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Welcome to The BioPharm Brief, your daily snapshot of developments shaping the biopharmaceutical industry. It’s a busy day for FDA action, with two approvals and a new designation spanning cancer, autoimmune disease, and rare disease. Here’s what we have today.

The FDA has approved two zanidatamab-hrii-containing regimens for first-line treatment of HER2-positive advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, based on Phase 3 HERIZON-GEA-01 data showing a median overall survival of more than two years, marking the second FDA approval for the bispecific antibody in under two years.

The FDA has granted Rare Pediatric Disease Designation to Mahzi Therapeutics' MZ-1866, an investigational AAV9-TCF4 gene replacement therapy for Pitt Hopkins syndrome, as the Phase 1/2 UNITE study surpasses 50% enrollment.

The FDA has approved IMAAVY (nipocalimab-aahu), an FcRn-blocking antibody from Johnson & Johnson, as the first therapy specifically approved for warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (wAIHA), based on Phase 2/3 ENERGY trial data showing durable hemoglobin response and reduced fatigue versus placebo.

Today’s BioPharm Brief covers FDA priority review for GSK’s Jemperli in locally advanced rectal cancer, Genentech’s $2.3 billion deal for Hanmi’s investigational obesity drug, and an extended FDA review of Capricor’s deramiocel for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Vanda's single-dose antibody was shown to clear severe pustular flares within weeks and is now recognized as a priority treatment across 3 continents.

The FDA has extended the PDUFA target action date for Capricor Therapeutics' deramiocel BLA from August 22 to November 22, 2026, after the company submitted 24-month HOPE-3 open-label extension data supporting a refined indication focused on upper limb function.

The FDA has accepted for priority review GSK's sBLA for Jemperli (dostarlimab) in previously untreated stage II/III dMMR/MSI-H locally advanced rectal cancer, based on AZUR-1 data, with a PDUFA date of February 2027 and eligibility for the National Priority Voucher program.

Genentech is betting up to $2.3 billion on an obesity drug designed to build muscle while cutting fat, addressing a GLP-1 side effect.

The company's first-in-class immune-boosting antibody could become the first approved treatment for a cancer with no existing options.

Amplitude Therapeutics has entered a strategic research collaboration and licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to discover and develop trans-amplifying RNA (taRNA) vaccine candidates for infectious diseases with high unmet need, with Lilly holding an option to add up to two additional targets.

AbbVie's bispecific antibody posted a 90% response rate in squamous NSCLC, headlining the company's expanding lung cancer pipeline data.

Adaptin Bio has opened enrollment in a first-in-human Phase 1 trial of APTN-101, a bispecific T-cell engager built on the company's BRiTE platform designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and target EGFRvIII-positive glioblastoma. The trial, conducted with Duke University, will enroll up to 15 adult patients with WHO Grade IV malignant glioma.