Each week, our Regional Roundup delivers the most important and timely life sciences news from around the region. From groundbreaking research to fundraising, new development projects, and who’s hiring — we bring you the top stories that matter most. Stay informed with a curated selection of the latest news, delivered directly to your inbox weekly.
Greater Philadelphia is building for what comes next, with first-of-its-kind innovation reshaping how the region develops therapies, builds talent, and strengthens the infrastructure behind life sciences. This week, that momentum showed up across the region, from companies strengthening their boards and advancing therapies through the clinic and toward commercialization, to mentorship programs shaping the next generation of talent.
Companies across the region strengthened their leadership benches, with Madrigal, Citius Oncology, and Zoetis naming new directors and leaders to guide their next stage of growth.
That momentum is also translating into products moving closer to patients, with companies building both the approvals and infrastructure needed to get there. Princeton-based Bristol Myers Squibb received FDA accelerated approval for its first CELMoD therapy, giving multiple myeloma patients a new option as early as first relapse, while simultaneously expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint with a new $2.3 billion campus in Houston. Organon, meanwhile, is preparing providers ahead of MIUDELLA’s anticipated launch, getting the infrastructure in place before the hormone-free IUD reaches the market.
That same infrastructure-building reaches into science itself, with Penn-born Vivodyne advancing the world’s largest human biological datacenter.
Financial
Tracking the capital moving through Greater Philadelphia— funding rounds, M&A activity, and investment trends shaping Philadelphia, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware’s life sciences companies.
West Chester’s Verrica Pharmaceuticals Secures Up to $27.5 Million to Fund YCANTH Growth and a Common Warts Trial
The non-dilutive credit facility, funded by Verrica’s own board chairman, supports continued commercialization of YCANTH, which already generated $15.3 million in 2025 revenue treating molluscum contagiosum, alongside a global Phase 3 trial testing the drug against common warts. The funding extends Verrica’s runway into 2028 without requiring new equity. Read More >
Jazz Pharmaceuticals to Acquire Actio Biosciences in a Deal Worth Up to $1.32 Billion, Expanding Rare Epilepsy Portfolio
Jazz Pharmaceuticals, with offices in Philadelphia and San Diego, structured the deal as $820 million upfront plus up to $500 million in contingent payments, while Actio’s remaining pipeline spins out into an independent company. The transaction, expected to close in Q4 2026, gives Jazz the single asset it wants most, ABS-1230, an ultra-rare epilepsy candidate already carrying FDA Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations. Read More >
People
Who we’re buzzing about this week — the leadership moves, board appointments, and rising names shaping the region’s life sciences community.
Zoetis Appoints Jay Saccaro as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Zoetis has appointed Jay Saccaro as EVP, CFO and COO in a newly created role combining global finance with oversight of manufacturing and supply, effective August 17. Saccaro brings 12 years of CFO experience from GE HealthCare and Baxter International, where he led major M&A activity and margin improvement plans following Baxter’s spin-off of Baxalta. Read More >
Madrigal Welcomes John C. Reed, M.D., Ph.D., to its Board of Directors
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals welcome John C. Reed, M.D., Ph.D., currently EVP of Pharmaceuticals R&D at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, to its Board of Directors. Reed brings deep R&D leadership from prior roles at Sanofi and Roche, along with over 900 scientific publications, as Madrigal builds on the launch of Rezdiffra and advances its MASH pipeline. Read More >
Citius Oncology Expands Board with Appointment of Independent Director Jonathan Peri
Citius Oncology has welcomed Jonathan Peri, Ph.D., J.D., President of Manor College, as an independent director, expanding its board to nine members. Peri brings extensive governance experience, including a prior role as Chairman of Pennsylvania’s Council of Higher Education, as the company builds on the commercial launch of LYMPHIR for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Read More >
Life Science Cares Philadelphia welcomes Samuel Dillman as Board of Advisors
Life Science Cares Philadelphia has added Samuel Dillman, a Managing Director at CFGI with over 16 years advising companies through IPOs, SPAC transactions, and capital markets events, to its Board of Advisors. Dillman also serves as Board Treasurer for Campus Philly, bringing deep capital markets and talent-retention expertise to the nonprofit’s mission of channeling the industry’s resources toward poverty alleviation in the region. Read More >
Workforce
The hiring activity, team expansions, and talent trends driving growth across Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware life sciences and biotech employers.
A New Summer Program Helping Students Plan for What’s Next
University City Science Center’s FirstHand program is laying the groundwork for the region’s future talent pipeline with Let’s Get Real, a new career-readiness program teaching high school students goal-setting, financial literacy, and networking, skills rarely taught in the classroom but essential for turning STEM interest into a real career path. Developed directly from alumni feedback, the program is already showing results: 63% of former FirstHand participants have enrolled in post-secondary education or training, well above the School District of Philadelphia’s 49% matriculation rate, giving young people the direction and confidence to become the region’s next generation of STEM professionals. Read More >
Women In Bio Philadelphia Opens Registration for Fall 2026 Mentoring Circles Program
Mentorship remains one of the most effective ways to retain and grow talent in life sciences, and Women In Bio’s Philadelphia Metro chapter is building that infrastructure directly into its Fall 2026 Mentoring Circles Program, pairing one mentor with three to four mentees for a three-month, self-driven experience. Open to members at every career stage, applications close next week, giving the region’s workforce a structured way to access senior guidance and peer support. Register Now >
Who’s hiring?!
Top Employer
Incyte Corporation is a global biopharmaceutical company based in Wilmington, Delaware, focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative therapeutic solutions.
Recognized around the world for its science and workplace culture, Incyte lives by its “Solve On” philosophy, bringing together bold science, thoughtful collaboration, and a shared commitment to improving patients’ lives. Incyte also forges strategic partnerships with major universities and companies like Novartis, Eli Lilly, and MacroGenics to expand its pipeline and therapeutic reach.
They’re currently hiring across clinical development and operations, medical affairs, pharmacovigilance, and more, 45 + open roles in the Greater Philadelphia region. Apply Now >
Other employers and available roles we’re paying attention to this week:
- Parexel (Quakertown, PA) is hiring a Warehouse Team Member – Clinical Logistics | Apply Now >
- ICON (Blue Bell, PA) is hiring a Global Head of Planning & Resource Management | Apply Now >
- Jabil (West Chester, PA) is hiring for Engineering Co-op| Apply Now >
- Secant Group (Telford, PA) is hiring a Associate Scientist | Apply Now >
- Dispatch Bio (Philadelphia, PA) is hiring a Associate Scientist/Scientist I, Cell Analytical Product Sciences | Apply Now >
Clinical + Commercial
The latest clinical trial progress, regulatory milestones, and commercial launches from companies advancing science from the lab to the market across Greater Philadelphia.
Bristol Myers Squibb Wins FDA Approval for Its First CELMoD Drug, Aimed at Multiple Myeloma Patients After Just One Relapse
Princeton, NJ-based Bristol Myers Squibb has won accelerated FDA approval for ZENBEXUS™, its first CELMoD therapy, making it available to multiple myeloma patients as early as their first relapse based on Phase 3 data showing a significantly higher MRD-negative complete response rate than the standard comparator regimen. Priced at $29,500 per 28-day cycle, the drug gives BMS a new growth driver just as its older myeloma treatments. Read More >
King of Prussia’s Phio Pharmaceuticals Wins Patent Protection for a New Cancer Drug Candidate Targeting BRD4
Phio Pharmaceuticals has secured a U.S. Notice of Allowance for a patent covering PH-894, a compound designed to silence the cancer-linked BRD4 protein using the company’s INTASYL gene-silencing platform, bringing its total patent count to 54. The filing extends IP protection to a next-generation compound while Phio’s lead PD-1-silencing program, PH-762, moves toward FDA discussions after completing Phase 1b trials. Read More >
Organon Opens REMS Program for MIUDELLA® Ahead of Anticipated Commercial Availability
Organon has opened enrollment in the FDA-mandated REMS training program for MIUDELLA, its hormone-free copper IUD, months ahead of the device’s anticipated late-2026 launch to get provider certification cleared before it reaches pharmacy shelves. MIUDELLA, licensed exclusively from Sebela Pharmaceuticals, delivered about 99% effectiveness and a 99% placement success rate in Phase 3 trials, marking the first new hormone-free copper IUD to reach the U.S. market in over 40 years. Read More >
Wayne’s Aclaris Therapeutics Gets FDA Fast Track Status for Its Lichen Planus Drug Candidate
Aclaris Therapeutics has received FDA Fast Track Designation for modzatinib (ATI-2138), targeting lichen planus, a chronic inflammatory condition the company says currently has no FDA-approved treatments. The drug’s dual ITK/JAK3 inhibition mechanism aims to suppress disease-driving T cells through two separate pathways, with a Phase 2b trial expected to begin in Q4 2026. Read More >
Ecosystem
The partnerships, programs, and policy moves building Greater Philadelphia’s life sciences infrastructure — and the organizations driving it forward.
CMI Media Group Launches Specialized Rare Disease Center of Excellence (COE) to Scale Precision Marketing for Niche Pharma
Philadelphia-based CMI Media Group has launched a Rare Disease Center of Excellence to help pharma clients market therapies to small, hard-to-find patient populations, a response to nearly half of new FDA drug approvals now involving rare or orphan conditions. The practice pairs data-driven patient identification with a formal partnership with Bionews’ Patient Advisory Board, folding real patient input directly into how the agency approaches messaging and outreach. Read More >
What’s the Buzz?! | Analytics as the Engine of Drug Development with Agilent’s Amir Liba
BioBuzz’s Chris Frew talks with Amir Liba who leads Agilent Technologies’ sales, applications, and technical specialist teams across the US and Canada, about why analytical methods, not just the molecule, set the pace for drug development, and why Greater Philadelphia was the natural choice for Agilent’s first Biopharma Analytical Innovation Summit on September 16. The conversation touches on shifting regulatory expectations and what makes the region such fertile ground for this kind of industry collaboration. Watch Now >
Bristol Myers Squibb (NJ) Advances U.S. Manufacturing Investment with New $2.3 Billion Campus in Houston, Texas
BMS is building a $2.3 billion, 600,000 square-foot manufacturing campus in Houston as part of its $40 billion U.S. manufacturing commitment, creating nearly 500 permanent positions once operational. The investment builds on the company’s deep Greater Philadelphia-area footprint, anchored by its Lawrenceville R&D headquarters and Princeton Pike commercial campus, extending BMS’ end-to-end U.S. presence from discovery through manufacturing. Read More >
Penn-Born Vivodyne Debuts What It Calls the World’s Largest Human Biological Datacenter
Vivodyne, built out of University of Pennsylvania bioengineering research, has launched a network of 12 robotic HIVE laboratories capable of running 3.1 million living human tissue experiments a year, roughly double the combined scale of every clinical trial conducted in the U.S. Eight major pharmaceutical companies already have early access to the platform, using lab-grown human tissue to generate safety and efficacy evidence before drug candidates ever reach clinical trials. Read More >
Other [Good] Reads
Editor’s picks from across the web — the stories, videos, and podcasts shaping the conversation in PHL biotech and life sciences this week.
Being a Life Sciences Leader: A Conversation With State Senator Frank Farry
Life Sciences PA’s podcast sits down with Pennsylvania State Senator Frank Farry, this season’s State Official of the Year, to talk about his path in public service and what’s shaped his approach to leadership. The conversation covers the state’s growing life sciences sector, the push to foster innovation, and the workforce development needed to sustain it. Listen Now >
A Doylestown, PA Firm’s Take on What Makes a Company Truly Inspection-Ready
PA-based Krieger Scientific’s founder Joseph Morwald tells Pharmaceutical Executive that companies best positioned for inspection treat the FDA as a partner rather than an adversary, and lean on unbiased third-party oversight instead of relying solely on internal teams to judge their own data. With FDA drug warning letters up 59% in 2025, Morwald’s take is a good reminder that staying inspection-ready is as much about culture and accountability as it is about compliance checklists. Watch Now >
On the Calendar
A few of the upcoming events, conferences, and networking opportunities across Greater Philadelphia’s life sciences ecosystem that you don’t want to miss.
QRD Pharma Lunch-and-Learn
Tuesday, August 18 • 12 – 1 PM EDT • Doylestown, PA
Hosted by QRD Pharma LLC | Register Now >
The Art of Fundraising & Networking Reception
Thursday, August 20 • 3 – 6 PM EDT • King of Prussia, PA
Hosted by Life Sciences Pennsylvania (LSPA) | Register Now >
Biotech Breakfast: The Incubator + Vivarium Connection
Tuesday, August 25 • 9 – 11 AM EDT • Philadelphia, PA
Hosted by Mispro & B+Labs | Register Now >
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