Editor’s Briefing: September 29, 2026

In Short. Overnight, AbbVie won U.S. clearance for a new once-daily Parkinson’s pill from its Cerevel buy, Novo paid up to 2.6 billion for a Chinese once-weekly oral dual gut-hormone weight-loss candidate still heading into first-in-human studies, AstraZeneca put 2 billion into Summit to pair a PD-1/VEGF cancer bispecific with its antibody-drug conjugates, Roche handed a muscle-sparing obesity antibody back to Chugai after a failed interim look, and Kodiak said two wet-AMD eye shots matched Regeneron’s Eylea at one year.

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AbbVie lands a Parkinson’s pill from Cerevel

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that erodes motor control as dopamine-producing cells die. On Monday AbbVie said the FDA had approved Juvmo (tavapadon), a once-daily pill and the first selective D1/D5 dopamine-receptor agonist cleared for adults with Parkinson’s, usable with or without levodopa. In the phase 3 TEMPO-2 study in early disease, a combined daily-living and motor score improved 10.3 points on Juvmo at week 26 versus 1.2 on placebo. As an add-on when levodopa’s effect wears off (TEMPO-3), “on” time without troublesome involuntary movements rose 1.7 hours versus 0.6 on placebo. AbbVie expects U.S. availability in October. The asset came with the 8.7 billion Cerevel buy; that deal’s schizophrenia star later failed, so this is the first Cerevel product to reach the market. (AbbVie; BioSpace)

Novo licenses a once-weekly oral dual agonist from Hengrui

GLP-1 and GIP are gut hormones that help control appetite and blood sugar; injectable dual agonists already reshape obesity care. Overnight Hengrui Pharma said Novo Nordisk will take exclusive rights outside Greater China to HRS-1596, a phase I-ready GLP-1/GIP dual receptor agonist designed for once-weekly oral dosing. The pact is worth up to 2.6 billion if milestones hit, including 300 million upfront, plus royalties on net sales in Novo’s territory. Hengrui has Chinese clearance to start phase I in weight management and type 2 diabetes; U.S. antitrust clearance is still required, with close expected in the fourth quarter. It is a convenience bet before human efficacy data exist outside China. (Hengrui / PR Newswire)

AstraZeneca puts 2 billion into Summit’s bispecific

Bispecific antibodies can bind two targets at once. Summit’s ivonescimab blocks PD-1, an immune checkpoint tumors exploit, and VEGF, a driver of tumor blood-vessel growth. Summit said AstraZeneca will invest 2 billion in convertible preferred shares and start combination trials of ivonescimab with AstraZeneca’s Claudin 18.2 antibody-drug conjugate sonesitatug vedotin in gastrointestinal cancers, with a non-binding plan to test further AstraZeneca ADCs. Each side keeps its own molecules. Summit’s global HARMONi filing for EGFR-mutant lung cancer already carries a November 14 PDUFA date. Equity plus combo work is not a license of the bispecific itself. (Summit / Investing News Network)

Roche returns an obesity myostatin antibody to Chugai

Myostatin is a protein that restrains muscle growth; blocking it is one strategy to keep muscle while patients lose weight on GLP-1-class drugs. On Monday Chugai said Roche will stop all further work on emugrobart (GYM329), a subcutaneous anti-latent myostatin antibody, and return the rights. An interim look at the phase 2 GYMINDA study, which paired emugrobart with GLP-1/GIP agonists in obesity or overweight, judged clinically meaningful weight-loss goals unlikely; the antibody was well tolerated with no new safety signals. Roche had already dropped the molecule in spinal muscular atrophy in March; Chugai now says it sees a path to resume a phase 3 SMA program. (Chugai; Fierce Biotech)

Kodiak’s wet-AMD shots match Eylea at one year

Wet age-related macular degeneration causes severe vision loss in older adults; standard care includes repeated eye injections that block VEGF, including Regeneron’s aflibercept (Eylea). On Monday Kodiak Sciences said its pivotal DAYBREAK trial met its primary goal: both zenkuda (tarcocimab tedromer), an anti-VEGF antibody biopolymer conjugate, and tabirafusp-ted, an anti-IL-6 / VEGF-trap bispecific, matched Eylea on vision at one year. After loading, 54% of zenkuda patients were treated only every six months under treat-to-dryness rules. Kodiak plans a multi-indication biologics license application for zenkuda in the fourth quarter. (BioSpace; BioPharma Dive)

What to watch

pdufa.bio still lists Merck/Daiichi ifinatamab deruxtecan for October 10; that date remains stale after Monday’s voluntary withdrawal of the ES-SCLC accelerated-approval filing. Still ahead: Roche Tecentriq adjuvant stage III colon (October 9), Roche Enspryng in thyroid eye disease (October 15), Viatris/Opus phentolamine ophthalmic (October 17). Summit’s ivonescimab HARMONi filing sits on a November 14 PDUFA. AbbVie expects Juvmo U.S. availability in October.