Month in pharma news, explained – August 2026

Welcome back to your monthly news roundup, where we look back at the biggest stories to hit the pharma headlines. It’s time to reflect on August 2026

Rumour has it

The rumour mill churned out a particularly striking story on 3 August, when the Financial Times reported that AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) could be considering a merger.

The market reaction was a tale of two halves, and it was AstraZeneca that found itself limping away from the media storm. Its shares fell by almost 9% in London, while BMS shares, valued at around $133bn at the time, rose in the US. AstraZeneca has since clawed back most of those losses, with shares around 8.5% above their post-rumour close, although still about 1.2% below where they traded before the report.

The rumour was soon squashed. Within days, a senior source told Reuters there were “no discussions” between the two companies, while analysts questioned the strategic logic of combining two drugmakers with significant overlap in oncology. Nevertheless, the sheer scale of the potential deal was enough to evoke talk of a return to the pharma megamerger era, with BMS’s $74bn acquisition of Celgene in 2019 among the last of its kind.

A pill to swallow

Staying in the UK, despite the hot and dry weather, there was no sign of a summer slump at the MHRA, which was busy approving new therapies.

Among them was Eli Lilly’s Foundayo (orforglipron), which gained not one but two approvals. The drug was green-lit for both weight loss and type 2 diabetes, and Lilly is now neck and neck with rival Novo Nordisk. Novo’s oral Wegovy (semaglutide) was approved for weight management in the UK in June. What remains to be seen is whether both pills will be approved by NICE for use on the NHS, but they are already being sold privately.

Lilly has already submitted its application to NICE, with guidance expected on 18 November 2026. Novo, meanwhile, is focusing on the lucrative private market and has yet to submit an NHS application, despite securing its UK approval almost two months before Lilly.

An mRNA moment

From a major market to one still a way off its peak, a personalised mRNA melanoma cancer vaccine delivered positive phase 3 results last week. The vaccine, intismeran, developed by Moderna and Merck, was given alongside Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and met its primary endpoint in the trial.

The result is a major milestone for a programme that has been almost a decade in the making. The companies have been working together since 2016, when Merck paid Moderna $200m upfront, followed by another $250m in 2022 to exercise its option on the programme. They now share development costs and profits equally.

For Moderna, which also secured US approval for its first mRNA flu vaccine this month, the melanoma result may prove its technology can extend well beyond COVID-19. For Merck, meanwhile, it could provide another way to extend the reach of Keytruda. The vaccine is already being tested in other cancers.

Honourable mention of the month

August also saw quarter-two results roll in from most of the major industry players, with Sanofi perhaps the standout, raising its 2026 guidance after a strong quarter, driven by Dupixent (dupilumab) sales topping €5bn in the first half. Gilead also reported a strong quarter, with revenue up 10% to $7.8bn, while Novartis returned to sales growth despite the loss of exclusivity for Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan). AstraZeneca, meanwhile, posted 6% revenue growth, with oncology once again leading the charge.