Daily Snap - 16. September 2025

Author

Joachim Eeckhout
September 16, 2025

 

Good morning! GLP-1 receptor agonists continue to surprise us. At this week’s Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, two studies revealed unexpected effects of these so-called “miracle drugs.” In one study, Novo Nordisk found that its semaglutide treatment dramatically reduced “food noise”—the constant preoccupation with food—from 62% before treatment to just 16% after taking the drug. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Bayreuth in Germany showed that one in five patients taking semaglutide, as well as Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, experienced heightened sensitivity to sweetness and saltiness, which may influence satiety. The catch: we still don’t fully understand why GLP-1s produce these effects, leaving plenty of work ahead for researchers.

Enjoy today’s read!

—Joachim E.

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

📉Price plunge: aTyr Pharma’s stock plunged over 80% after its lead drug candidate, efzofitimod, failed to meet the main goal in a Phase 3 trial for pulmonary sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease. The drug did not significantly reduce patients' steroid use compared to placebo, with the difference falling short of statistical and clinical significance. Despite some secondary quality-of-life improvements, analysts expressed skepticism about the drug’s future. With efzofitimod being aTyr’s only clinical-stage asset, the results raise concerns about the company’s viability, leaving its market value near the level of its cash reserves.

🚀Opdivo boost: The FDA has granted premarket approval to Biocartis and BMS for the Idylla CDx MSI Test, a cartridge-based, fully automated companion diagnostic designed to identify microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) colorectal cancer patients eligible for immunotherapy with BMS’s Opdivo (nivolumab) alone or with Yervoy (ipilimumab). The test detects seven MSI-related biomarkers without requiring matched normal tissue and delivers results in under three hours. Clinical data from the CheckMate-8HW trial demonstrated significantly improved progression-free survival in MSI-H patients identified by the test.

💊Huntington hope: SOM Biotech has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Orphan Medical Products for SOM3355, its investigational treatment for Huntington’s disease (HD), supporting its potential as a first-line therapy in Europe. Already designated an orphan drug in the US, SOM3355 combines beta-blocking properties with VMAT1 and VMAT2 inhibition and has shown promise in proof-of-concept and phase 2b studies. SOM Biotech aims to streamline HD treatment by offering a single, well-tolerated drug addressing multiple symptoms globally.

🧊Innovation chill: In what seems like another episode of a weekly soap opera, Sanofi has also decided to break up with the UK. The French company joins a growing list of major pharmaceutical companies (including Merck, Eli Lilly, and AstraZeneca) in freezing or reconsidering R&D investments in the country, citing concerns over a worsening commercial environment driven by increased drug pricing clawbacks. The dispute centers on the U.K. government's decision to raise the proportion of newer branded medicine sales that companies must repay to the NHS from 15.5% to 31.3%, significantly higher than comparable rates in Germany and France.

🤝Antibody deal: Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals announced that ADC therapeutics developer Tubulis has signed a global exclusive license agreement for a fully human antibody generated using Biocytogen’s proprietary RenMice platform. This agreement, stemming from a prior research collaboration, allows Tubulis to develop and commercialize the antibody as part of its novel ADC pipeline targeting solid tumors. Biocytogen will receive an upfront payment and is eligible for development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, along with single-digit royalties on net sales.

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