Now on to 2020

Last year’s news-packed fourth quarter gives way to a busy calendar in the opening days of 2020, so, to keep you from starting 2020 playing catch-up, here’s a guide to some of the major events expected in the early days of the New Year.

• We’re going to find out whether Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a future treating the rare disease paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Any day now, the company will disclose results from a Phase 3 study testing whether its drug, APL-2, can benefit PNH patients already treated with Alexion Pharmaceuticals’ blockbuster Soliris.
• Rubius Therapeutics, after a handful of delays, has promised to deliver the first data from its clinical trials to transform red blood cells into drugs against cancer and rare diseases. The one-time unicorn had a difficult 2019, and its plans for a turnaround in sentiment hinge on starting 2020 with some positive news.
• The other big question for Biogen should get resolved. The company’s best-selling medicine, a multiple sclerosis treatment called Tecfidera, is the subject of a patent challenge from Mylan, one that could be settled in the early weeks of 2020. At stake is whether Tecfidera goes generic in 2021 or 2028. The drug accounts for about one-third of Biogen’s revenue, making this more than a minor patent squabble.