FDA leadership has generally seemed apprehensive of going too hard on companies that don’t meet clinical trial diversity goals, but some industry insiders say a stronger FDA is needed to spark real change. Delayed guidance could indicate if the agency will change course.

The ranks of B7-H3-targeting antibody-drug conjugates under development in China have seen their first dropout, although elsewhere there are two FGFR2b-directed ADCs with first-in-class potential on the horizon. Meanwhile, there have been other discontinuations of KRAS G12C inhibitors and anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapies in the country, while new players have surfaced in the areas of mRNA cancer vaccines and amyloid-beta-targeting antibodies for Alzheimer’s disease.

Public Company Edition: This year’s newly public companies are trading an average of 9.7% below their IPO prices, including the two most recent debuts, Boundless Bio and Contineum. Also, Nkarta, Praxis and Nurix grossed $240m, $200m and $175m, respectively, in follow-on offerings.

Biopharma firms raised $6bn in the first quarter of 2024, the most of any quarter since Q2 2022. But without an increase in the number of companies raising funds, the rebound remains uneven.