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The Friday Brief for June 19, 2026: BIO Preview and Major Patent Verdict

Amgen was found liable in a case against Harbour BioMed, and we're getting ready for sunny San Diego.

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By: Patrick Lavery

Content Marketing Editor

Editor’s Take: The next major conference on Contract Pharma‘s schedule is fast approaching.

Today on “The Friday Brief” … We are just days away from the BIO International Convention, which opens on Monday in San Diego. Contract Pharma will be on the floor all week—come see us at Booth #4755. Then, check back here next week for the latest from the show.

On to the news of this week. It all started with a U.S. District Court in Delaware finding Amgen liable for patent infringement against Harbour BioMed. Harbour gets $20.2 million in damages, and this could have wider implications for the biotech sector globally.

Some acquisition headlines: Bayer has completed its purchase of Perfuse Therapeutics, up to a $2.45 billion deal. Biogen has agreed to acquire RayThera for up to $1 billion.

A few launches as well. Vedana Therapeutics is launching as a developer of next-generation migraine therapies. And Nortiva Bio announced its launch, a clinical-stage biopharma company developing long-acting oral medicines.

AI continues to influence partnerships. Merck, or MSD outside the U.S. and Canada, has an agreement with Protillion Biosciences, experts in lab-in-the-loop AI drug design. And Catalent debuted an enterprise AI tool designed to elevate quality management systems and processes.

Finally … do you have financial executive bona fides in the biopharma industry? Maybe it’s not that simple—but Pfizer is conducting a comprehensive internal and external search for a Chief Financial Officer. Dave Denton is stepping down from that post Aug. 15. Cecile Guegan will fill the role in the interim until a permanent successor is found.

Those are the highlights from a busy and varied week in pharma, but there’s plenty more news at contractpharma.com. See you at BIO next week, and next Friday, right here on The Friday Brief.

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