STAT+: Pharmalittle: FDA approvals rebound, abortion pill orders rise, and more news

Hello, everyone, and how are you today? We are doing fine, thank you, especially given that this is the middle of the week. Perhaps you can relate. Of course, we will forge ahead, as always, since the alternatives appear bleak. This calls for a cup of stimulation and we invite you to join us. Our choice today is cinnamon sticky bun. By the way, we would like to note that, next week, the annual JPM health care gathering takes place — think of it as Woodstock for biopharma dealmakers — and STAT has a bunch of things lined up. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits. We hope you have a smashing day and do keep in touch. …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved nearly 50% more novel drugs in 2023 than in 2022, putting it back on pace with historical levels, an improvement analysts and investors said could lead to increased investment in biotech firms, Reuters writes. FDA nods for innovative therapies containing an active ingredient or molecule not previously approved, rose to 55 in 2023, up from 37 in 2022 and 51 in 2021. Historical data show the FDA typically greenlights about 45 to 50 new drugs a year, and approvals hit a peak of 59 in 2018. The agency also approved five gene therapies in addition to the 55 novel drugs.

Goldman Sachs is jumping into the biotech world after raising $650 million to invest in privately held startups, STAT tells us. The bank announced that it has closed its first-ever life sciences fund, called West Street Life Sciences I. The plan is to invest the money in genetic medicine, cell therapies, immunotherapies, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence startups, as well as diagnostics and life science tools companies. The life science fund surpassed its goal of around $500 million. The money came from a mixture of high net-worth individuals, corporate investment arms, and Goldman Sachs employees.

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