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Proquad is rarely a newsmaker from Merck’s earnings, but this time around, the U.S. has had a series of measles outbreaks. Sales of the vaccine were $539 million for the quarter, a 5% decline from the same period in 2024.
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Summit Therapeutics’ ivonescimab has the potential to challenge Merck’s blockbuster checkpoint inhibitor in non-small cell lung cancer, but experts stress the need for diverse and overall survival data.
The release of early-stage data on three oral weight loss drug candidates hints at which companies have the strongest hand, but the comparisons are rife with confounding variables, leaving analysts unsure about where to place their bets.
Last month, Vertex said sickle cell patients had not yet received infusions of its gene therapy Casgevy. That’s now changed, as the company races with bluebird bio’s Lyfgenia.
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Merck and Caraway Therapeutics, Inc. announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire Caraway Therapeutics for a total potential consideration of up to $610 million, including an undisclosed upfront payment as well as contingent milestone payments.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—along with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and CBER Director Vinay Prasad—argued against vaccine mandates, partly because they limited medical choice. This week, the FDA under their leadership approved updated COVID-19 vaccines with restrictions that do the same.
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The World Health Organization names antimicrobial resistance as one of the most urgent public health threats, but it remains an unattractive target for the pharmaceutical industry due to its weak profitability.
President Trump also refused to promise pharma execs that he would hamstring the IRA’s drug negotiation program.
Ctexli’s approval further entrenches Mirum as a leader in rare liver diseases, alongside its cornerstone product Livmarli and upcoming drug volixibat.
Drug development powered by artificial intelligence is countering incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act and making small molecules more attractive in the complex inflammatory & immunology disease space.
Around 300 FDA staffers laid off last week are being asked to return. So far, the Trump administration has terminated some 1,000 employees from the agency.
Non-opioid pain therapies are entering an unprecedented era, marked by the landmark FDA approval of Vertex’s Journavx and a growing number of alternative approaches. Their ultimate uptake, however, remains to be seen.
With the modality now in early clinical trials, experts say more efficiency, broader editing capabilities and delivery breakthroughs are needed to propel RNA editing to the next stage.
The proposed acquisition by global investment firms Carlyle and SK Capital Partners could net shareholders $3 per share plus potential CVR dollars and provide bluebird bio with primary capital to expand the commercial reach of its gene therapies.
Acelyrin earlier this month agreed to an all-stock merger with fellow immune player Alumis, with their combined cash tiding the combined company over until 2027.
The move comes weeks after Pfizer terminated its partnership with Sangamo Therapeutics for another hemophilia gene therapy.