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Biogen Bets $850M on Chinese MM Market with Felzartamab Deal to Challenge Darzalex
Biogen announced on April 20, 2026, a definitive agreement to acquire TJ Biopharma's exclusive rights to felzartamab in the Greater China Region for $100 million upfront plus up to $750 million in commercial and sales milestones and mid-single-digit to low-double-digit royalties, according to Pharmaceutical Technology. The anti-CD38 antibody has a Biologics License Application under review by China's NMPA for multiple myeloma, submitted by TJ Bio in December 2024. The deal gives Biogen exclusive worldwide rights to felzartamab, whose primary global development is in immunology — Biogen is running the Phase 3 TRANSCEND trial for kidney transplant antibody-mediated rejection, where felzartamab holds FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation. In the Chinese MM market, felzartamab would compete against J&J's dominant Darzalex (daratumumab) franchise. TJ Bio will serve as the manufacturer for the MM indication at its Hangzhou GMP facility. Biogen consolidates global felzartamab rights J&J faces new Darzalex competition in China
Roche Projects Giredestrant Could Be Largest Product Despite First-Line Setback
Roche Pharmaceuticals head Teresa Graham said giredestrant "could be our largest selling product," with peak sales projected "well north of 3 billion Swiss francs," according to Endpoints News and BioPharma Dive. The projection stands despite the oral SERD's failure in the Phase 3 persevERA first-line trial in ER-positive advanced breast cancer in March 2026. Roche's NDA for giredestrant in combination with everolimus for ESR1-mutated ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer was accepted by the FDA in February 2026, with a PDUFA target action date of December 18, 2026. Jefferies analysts project more modest peak sales of 1.2 billion Swiss francs. The oral SERD market remains competitive, with Menarini Group's elacestrant (Orserdu), marketed through its Stemline subsidiary, already approved for ESR1-mutated ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer. Roche maintains confidence in oral SERD strategy with FDA review underway Investors remain skeptical after first-line persevERA failure; analyst projections diverge sharply from management
Pipeline Watch
The Swiss drugmaker pulled its EU application for Pluvicto's expansion into earlier prostate cancer treatment, per Endpoints News, despite securing US and UK approvals for the same indication. The withdrawal suggests regulatory divergence on radiopharmaceutical risk-benefit profiles in less advanced disease settings.
The randomized Phase 2 trial evaluated radiotherapy combined with erlotinib, everolimus, or dasatinib in newly diagnosed diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma patients, according to Nature Medicine. The biomarker-driven approach represents continued efforts to improve outcomes in this devastating pediatric malignancy.
The Phase 3 KEYNOTE-937 trial of adjuvant pembrolizumab versus placebo in 959 hepatocellular carcinoma patients with complete radiological response after resection or ablation failed its primary endpoint, with median RFS of 46.7 vs 45.5 months (HR 1.06; p=0.719), per results presented at ASCO-GI 2026 and recorded on ClinicalTrials.gov. Overall survival was not formally tested per the statistical analysis plan. The negative result limits Keytruda's expansion into the adjuvant liver cancer setting.
NCI leader Anthony Letai battled what he called misinformation to assure researchers that cancer research funding remains strong, Fierce Biotech reported. The comments come after last year's budget uncertainty that created anxiety in the academic oncology community about grant availability and research continuity.
Venture capitalist Bryan Roberts provided insights into what Eli Lilly saw in Kelonia Therapeutics that justified the $3.25 billion upfront ($7 billion total) acquisition, STAT News reported. Kelonia's lead program KLN-1010 is a BCMA-targeting in vivo CAR-T therapy in Phase 1 for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, using its iGPS® lentiviral platform. The deal is Lilly's second in vivo CAR-T acquisition in 2026, following the $2.4B Orna Therapeutics deal in February.
Pfizer announced on April 24, 2026, the discontinuation of PF-08046037, a PD-L1-targeting immunostimulatory antibody-drug conjugate that delivers a TLR7 agonist payload to stimulate anti-tumor immune responses, per BioSpace. The Phase 1 study, launched in July 2025 and enrolling 8 patients with advanced NSCLC, pancreatic cancer, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in combination with sasanlimab, was terminated for "strategic business reasons" — not safety or efficacy concerns. The decision comes amid Pfizer's broader oncology momentum, including the Padcev plus Keytruda bladder cancer data (47% risk reduction, February 2026) and the $1.25B upfront / $4.8B total 3SBio deal for PD-1/VEGF bispecific SSGJ-707 (May 2025).
Roche's Q1 2026 earnings showed continued biosimilar erosion across legacy oncology franchises including Herceptin, Avastin, and Rituxan, with the company relying on newer launches and pipeline assets including giredestrant and obesity drugs to offset declines, BioPharma Dive reported.
Competitive Landscape
Biogen's felzartamab deal ($100M upfront, up to $850M total) creates a new CD38 antibody competitor for J&J's Darzalex in China's multiple myeloma market, with a BLA already under NMPA review, according to Pharmaceutical Technology. Biogen gains worldwide felzartamab rights J&J faces new Darzalex competition in China
| Company | Drug | China MM Status |
|---|---|---|
| J&J | Darzalex (daratumumab) | Approved, Market Leader |
| Biogen/TJ Bio | Felzartamab | BLA Under NMPA Review |
Roche maintains aggressive sales projections for giredestrant while competitors advance similar mechanisms, per Endpoints News. The oral selective estrogen receptor degrader space remains crowded with multiple players despite recent clinical setbacks across the class.
Eli Lilly's $3.25B upfront ($7B total) Kelonia acquisition and Biogen's $850M felzartamab deal reflect continued appetite for oncology assets, per STAT News and Pharmaceutical Technology. Lilly has now committed $9.4B across two in vivo CAR-T deals in 2026 (Orna + Kelonia). Biotech valuations stay strong Acquirers pay premium prices for early-stage oncology assets
Forward Looking
- Biogen's felzartamab BLA for multiple myeloma is under NMPA review in China; an approval decision could come in 2026, creating the first direct CD38 competitor to Darzalex in the Chinese market.
- FDA PDUFA date of December 18, 2026 for giredestrant in ESR1-mutated ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer in combination with everolimus; Roche also planning adjuvant setting NDA submission.
- Novartis EU withdrawal for earlier-line Pluvicto may signal broader radiopharmaceutical approval challenges in Europe despite US and UK approvals for the same indication.
- KEYNOTE-937 failure closes the adjuvant HCC path for Keytruda; Merck's liver cancer strategy will need to rely on other combinations or settings.