The Top Line · Fierce Life Sciences

What were the biggest clinical trial flops of 2025?

·20 min·1 clip

Sanofi faces immense pressure to find a successor for its blockbuster drug Dupixent before it loses patent protection around 2031.

Fierce Biotech and Fierce Pharma reporters analyze their 2025 report on the biggest clinical trial failures, focusing on high-profile setbacks at Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson, and Roche. They explore the patterns behind the flops, including recurring safety issues with certain drug modalities and the immense pressure on Big Pharma to refill pipelines ahead of looming patent cliffs.

As heard by us

A sharp look at how clinical-trial failures expose the pressure points in biopharma.

James Waldron and Fraser Kahnsteiner use 2025's biggest clinical-trial misses to make a plain point: biopharma keeps running into the same hard walls. The episode does more than tally failures.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want the reporting-first take on 2025's biggest clinical trial failures?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Top Line