STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About Replimune Drug Getting Third Try at FDA Approval, a Pfizer Deal in China, and More
An FDA advisory panel recommended that this fall’s COVID‑19 vaccines be updated to target the fast‑growing XFG (“stratus”) variant. Pfizer signed a global licensing and collaboration deal with China’s Innovent Biologics worth up to $10.5 billion to co‑develop 12 early‑stage cancer medicines, including a $650 million upfront payment. The World Health Organization placed Regeneron’s maftivimab, Mapp Bio’s MBP134 and Gilead’s remdesivir on a fast‑track list for clinical testing against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the DRC and Uganda. These actions signal shifting priorities in vaccine strategy, cross‑border drug development, and rapid response to emerging infectious threats.
STAT+: Trump’s Drug-Pricing Deals Set to Be Tested by New Product Launches
President Trump’s most‑favored‑nation (MFN) agreements with 17 drugmakers require new U.S. launches to be priced at net levels comparable to other wealthy nations. The policy, whose terms remain secret, is slated for its first public test as three drugs—AstraZeneca’s hypertension...
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About a Lilly Gene Therapy for Cholesterol, Three New Lilly Deals, and More
Eli Lilly announced that its gene‑editing therapy, acquired from Verve Therapeutics for $1 billion, lowered LDL cholesterol by 62% in a Phase 1 trial. The study reported no treatment‑related serious adverse events, paving the way for a Phase 2 trial. In parallel, Lilly...
STAT+: Eli Lilly to Buy Three Small Vaccine Developers
Eli Lilly announced it will acquire three early‑ and mid‑stage vaccine developers—Curevo, LimmaTech Biologics and Vaccine Company—for a combined price of nearly $4 billion. The deals expand Lilly’s pipeline into vaccines targeting pathogens that cause long‑term health complications. Funding comes from the...
STAT+: Virginia Governor Vetoes Legislation to Create an Advisory Panel to Lower the Cost of Prescription Drugs
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger vetoed HB 483, a bill that would have created a state advisory panel to lower prescription drug costs by using Medicare’s drug list as a benchmark and setting upper payment limits. The proposal would have made Virginia...
STAT+: Eli Lilly Tops Prominent Rankings on Pharma R&D Performance
Eli Lilly topped the IDEA Pharma index, claiming the No. 1 spot in both Innovation and Invention categories. The Innovation ranking weighs revenue from new products, recent approvals and major development milestones, while the Invention ranking evaluates pipeline depth, clinical trial activity and...
STAT+: Maryland State Affordability Board Places a Price Cap on Ozempic
Maryland’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board has set a price cap of $274 per 30‑day supply for Ozempic, effective January 2027, aiming to curb state pharmacy spend. The cap, based on Medicare’s maximum fair price, is projected to save the state and...
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About U.S. Biotech’s China Problem, a Regeneron Flop, and Much More
U.S. biotech companies have poured roughly $60 billion into Chinese‑origin molecules in the first quarter of 2026, a rate that could double the previous year’s spend and is ten times the 2021 level. The surge is deepening a split in the...
STAT+: U.K. Advocacy Groups Threaten Court Action over a Key Provision in the Pharma Trade Deal with the U.S.
The United Kingdom and United States finalized a pharma‑trade agreement that grants the U.K. tariff‑free access to the U.S. market for at least three years. In exchange, Britain pledged to raise its medicines spending to 0.35% of GDP by 2028...
STAT+: Takeda Will Pay $13.6 Million to Settle Allegations It Paid Kickbacks to Doctors
Takeda Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay $13.6 million to settle U.S. Department of Justice allegations that it provided illegal kickbacks to physicians. The DOJ says the company offered speaking fees and high‑end restaurant meals from January 2014 through October 2020 to boost prescriptions...
Opinion: RFK Jr.’s Antidepressant Deprescribing Push Gets One Thing Right — and Others Dangerously Wrong
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent campaign urging Americans to stop antidepressants mixes a valid concern about over‑prescribing with unsupported, potentially hazardous claims. Clinical professor Jonathan Slater recounts a carefully monitored 18‑month fluoxetine taper followed by a gradual bupropion reduction, illustrating...
STAT+: Colombia Wins a Key Court Ruling over a Compulsory License Issued for an HIV Medicine
Colombia’s health ministry secured a landmark ruling from the Court of Justice of the Andean Community, confirming that the government’s 2024 compulsory license for the HIV drug dolutegravir complied with regional regulations. The tribunal found the public‑interest justification and the...
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About Medicare and Alzheimer’s Drugs, Estrogen Patch Shortages, and More
Medicare enrollment in the newly approved Alzheimer’s therapies Leqembi and Kisunla is dramatically lower than the federal government expected. The agency now projects minimal spending on the drugs through 2027, a sharp reversal from earlier forecasts of billions in annual...
Trump Reportedly Plans to Fire FDA Commissioner Makary
President Donald Trump has reportedly approved a plan to dismiss FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who has served just over a year. Makary’s tenure featured initiatives to speed drug reviews, curb deceptive advertising, and push food manufacturers to eliminate synthetic dyes....
STAT+: Capricor Therapeutics Accuses Nippon Shinyaku of Slow-Walking Plans on Duchenne Drug
Capricor Therapeutics has filed a lawsuit in New Jersey alleging that Nippon Shinyaku and its U.S. arm, NS Pharma, are deliberately stalling the U.S. launch of deramiocel, its experimental Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy. The complaint highlights a pricing formula error...