Astellas is building off an existing relationship with the biotech formed last August, joining the growing number of large pharmas looking at tackling solid tumors with cell therapy.

C-suite leaders from Lilly, Roche and J&J spoke at a Citeline-sponsored panel at Swiss Biotech Day in Basel and offered encouragement to start-ups trying to negotiate the tricky financial landscape.

Restructuring Edition: Even big pharma companies are not immune from workforce reductions. BMS and Sanofi joined that ranks of Evotec, CureVac and BenevolentAI in cutting jobs. Also, Vaxxinity will de-list and Hepion winds down its NASH trial, among other strategic updates.

Mounjaro revenue declined versus Q4 2023, Lilly reported, though grew 218% year-over-year. The pharma pledged significant ramp-up of manufacturing this year.