Search Results

Eli Lilly notches another win over Novo Nordisk, as Zepbound bests CagriSema in a head-to-head trial sponsored by Novo; The FDA kicked off Rare Disease Week, providing draft guidance on its new plausible mechanism pathway, while a bipartisan senate hearing on Thursday will focus on the authorization process for rare conditions; Another leadership change shakes up CDC; and Gilead acquires CAR T partner Arcellx for nearly $8 billion.

Jay Bhattacharya will become the latest leader of the CDC on an acting basis, days after Jim O’Neill stepped aside.

Ralph Abraham, a vocal vaccine skeptic who served at the agency for just three months, has stepped down due to “unforeseen family obligations,” according to the CDC.

Jim O’Neill was deputy secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services and also acting director of the CDC after the abrupt ouster of Susan Monarez in August 2025.

The FDA outright refuses to review Moderna’s mRNA-based flu vaccine as CBER director Vinay Prasad’s conduct is scrutinized; Disc Medicine receives an unexpected rejection, which Prasad may also have had a hand in; Compass Pathways posts new late-stage data on its psilocybin-based depression drug; CDC is once again leaderless.

The CDC accepted the recommendation of its advisory committee that the shot be delayed for many patients until they are at least two months of age due to safety concerns. The CDC itself has said the vaccine is safe and effective.

The 2024–2025 formulations of COVID-19 vaccines had an effectiveness rate of 76% at preventing emergency or urgent care visits in children aged 9 months through four years, according to a new report.

The last few months have been tumultuous for the CDC, which has seen the ouster of Director Susan Monarez and all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The rehired staff, who number around 460, work with the CDC’s viral disease prevention efforts and sexual health testing labs, among others. The reinstatements are a ray of light in an acrimonious week that also saw protests and the complete overhaul of the agency’s vaccine advisory committee.