In biologics development, a strong scientific idea is only the beginning. A molecule may show compelling biology in discovery, demonstrate good target engagement, and generate early excitement internally or with investors, but none of this guarantees that it can become a safe, manufacturable, and clinically viable therapeutic. That is the reality many early-stage companies face, and it is exactly why early development assessment matters. Early drug development is complex, multidisciplinary, and shaped by interdependent decisions. Data from discovery, drug substance, drug product, immunology, analytics, safety, and regulatory activities must ultimately come together in the first-in-human enabling package. Read this content piece to explore how at Lonza, these connected workstreams are assessed in a coordinated way, helping teams build a more complete and decision-ready foundation for development.
FDA reviews a proposed Keytruda biosimilar, Roche expands its obesity pipeline with an RNAi deal, and guselkumab shows promise for fistula remission in Crohn disease.
Dr. Paz Vellanki discusses Bayesian methods, challenges in developing rare disease endpoints, and why sponsors should engage FDA early in clinical development.
As ArsenalBio, TScan, and others abandon ex vivo programs for in vivo engineering, early clinical data and platform differences point to both the promise and the unresolved safety, manufacturing, and regulatory questions of generating CAR-T cells inside the body.
FDA has accepted for review the biologics license application for FYB206, a proposed pembrolizumab biosimilar developed without a comparative phase 3 efficacy trial. A decision could come in the third quarter of 2027.
In an eight-week obese non-human primate study, lean mass made up 6% of the weight lost with iBio’s Activin E antibody IBIO-610 plus semaglutide, compared with 22% with semaglutide alone. iBio plans to begin first-in-human studies in the first half of 2027.