Pharmaceutical Industry Roundup: New Obesity Biotech, HIV Prevention Advances, and Leadership Changes

New Player Emerges in Obesity Treatment Market

Harbour BioMed has launched Élancé Therapeutics, a new biotechnology company focused on developing bispecific antibody drugs for obesity. The company aims to address shortcomings in current weight loss medicines, particularly in muscle mass preservation. Élancé will utilize an AI platform from Nona Biosciences to support its research efforts.

This move comes as the obesity treatment field continues to evolve, with companies seeking to compete with established products like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Ozempic, and Eli Lilly's Zepbound. The emphasis on muscle preservation highlights a growing trend in obesity research, as developers look to offer more comprehensive and lasting benefits to patients.

Gilead Advances Once-Yearly HIV Prevention Treatment

Gilead Sciences is set to move directly into Phase 3 testing of once-yearly formulations of its HIV medicine lencapavir as a preventive treatment. This decision follows promising Phase 1 study data, which showed that blood plasma concentrations of lenacapavir remained above 95% effective levels for at least 56 weeks with either of two tested formulations.

The annual dosing formulations are being developed as intramuscular shots, differing from the subcutaneous version that proved effective as a twice-yearly regimen. Lencapavir is already approved in several countries as a treatment for multidrug-resistant HIV, and this advancement could potentially revolutionize HIV prevention strategies.

Leadership Changes and Clinical Developments

Geron Corporation announced that CEO John "Chip" Scarlett will step down at the end of the month after 14 years at the helm. Board member Dawn Carter Bir will serve as interim president and CEO while the company searches for a new leader with "significant commercial experience." This change comes on the heels of Geron's recent U.S. approval for its first drug, Rytelo, for myelodysplastic syndromes.

In other news, Biogen has initiated late-stage testing of felzartamab, a drug for kidney transplant patients experiencing antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). The Phase 3 trial, codenamed "Transcend," plans to enroll around 120 patients. Biogen estimates that approximately 23,000 people in the U.S. are living with AMR, a leading cause of kidney transplant loss. The company also intends to start Phase 3 trials evaluating felzartamab for two types of kidney damage later this year.

Lastly, Johnson & Johnson has declined to exercise its option on Genmab's HexaBody-CD38, a potential successor to the CD38-targeting drug Darzalex for multiple myeloma. Despite promising data, Genmab has decided not to pursue the drug's development independently after reviewing the market landscape and its own priorities. This decision does not affect Genmab's 2025 financial guidance.