STAT News – Biotech
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about a Merck acquisition, the rise of former Loxo execs at Lilly, and more
Hi there, and happy Wednesday from STAT’s London bureau, with Andrew Joseph here tag-teaming today’s edition with Mr. Pharmalot. We’re in the midst of those confusing weeks when the U.S. has changed clocks but we here in the U.K. have yet to (it’s our turn this weekend). And while we have to keep double-checking our time differences, one thing that remains apace is the headlines. …
Merck intends to buy Terns Pharmaceuticals, the developer of a promising leukemia treatment, for $6.7 billion, STAT brings us. The deal values Terns at $53 per share, or a 6% premium to its Tuesday closing price. Terns’ stock price increased six-fold over the past six months, based on the blockbuster potential of its leukemia drug, called TERN-701. For Merck, acquiring Terns deepens its cancer drug pipeline as the pharma giant prepares to lose patent protection and revenue from its blockbuster cancer immunotherapy drug Keytruda.
Eli Lilly acquired the biotech Loxo Oncology in 2019, and since then, Loxo’s executives have become key players in the pharma company’s leadership team, STAT highlights. Jacob Van Naarden, who was Loxo’s chief operating officer, now not only now runs all of Lilly’s oncology efforts, both research and development as well as sales and marketing, but as of 2025 served as Lilly’s head of business development, overseeing all dealmaking for a company that now claims the highest stock market value in the pharmaceutical industry. Other top players include Nisha Nanda, who runs Lilly’s Catalyze360 effort, and David Hyman, Lilly’s chief medical officer.
WASHINGTON — Food and Drug Administration officials briefed senators on the agency’s plans for food policy for 2026, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
The agency plans to focus on infant formula safety, updating food labels, defining ultra-processed foods, expanding inspections of food processing plants, and bolstering seafood safety programs, according to a document shared with lawmakers, obtained by STAT.
The meeting comes amid a shift in the administration’s health agenda toward food issues and away from vaccine policy. In recent polls, food reforms have been more popular than the vaccine agenda, catching the attention of administration officials looking to sharpen their message for the midterms.
STAT News – Biotech
STAT+: In private meetings, White House works to win pharma companies’ support for drug pricing bill
WASHINGTON — The White House has drafted legislative text for its drug pricing policy, and officials are in the process of sharing it with more than a dozen major pharmaceutical companies, according to people familiar with the meetings.
The legislative text, according to a White House official, closely follows the outlines of the voluntary deals the administration made with pharma companies. The draft includes a policy that would allow drugs purchased in cash to count toward a patient’s deductible.
The Trump administration’s push for drug price legislation is part of a larger effort to get health reforms signed into law. The president’s focus on his affordability agenda in an election year has heightened the profile of the effort.
Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get our biotech newsletter in your inbox.
The NIH’s foreign subaward crackdown is scrambling global collaborations, while China’s rapid ascent is reshaping drug development. Meanwhile, Wave Life Sciences sheds half its value on underwhelming obesity results.
Also, breaking: I’m adopting a rogue backyard tortoise and will name it Philbert.
Psychedelic therapies ride wave of public favor into FDA hearing
After a brief storm of political headwinds, mRNA is back with strong momentum
STAT+: Trump’s secretive pharma deals may undermine ‘most-favored nation’ pricing, an analysis suggests
AI automates 3D membrane mapping, matching manual results in a fraction of time
Carbon Dots Emerge as a Powerful Weapon Against Superbugs and Biofilms
Your Zip Code May Shape Your Breast Cancer Tumor’s Genetics and Your Survival Odds
-
Fierce Biotech6 months ago
Scientists turn pig semen extract into eye drops that kill cancer in mice
-
Endpoints News6 months ago
Novartis to pay $2B upfront to take next-gen PI3Kα inhibitor from Synnovation
-
Uncategorized6 months agoNovartis buys Synnovation’s PI3Kα inhibitors for $3 billion
-
Nature Biotechnology6 months ago
Sustained nitric oxide production by engineered E. coli remodels the tumor microenvironment and potentiates immunotherapy
-
Uncategorized4 months agoOptical Pooled CRISPR Screen Reveals Regulators of NF-κB Dynamics in Human Cells
-
Uncategorized4 months ago
Relay’s PI3Kα inhibitor clears efficacy bar in Phase 2 vascular anomalies study
-
STAT News – Biotech6 months agoSTAT+: In private meetings, White House works to win pharma companies’ support for drug pricing bill
-
Nature Biotechnology6 months ago
Mapping cis-regulatory mutations at scale in sorghum enables modulation of gene expression
Scan to Read