Skip to content Skip to footer

Top 20 R&D Spending Biopharma Companies of 2025  

Shots:  Research and Development (R&D) serves as the driving force behind groundbreaking therapeutic innovations, laying the foundation for advancements that transform patient health and overall well-being  The global Top 20 pharmaceutical leaders spent ~$180B in 2024, with Merck & Co. contributing the most with a whopping $17.93B, followed by Johnson & Johnson ($17.23B) and Roche…

Read more

Merck new

Merck Receives Health Canada’s Approval for Perioperative Keytruda for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (LA-HNSCC)

Shots: Health Canada has approved neoadj. Keytruda followed by adj. Keytruda + SoC radiotherapy (RT) ± cisplatin & then as a single agent to treat operable LA-HNSCC tumors expressing PD-L1 (CPS ≥1) Approval was based on P-III (KEYNOTE-689) trial assessing neoadj. Keytruda (200mg, IV, Q3W × 2 cycles), followed by adj. Keytruda (15 cycles) + SoC RT ±…

Read more

Merck and Pfizer Report Topline P-III (KEYNOTE-905) Trial Finding on Keytruda + Padcev to Treat Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer (MIBC)

Shots: The P-III (KEYNOTE-905/EV-303) trial randomized cisplatin-ineligible MIBC pts to Arm A (3 cycles of Keytruda + surgery with 14 subsequent cycles), Arm B (surgery alone), or Arm C (3 cycles of Keytruda + Padcev before surgery, followed 6 cycles of the combination, then 8 cycles of Keytruda alone) Arms C & B showed improved…

Read more

Merck new

Merck NDA for Investigational HIV-1 Two-Drug Regimen DOR/ISL Accepted by US FDA

Shots: The US FDA accepted Merck’s NDA for once-daily oral doravirine/islatravir (DOR/ISL) for virologically suppressed HIV-1 adults; PDUFA target action date: Apr 28, 2026 DOR/ISL showed non-inferiority to bART in open-label P-III MK-8591A-051 and to BIC/FTC/TAF (50mg/200mg/25mg) in P-III MK-8591A-052 at Week 48; the safety profile was generally comparable in the P-III MK-8591A-051 study The…

Read more

Merck to Acquire Verona Pharma for ~$10B

Shots: Merck has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Verona Pharma incl. its asset Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine), expanding its cardio-pulmonary pipeline & portfolio As per the deal, Merck will acquire Verona Pharma for $107 per American Depository Share (ADS), each representing 8 ordinary Verona shares, for an aggregate of ~$10B; closing expected in Q4'25 Ohtuvayre…

Read more

Merck and Daiichi Sankyo Report First Patient Dosing with Ifinatamab DXd in P-III (IDeate-Prostate01) Trial for mCRPC

Shots: Merck & Daiichi Sankyo have dosed first pts with ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) in its P-III (IDeate-Prostate01) trial for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), which was initiated based on positive P-I/II (IDeate-PanTumor01) trial data The P-III (IDeate-Prostate01) trial will evaluate I-DXd (12mg/kg) vs docetaxel (75mg/m²) plus corticosteroid in ~1440 mCRPC pts, who progressed during or after…

Read more

Merck new

Merck Receives the US FDA’s Approval for Perioperative Keytruda for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (LA-HNSCC)

Shots: The US FDA has approved neoadj. Keytruda followed by adj. Keytruda + SoC radiotherapy (RT) ± cisplatin & then as a single agent to treat operable LA-HNSCC based on P-III (KEYNOTE-689) trial Trial assessed neoadj. Keytruda (200mg, IV, Q3W × 2 cycles), followed by adj. Keytruda (15 cycles) + SoC RT ± cisplatin vs…

Read more