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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.
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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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Longeveron and Lexeo Therapeutics are working on CGT therapies to treat Alzheimer’s disease, but it’s not clear whether they have a better chance of success than traditional approaches.
Ultracompact CRISPR systems, which are in some cases one-third the size of Cas9, are being designed to be more specific and enable in vivo gene editing in difficult to reach tissues.
Active immune therapies hold promise for preventing or slowing disease onset, but some experts warn of potential safety risks.
GSK, Moderna and Pfizer are all looking at potential respiratory syncytial virus vaccine sales slumps thanks to recently updated CDC guidelines regarding the use of RSV shots in seniors.
Approved under the regulator’s accelerated pathway, Tecelra is also the first new synovial sarcoma therapy in more than a decade, according to Adaptimmune Therapeutics.
In pursuit of Merck’s blockbuster Keytruda, GSK’s Jemperli scored its own broad FDA label expansion, allowing its use in first-line endometrial cancer regardless of biomarker status.
As part of a major reorganization, Vir Biotechnology has discontinued the bulk of its virology work and pivoted to cancer in an exclusive licensing deal with Sanofi.
Poor efficacy data for two early-stage candidates for the rare disease alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency have convinced Vertex Pharmaceuticals to terminate their development.
Moderna’s stock price plunged more than 20% in Thursday morning trading after the company lowered its 2024 revenue guidance due to weak demand for its coronavirus vaccine in the second quarter.
With an upfront $800 million payment and $325 million in potential milestones, Otsuka Pharmaceutical is acquiring Jnana Therapeutics’ drug discovery platform and rare disease candidate, the companies announced Thursday.