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Last week, The Trump administration reversed a Biden-era proposal for Medicare coverage of anti-obesity treatments. But on Monday, HHS suggested it is open to future policy considerations toward this end.
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The BIOSECURE Act’s prohibition on doing business with China-based companies may have implications for biotech and biopharma markets on both sides of the Pacific.
With GLP-1 receptor agonists expected to dominate the weight loss market in the near term, several young companies are building on this mechanism, while others are taking a completely different approach.
ALS
After a long and challenging journey for its stem cell therapy NurOwn, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics has aligned with the FDA on the parameters of a Phase IIIb ALS trial that is expected to begin by the end of 2024.
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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 layoffs will allow Ironwood to dedicate more resources to pushing its lead molecule apraglutide through a Phase III trial and a rolling NDA submission.
Kennedy’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday became heated as Democratic senators grilled the nominee for HHS Secretary on his previous statements about vaccine safety.
Inhibikase’s setback continues biopharma’s losing streak against Parkinson’s, marked by several clinical failures and abandoned assets in recent months.
The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference started off with a flurry of deals that reinvigorated excitement across the biopharma industry. Johnson & Johnson moved to acquire Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14.6 billion, breaking a dealmaking barrier that kept Big Pharma’s 2024 biotech buyouts to under $5 billion.
The layoffs follow an announcement in early January that I-Mab will re-prioritize resources to focus on advancing a CLDN18.2 and 4-1BB bispecific antibody for gastric cancers.
The move is part of a strategic restructuring aimed at getting azenosertib to the market for patients with gynecological malignancies.
The approval continues the trend of GLP-1s expanding into indications outside of diabetes and weight loss.
The discontinuation comes after the investigational drug, volenrelaxin, failed a related heart failure study in an overlapping patient population.
IRA
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has named Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus as part of the second round of the IRA drug price negotiation program, even as the pharma challenges the program.
Donald Trump continues to make waves in biopharma; Sage rejects Biogen’s unsolicited takeover offer; the obesity space sees more action with new company launches, IPOs and fresh data; and experts get ready for an important era in the Duchenne muscular dystrophy space.