Government

Johnson and Johnson kicked off first-quarter earnings season with a “modest” beat and an ambitious goal; Replimune failed again to gain approval for its advanced melanoma therapy, as analysts tout increased accountability brought by the FDA’s new policy of publicizing complete response letters; and Revolution Medicines’ pancreatic cancer candidate doubled survival in one of cancer’s most intractable foes.
FDA
BioSpace looks back at 2025 and where the FDA is going in 2026.
A Louisiana court on April 7 asked the FDA to complete its internal review of mifepristone’s safety and gave the agency six months to provide the court with an update on the investigation.
Industry leader Steve Ubl has served as PhRMA’s CEO for more than a decade, the longest tenure of any head of the trade group.
The approval of Eli Lilly’s oral obesity drug officially ignites an intense competition with Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy; Gilead Sciences and Neurocrine Biosciences keep the M&A train chugging; Trump hits pharma with his long promised tariffs, and the FDA proposes many changes with 2027 budget.
Humira will be available on TrumpRx at an 86% discount, according to media reports, as part of AbbVie’s deal with the White House to avoid tariffs. The news comes less than a week after the president announced up to 100% levies on pharma products.
FDA
Aiming to protect patients, the FDA sent lawmakers a wish list of legislative proposals intended to clarify and expand its oversight of updates to approved drug production processes.
If the Trump administration’s proposal passes, the FDA’s budget will be more than $200 million bigger in 2027, with plans to launch new programs that expedite drug development, boost national security and promote “radical transparency.”
Former ACIP vice chair Robert Malone claimed that Andrew Nixon, spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, “trashed” him with the media, adding that he resigned because “I do not like drama.”
Gilead continues its dealmaking spree in the sizzling hot space of I&I as Johnson & Johnson, along with partner Protagonist, notched an FDA approval for a new psoriasis drug. Plus, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals gets a new C-suite, FDA releases draft guidance on non-animal models and the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee is not being disbanded after all.
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