Daily Snap - 27. October 2025

Author

Joachim Eeckhout
October 27, 2025

Good morning! British regulators just shut down what sounds like the Breaking Bad of weight-loss drugs. The UK’s MHRA raided a warehouse in Northampton that was secretly producing unlicensed versions of blockbuster obesity drugs like retatrutide and tirzepatide. Inside, tens of thousands of empty injector pens, raw materials, and over 2,000 finished products ready to ship estimated to have a “street value” north of £250K ($320K). Authorities even found £20K in cash, believed to be tied to trafficking. This is what you call a lean operation.

Enjoy today’s read!

—Joachim E. 

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

❤️ Heart helper: Ventyx Biosciences’ shares nearly doubled after mid-stage trial results showed that its experimental drug VTX3232, while ineffective for weight loss, significantly improved cardiovascular and inflammation markers in patients with obesity. The oral, once-daily drug reduced key indicators such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) by up to 78%, along with liver inflammation and IL-6 levels, highlighting its potential in treating cardiovascular diseases. Analysts viewed the findings as validation of Ventyx’s strategy targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome, a pathway gaining interest across the pharmaceutical industry.

🦴 Bone win: Inhibrx Biosciences announced that its experimental antibody ozekibart achieved a significant phase 2 success in treating advanced or metastatic chondrosarcoma, a rare bone cancer with no approved therapies, reducing the risk of disease progression or death by 52% and more than doubling median progression-free survival compared to placebo. Despite a higher rate of liver-related adverse events, the treatment was generally well tolerated, prompting plans for FDA submission in Q2 2026. Inhibrx also reported promising results for ozekibart in early trials for Ewing sarcoma and colorectal cancer, as the company continues to focus on high unmet-need oncology indications post-Sanofi acquisition.

🤦‍♀️ CMV flop: Moderna's experimental cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine, mRNA-1647, failed to meet its primary goal in a Phase 3 trial, showing only 6% to 23% efficacy in preventing infections among nearly 7,500 women, well below company expectations. As a result, Moderna is halting further CMV testing outside of an ongoing Phase 2 study in transplant patients. The failure is a significant blow to the company’s vaccine pipeline, especially given earlier projections of mRNA-1647 becoming a multibillion-dollar blockbuster. With declining COVID-19 vaccine sales and underwhelming RSV shot uptake, Moderna now faces intensified pressure to revive growth through its oncology programs and future products.

🪓 CAR-T cut: Regeneron has decided to discontinue development of bbT369, a dual-targeting CAR-T therapy for relapsed and/or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, acquired from 2seventy bio in early 2024. The decision, described as a "strategic business" move, halts the ongoing Phase 1/2 trial before it could advance to Phase 2, marking the end of the program. Despite initial promise based on preclinical data and its use of 2seventy’s megaTAL gene-editing platform, bbT369 will not progress further. Regeneron emphasized that the move does not affect its broader cell therapy strategy, though it comes amid a wider industry pullback from cell therapy investments.

 🔄 Comeback: The FDA has approved the return of GSK’s multiple myeloma drug Blenrep, three years after it was withdrawn due to safety concerns and underwhelming trial results. The new approval is for use in combination with Velcade in patients whose disease has relapsed or is resistant after at least two prior treatments, though the agency rejected GSK’s request for broader use with Pomalyst and after just one prior therapy. Blenrep, the first BCMA-targeting drug on the market, was initially pulled due to eye toxicity and competition from more effective therapies. However, positive results from the DREAMM-7 trial supported its reapproval.

👶 Toddler tumble: Sanofi has terminated development of its toddler-targeted RSV vaccine candidate, SP0125, after a Phase 3 trial failed to show sufficient efficacy, despite an acceptable safety profile and no signs of enhanced respiratory disease. The intranasal live attenuated vaccine, once promoted as the first RSV vaccine for toddlers, was being tested in over 6,000 children aged 6 to 22 months. While the setback marks a loss for Sanofi’s pediatric RSV efforts, the company continues to expand its respiratory portfolio, including mRNA vaccine candidates for older adults and a $1.15 billion acquisition of Vicebio to strengthen its non-mRNA RSV pipeline.

TOUR OPERATOR

Upcoming events