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FDA
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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Just months after a jury ordered payment to Pfizer in the patent infringement case, a Delaware judge has nullified the award and invalidated the patents behind the lawsuit involving AstraZeneca’s blockbuster lung cancer drug.
The Biden administration on Thursday touted discounts of up to 79%, but many of these first 10 drugs are already sold well below list price.
Workforce reductions for the first half of August outpace May, June and July’s monthly totals.
Lori and guests address clinical trial design, which if done without careful consideration of the patient population can exclude patients from clinical trials instead of being inclusive.
The regulator’s approval of Livdelzi for primary biliary cholangitis under the accelerated pathway is a boost to Gilead Sciences’ liver disease business. Analysts expect the drug to reach more than $1 billion in sales.
Nearly two weeks ahead of its target action date, the regulator on Wednesday has signed off on Incyte and Syndax’s Niktimvo for the third-line treatment of graft-versus-host disease.
Likely to miss its initiation target, bluebird bio has renegotiated the loan deals of its agreement with Hercules Capital, giving it until June 30 next year—at the latest.
IRA
The Biden administration on Thursday announced that the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program will save the U.S. government around $6 billion in its first year of implementation.
To avoid being laid off, a third of biopharma professionals would take a pay cut and nearly a quarter would take a demotion, according to BioSpace LinkedIn polls. We spoke to several professionals about their layoff experiences and what they would—and wouldn’t—have done to keep their jobs.
The layoffs will help extend the company’s cash runway from the second half of 2026 into 2028.