURNAVX (suzetrigine) enabled 90.9% of surgical patients to remain opioid-free through up to 14 days of treatment following aesthetic and reconstructive procedures, according to new Phase 4 data presented at the American Academy of Pain Medicine meeting in Salt Lake City. It was a strong week for pain management in life science news, with non-opioid data adding to Vertex’s multi-franchise momentum. https://news.vrtx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/vertex-present-new-data-journavxr-demonstrates-effective-pain
- The UK has published a new regulatory roadmap for pharmaceutical manufacturing in space, coordinating the UK Space Agency, the MHRA and the Civil Aviation Authority to create clear approval pathways for medicines developed in microgravity conditions. The initiative positions the UK as a potential global leader in orbital drug production for complex biologics. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-from-the-uk-space-agency-the-medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency-the-regulatory-innovation-office-and-the-civil-avia
- Immutep shares collapsed by more than 80% after an independent data monitoring committee recommended halting its Phase 3 lung cancer trial early for futility. The study was testing eftilagimod alfa in combination with Merck’s Keytruda and chemotherapy in frontline non-small cell lung cancer. The Immutep setback was one of the week’s starkest reminders that life science news doesn’t always trend upward. https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/evotec-vistagen-layoffs-immutep-ebvallo-ultragenyx/814519/
- UCB has become the latest company to bet on T-cell engager technology for autoimmune disease, licensing a candidate in a deal that adds to growing momentum in this therapeutic modality beyond oncology.
- FDA proposals to tie reviewer pay to faster drug approvals have sparked internal and external concern about whether such incentives could place pressure on scientific rigour and patient safety, according to reporting from Endpoints News. https://endpoints.news/new-fda-bonus-pilot-to-address-workforce-challenges/?u=0e52f846-7f34-4588-81c1-34925c54f6d0&s=email&c=cae9167a-2516df2f-460ba88a
- Small molecules now account for approximately 45% of the top 20 most valuable orphan drugs in development, outpacing biologics such as monoclonal antibodies, as deeper disease biology insights, improved chemistry and AI-driven tools fuel renewed interest in the modality across rare disease pipelines.
- Vistagen has trimmed approximately 20% of its workforce to conserve cash while it awaits Phase 3 results for fasedienol, its nasal spray candidate for social anxiety disorder, expected in the first half of 2026. https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/evotec-vistagen-layoffs-immutep-ebvallo-ultragenyx/814519/
- The FDA announced plans to consolidate its disparate pharmacovigilance databases into a single unified safety dashboard, a move the agency says will enhance the utility of safety monitoring data across drugs, vaccines and other medical products while reducing operating costs.
That’s your life science news digest for the week ending 16 March 2026.
