Recent Posts
News•Mar 2, 2026
STAT+: Trump’s Drive to Get Europe to Pay More for Drugs Creates Uncertainty for Countries, Patients
President Trump has pressed European nations to raise their drug spending, arguing that higher foreign prices would allow the United States to lower its own prescription costs. While no clear price hikes have materialized yet, the demand has sparked uncertainty across European health systems about potential pricing strategies and budget impacts. Pharmaceutical companies have warned they could restrict market access if European prices do not meet their expectations. The debate also highlights the difficulty of comparing drug prices internationally due to differing valuation methods.
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 27, 2026
STAT+: Minnesota Report Shows Large Hospitals Continue to Dominate the 340B Drug Discount Program
Minnesota’s Department of Health reports that hospitals and clinics in the state earned at least $1.34 billion in 2024 from the 340B drug discount program. Participants received $3.045 billion in discounted medicines but paid $1.53 billion plus $165 million in administration fees. The largest...
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 27, 2026
STAT+: Trump Most-Favored Nation Drug Pricing Deals End After Three Years for some Companies
President Trump’s "most‑favored nation" (MFN) drug pricing agreements, touted as a safeguard against excessive prescription costs, have been revealed to run for three years for several participants. SEC filings show that 16 pharmaceutical firms have entered these deals, each with...
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 27, 2026
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About FDA and a ‘Smear Campaign,’ Cigna Buying a Large Pharmacy, and More
The FDA’s leadership, led by Commissioner Marty Makary, defended recent rejections of rare‑disease cell and gene therapies and described top official Vinay Prasad as a target of a media smear campaign. Makary praised Prasad’s scientific rigor while acknowledging pressure from...
By STAT News — Pharma
Deals•Feb 27, 2026
Cigna Acquires CarepathRx to Expand Hospital Pharmacy Services
Cigna announced the acquisition of CarepathRx, a private‑equity‑backed pharmacy that supplies prescription drugs to roughly 10% of U.S. hospitals. The deal expands Cigna’s vertical integration in the pharmaceutical supply chain, complementing its earlier purchase of Express Scripts.
STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 26, 2026
STAT+: Justice Department Backs AbbVie in Its Bid to Overturn a Colorado Law Guiding a Drug Discount Program
The U.S. Department of Justice filed an amicus brief supporting AbbVie in its effort to overturn a Colorado statute that prohibits pharmaceutical manufacturers from limiting discounts under the federal 340B drug pricing program when hospitals use contract pharmacies. The Colorado...
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 25, 2026
STAT+: GSK Picks up Pulmonary Hypertension Drug with 35Pharma Acquisition
GlaxoSmithKline announced a $950 million cash acquisition of 35Pharma, a privately held biotech focused on lung diseases. The deal brings the experimental compound HS235, slated to enter pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) trials, into GSK’s pipeline. PAH has become a lucrative target,...
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 23, 2026
STAT+: Bayer Sues J&J over ‘False and Misleading Claims’ About Competing Prostate Cancer Treatments
Pharmaceutical giant Bayer has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, accusing the latter of false advertising around its prostate‑cancer drug Erleada. Bayer claims J&J’s February 2 press release and website slides used flawed data to portray Erleada as more effective...
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 23, 2026
STAT+: Novo Nordisk’s Next-Gen Obesity Drug Stumbles in Comparison Study
Novo Nordisk’s next‑generation obesity drug CagriSema failed to demonstrate non‑inferiority to Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide in the 84‑week REDEFINE 4 study, achieving 20.2% weight loss versus 23.6% for tirzepatide. The open‑label trial showed the two treatments were not statistically equivalent. Following the announcement,...
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 23, 2026
STAT+: Pharma Lobbyists Focus on a Surprising New Target: The FDA
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to purge industry influence from the FDA, yet the Trump administration’s injection of political priorities has reshaped the agency’s operating environment. Under the current administration, discussions that once were deemed off‑limits between...
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 20, 2026
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About an FDA Official’s Speech, a Grail Cancer Blood Test, and Much More
FDA drug‑center head Tracy Beth Høeg used her first staff address to flag two priority areas: the safety of antidepressants taken during pregnancy and the use of monoclonal antibodies that protect infants from RSV. She also signaled a continued interest...
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 20, 2026
STAT+: Texas Attorney General Sues Sanofi for Allegedly Providing Kickbacks to Doctors to Prescribe Its Drugs
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit alleging Sanofi paid kickbacks to physicians by offering free nursing staff and insurance‑support services. The alleged scheme was designed to steer prescriptions toward Sanofi’s drugs for chronic conditions such as diabetes, multiple...
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 19, 2026
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About the FDA Pushing OTC Meds, Its New Trial Standards, and Much More
The FDA, under Commissioner Marty Makary, is pushing to expand over‑the‑counter (OTC) availability for safe prescription drugs such as nausea treatments and vaginal estrogen. Simultaneously, the agency proposes dropping the long‑standing requirement for two pivotal clinical trials, moving to a...
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 19, 2026
Opinion: My Biggest GLP-1 Ethical Problem: Patients Who Don’t Want to Stop
GLP‑1 agonists have moved from scarcity to abundance, reshaping weight‑management practice. In 2023, shortages forced clinicians to ration these drugs, often off‑label for obesity. Today, the surplus creates a new dilemma: patients seeking extreme, unsustainable weight loss and refusing to...
By STAT News — Pharma
News•Feb 18, 2026
STAT+: New FDA Guidance for Antibiotic Use in Food-Producing Animals Prompts Criticism over Antibiotic Resistance
The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine issued new guidance urging drugmakers to add explicit duration limits to medically important antibiotics used in food‑producing animals. Currently, about 28% of these drugs are administered continuously for approved indications, but the guidance seeks...
By STAT News — Pharma