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If ultimately confirmed, Makary’s planned departure, broken by The Wall Street Journal Friday afternoon, would follow a controversial tenure in which his deputy and constant co-author Vinay Prasad riled biopharma feathers with myriad unexpected drug rejections. Prasad stepped down as biologics chief last week.
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The Department of Health and Human Services is spinning its wheels, unable to establish steady leadership at three major divisions—the CDC and the FDA’s two primary review units.
FDA
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s health department has consistently touted radical transparency as being key to its mission. Recent instances—the FDA’s decision not to disclose the recipients of three Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers and FDA and CDC choices not to publish vaccine-related papers—call this intent into question.
In Salt Lake City, biotech founders new and seasoned reflect on ways to ride out the industry’s challenges, such as sending cold emails to investors and learning to address leadership weaknesses.
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U.S. intelligence officials have informed senators that China-based biotech WuXi AppTec transferred an American client’s intellectual property to the Chinese government without consent, reports Reuters.
Citing the need for more time to review a major amendment, the FDA is pushing the target action date for the investigational aldose reductase inhibitor in the treatment of classic galactosemia to Nov. 28, 2024.
FDA
Gilead Sciences’ Vemlidy on Thursday secured a label expansion from the FDA, allowing the antiviral drug’s use to treat chronic hepatitis B in pediatric patients aged six years and older.
Data from a late-stage study showed that Bristol Myers Squibb’s Zeposia (ozanimod) was unable to significantly improve clinical remission in adult patients with moderate to severe active Crohn’s disease.
The Swiss contract manufacturer’s cash deal for Roche’s facility in Vacaville, California, is one of the world’s largest manufacturing sites for biologics—a major growth driver for Lonza and other CDMOs.
Now in Phase III with its small molecule orforglipron, Eli Lilly is leading the oral GLP-1 race against Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche and others.
Altimmune on Wednesday said it is ending development of HepTcell, a hepatitis B candidate, following disappointing trial results as it focuses on obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.
The pharmaceutical industry is facing critical attention, particularly around drug pricing and development costs. Drug development cost is about 10% of the total healthcare spend in the United States. Broader issues such as local monopolies, utilization, unit, and costs and local monopolies, politics and a fragmented payer system contribute to the increasingly high costs to patients.
As the Biden administration calls for more-expansive drug pricing controls, it’s important to reflect on how we’re arriving at expected outcomes.
Stoke Therapeutics plans to offer up more than 5.5 million shares of its common stock following positive Phase I/IIa data for its Dravet syndrome candidate.