Welcome to the Weekly Rundown where the DDN editors cover this week’s top biotech and pharma news.
Lilly's triple agonist retatrutide posts its strongest weight loss numbers yet, setting up a 2027 FDA filing
Eli Lilly, this week, reported positive topline results from TRIUMPH-2 and TRIUMPH-3, two pivotal Phase 3 trials of retatrutide, a once-weekly injectable that activates receptors for GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon simultaneously — a triple mechanism that no approved obesity therapy currently matches. In TRIUMPH-2, adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes lost up to an average of 49.6 pounds, or 20.8 percent of body weight, at 80 weeks on the highest 12mg dose, with A1C dropping by an average of 1.5 percent. In TRIUMPH-3, adults with severe obesity and established cardiovascular disease lost up to an average of 55.8 pounds, or 22.6 percent. Cardiovascular event data from TRIUMPH-3 trended favorably but the trial was not powered to draw conclusions on that endpoint. The drug also produced notable reductions in triglycerides, non-HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, and the inflammatory marker hsCRP. Lilly plans to file a Biologics License Application with the FDA in Q1 2027, with the same data package supporting additional submissions for knee osteoarthritis pain and obstructive sleep apnea. Five consecutive positive Phase 3 readouts across the TRIUMPH program now give Lilly a credible path to fielding three distinct obesity medicines at once. – Andrea Corona
GSK’s investment in lung cancer drug pays off with quick approval
On Wednesday, the FDA approved Jideytro, an ROS1 selective inhibitor, to treat patients with positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have already been on a previous ROS1 kinase inhibitor. The approval marks GSK’s first drug for lung cancer and arrives just one week after GSK finalized their purchase of Nuvalent, the maker of Jideytro, for $10.6 billion. As part of that deal, GSK also acquired neladalkib, an ALK inhibitor for NSCLC with the ability to penetrate the brain, and another NSCLC candidate in early-stage clinical trials. The approval — which was based on positive results from the global single-arm ARROS-1 Phase 1/2 trial — provides a quick return on GSK’s investment and validates the decision to step into the oncology space. “Today's approval provides an important new option for these patients and supports our strategy to acquire assets with validated targets that could meaningfully improve standards of care,” said Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer at GSK, in the press release. – Allison Whitten
UK biotech funding hits five-year high
According to the UK BioIndustry Association, UK biotech financing climbed to its highest level in five years during the second quarter of 2026, with companies raising £2.11 billion (USD $2.82 billion) in equity financing, including a record £2.05 billion ($2.74 USD billion) in venture capital. That performance cemented the UK's position as Europe's leading biotech investment destination, with the country accounting for 61 percent of all European venture capital raised during the quarter. While the figures were boosted by Isomorphic Labs' record-breaking £1.6 billion (USD $2.14 billion) Series B financing, the underlying recovery was evident across the wider sector with UK biotechs raising £498 million (USD $665 million) in venture capital excluding the megadeal, almost twice as much as in the same period last year. Across Europe, biotech venture investment nearly quadrupled quarter-on-quarter to £3.3 billion (USD $4.4 billion), while US companies raised £6.8 billion (USD $9.1 billion), highlighting a broader recovery in biotech financing.– Bree Foster
Arrowhead's RNAi drug cuts triglycerides by up to 81 percent and eliminates pancreatitis risk in highest-risk patients
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals announced positive topline results this week from two global Phase 3 trials — SHASTA-3 and SHASTA-4 — of plozasiran, an RNA interference (RNAi) therapy that silences apolipoprotein C-III (APOC3), a liver-produced protein that drives triglyceride accumulation. In both studies, a single subcutaneous injection given once every three months produced median triglyceride reductions of 79 and 81 percent respectively at 12 months, compared to roughly 27 percent with placebo. Both trials met their primary and all prespecified secondary endpoints, including a statistically significant reduction in acute pancreatitis events — a potentially fatal complication of severe hypertriglyceridemia. In the highest-risk patient subset, those with triglycerides above 880mg/dL and a prior history of pancreatitis, plozasiran produced a 100 percent reduction in acute pancreatitis events versus placebo. No new safety signals emerged and liver safety remained favorable, a notable point given historical concerns with lipid-lowering therapies and hepatotoxicity. Plozasiran is already approved as Redemplo in the US, EU, China, Australia, and Canada for familial chylomicronemia syndrome; Arrowhead plans to file a supplemental new drug application with the FDA for the broader severe hypertriglyceridemia indication before the end of 2026. Full results will be presented as a Hot Line Late Breaker at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich on August 30. – Andrea Corona
Readily-available Ebola vaccine could help treat current outbreak
A new study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine adds strong evidence that the use of Ebola vaccines from Merck (Ervebo) and Johnson & Johnson (Zabdeno and Mvabea), could be used to combat the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. Though these vaccines target the Zaire Ebola species rather than the Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) circulating in the current outbreak, the Partnership for Research on Ebola VACcination (PREVAC) study team detected cross-reactive antibody responses against BDBV across all vaccine formulations at both 28 days and three months after vaccination in serum samples from both children and adults. As the outbreak continues to spread and the death toll has now topped 1,000, any potential treatments are urgently needed. With Merck’s vaccine already FDA-approved and “currently available through the global Ebola vaccine stockpile, represents an immediately deployable candidate that could be evaluated during the ongoing outbreak,” the authors wrote in the paper. – Allison Whitten
Sex-specific tumor proteins point to new cancer drug targets
Researchers at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have revealed widespread sex-based differences in the protein makeup of tumors, with lung adenocarcinoma showing the greatest divergence between male and female patients. Published in BMJ Oncology, the study analyzed proteomic data from 934 patients across eight cancer types and identified 901 proteins that differed in abundance between the sexes in lung adenocarcinoma, far more than in any other cancer examined. By combining the findings with CRISPR gene-editing data from lung cancer cell lines, the researchers found that many of the proteins showing sex-specific differences were linked to genes essential for tumor survival, suggesting they could represent new therapeutic targets. The team says the findings highlight the importance of considering biological sex in cancer research and underscore the need for more large-scale tumor proteomics data to support precision oncology. – Bree Foster
