News Updates
Incubate’s Investment Tracker measures the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act’s healthcare provisions on the life sciences ecosystem, with special attention to the impacts of the small molecule penalty.
Proalix BioTherapeutics
Negative Outlook
Hackensack, NJ
1-50 employees
Limited reimbursement amounts may reduce the demand for, or the price of, Elfabrio, Elelyso or any other future products. If coverage and reimbursement are not available or are available only to limited levels, the sales of Elfabrio, Elelyso or other future products, if any, may be diminished or we may not be able to sell such products profitably.
Takeda
Layoffs
Cambridge, MA
50,001+ employees
Takeda’s recently announced reorganization may affect approximately 634 U.S. employees, including 247 in Cambridge, Massachusetts effective July 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2027, and 387 in other states, though the total could change as staff pursue redeployment opportunities.
Novartis/NJ
Layoffs
East Hanover, NJ
50,001+ employees
Novartis is laying off 114 employees at its East Hanover, New Jersey site, with terminations running from June 26 through Nov. 27, continuing a pattern of workforce reductions at the location over the past year.
Takeda
Layoffs
Cambridge, MA
50,001+ employees
Takeda has announced a significant restructuring to streamline corporate functions and generate more than $1.25 billion in savings by fiscal year 2028, though the full workforce impact has not yet been disclosed.
BiomX
Layoffs
Tel Aviv, Israel
51-200 employees
BiomX laid off a significant portion of its staff in December following the discontinuation of its Phase 2b multi-phage cocktail BX004 for cystic fibrosis, after an external data monitoring committee identified unexpectedly high rates of adverse events.
Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd
Neutral Outlook
Whippany, NJ
1-50 employees
In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, was signed into law. The IRA includes multiple provisions that may impact the prices of drug products that are both sold into the Medicare program and throughout the United States. For example, a manufacturer of a drug or biological product covered by Medicare Parts B or D must pay a rebate to the federal government if the product’s price increases faster than the rate of inflation.
Larimar Therapeutics
Neutral Outlook
Bala Cynwyd, PA
51-200 employees
Since that time, there have been multiple healthcare reform measures, including the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) which, among other things, allows HHS to directly negotiate the selling price of a statutorily specified number of drugs and biologics each year that CMS reimburses under Medicare Part B and Part D. The negotiated price may not exceed a statutory ceiling price. Only high-expenditure single-source biologics that have been approved for at least 11 years (7 years for small molecule drugs) can be selected by CMS for negotiation, with the negotiated price taking effect two years after the selection year.
SELLAS Life Sciences Group
Neutral Outlook
New York, NY
1-50 employees
However, the IRA’s impact on the pharmaceutical industry in the United States remains uncertain, in part because multiple large pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders (e.g., the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) have initiated federal lawsuits against CMS arguing the program is unconstitutional for a variety of reasons, among other complaints. Those lawsuits are currently ongoing.
Vyome Holdings
Neutral Outlook
Cambridge, MA
1-50 employees
Further, judicial challenges to the IRA may have an impact on the implementation of the IRA’s provisions; and the overall effects of the IRA on Bio’s business and the healthcare industry in general is not yet known.