AstraZeneca targets $1.5B in savings; Ayrmid bids for Karyopharm; Sanofi pays $125M to Novavax

AstraZeneca targets $1.5 billion in annual savings and trims its pipeline: The U.K.-based drugmaker plans to reinvest the savings mainly in drug development, with up to $2 billion in restructuring costs and completion expected by the end of 2029. CFO Aradhana Sarin outlined several initiatives: changing the geographic footprint of clinical trials, retraining employees for emerging areas such as cell therapy, and investing in technology to improve process development. The goal is to support growth without expanding headcount at the same pace. Some positions will be eliminated, but management expects hiring elsewhere to leave total employment growing; no breakdown of affected roles or countries was disclosed. Third-quarter revenue reached $16.2 billion, beating the forecasts. Separately, AstraZeneca dropped four early-stage cancer candidates, including prostate cancer drugs AZD9750, an androgen receptor degrader, and AZD8359, a T-cell engager.

Ayrmid seeks Karyopharm’s cancer business through bankruptcy: Irish pharma company Ayrmid, parent of Gamida Cell, has agreed to serve as lead bidder for the U.S. drugmaker Karyopharm, which filed for Chapter 11 on November 2. Separately, Karyopharm’s existing secured lenders committed up to $55 million to fund operations during bankruptcy, subject to court approval. A merger would add the approved oncology treatment Xpovio and its blood cancer pipeline to Ayrmid’s hematology business, but the transaction is still subject to competing bids and court approval. Ayrmid previously pursued bluebird bio in 2025, but failed to deliver a binding offer or secure financing. Bluebird was ultimately bought by private equity firms Carlyle and SK Capital in a $29 million deal.

Novavax earns $125M as Sanofi starts flu–COVID Phase 3: The French big pharma has initiated a European trial combining Novavax’s Nuvaxovid with its high-dose influenza vaccine in adults aged 60 and older. Dosing the fifth participant triggered a $125 million milestone payment to Novavax under their partnership. The study will assess safety and immune responses, advancing a potential combined seasonal vaccination option for older adults. No results have been reported, and additional studies may be needed to support a U.S. filing.

uniQure’s Huntington’s gene therapy gets priority review: The FDA accepted the Dutch biotech’s application for ifezuntirgene inilparvovec, also known as AMT-130, setting a May 1, 2027, decision date. The one-time treatment delivers gene-silencing instructions directly into the brain to reduce huntingtin production. The filing seeks accelerated approval based on three-year results compared with an external natural-history control, a comparison that limits certainty about the treatment effect. The review follows several twists: encouraging three-year results in September 2025 were followed by FDA objections to relying on comparisons with external controls and calls for another controlled trial. In June 2026, the agency changed course, opening a filing route based on the existing data. September’s four-year update then complicated the picture: progression was 44% slower in 12 high-dose patients than in external controls, but the difference was not statistically significant. The FDA now tentatively plans an advisory committee meeting, while uniQure expects to begin screening for a roughly 200-patient randomized confirmatory trial by year-end.

Tiziana reports mixed results for its nasal multiple sclerosis drug: London- and Boston-based Tiziana said 50 micrograms of intranasal foralumab reduced a PET imaging marker of brain inflammation versus placebo in a 48-patient Phase 2a trial but the 100-microgram dose missed that endpoint. The anti-CD3 antibody was tested for 12 weeks in non-active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, where disability worsens without relapses. Disability scores did not improve. Reported statistically significant fatigue improvements were comparisons with patients’ own baseline scores; the release did not establish statistically significant fatigue benefits over placebo. Tiziana plans to complete its analysis, present detailed results at an upcoming scientific congress and discuss further clinical development with the FDA.

Idorsia proposes CHF120 million (€131 million) to expand its hypertension drug’s reach: The Swiss biotech plans to fund commercialization of aprocitentan alongside existing lenders to Idorsia Investments, the separate company holding the drug’s rights. These lenders, known as noteholders, would provide CHF72 million in additional financing. Idorsia would contribute CHF48 million over two years in exchange for 30% of global net revenue. Marketed as Tryvio in the U.S. and Jeraygo in Europe, the approved endothelin receptor blocker would receive a specialist-focused commercial push. The proposed transaction remains subject to noteholder approvals and final documentation.