Gilead has waived its option to acquire Pionyr, allowing the US biotech to explore other partnerships and financing opportunities as it advances a promising pipeline of macrophage-targeting antibodies.

Recent executive changes in the industry include C-suite changes at Roche and Quince Therapeutics. Meanwhile, new directors were appointed at Vanda Pharmaceuticals and MAIA Biotechnology.

The US firm’s Zynyz has won accelerated approval for the treatment of first-line Merkel cell carcinoma, bouncing back from a prior regulatory setback, but its third-to-market status leaves it with the crumbs under the table in this orphan indication.

The US firm’s GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist improved weight loss in a Phase II interim analysis, but concerns about drug safety and discontinuation have left investors cynical, even as analysts remain cautiously upbeat.

The US biotech is facing yet another setback on its journey to proof-of-concept for its proprietary gene editing technology as two pharma firms back out of collaborations in the neurological space.

The rival firms are advancing separate biologic candidates that target IL-17 in a bid to treat the more than 60% of hidradenitis suppurativa patients who remain uncontrolled on AbbVie’s Humira, with recent trial readouts showing promise.