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Category: Drug prices

  • STAT+: FDA adcomm members’ ties to industry under scrutiny

    STAT+: FDA adcomm members’ ties to industry under scrutiny

    Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector. She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.

    Good morning. Yesterday, we got the devastating news that STAT’s infectious disease correspondent, Helen Branswell, passed away. She was a reporter I always looked up to and was also an incredibly generous colleague. Please take the time to read this tribute to her.

    The need-to-know this morning

    • Liquidia and United Therapeutics reached a settlement agreement that resolves their ongoing patent litigation over Liquidia’s treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension. 

    Researchers in Pittsburgh are launching a novel type of GLP-1 trial — testing not only if the drug will help people with addiction, but also if it will help reduce recidivism while improving other employment, health, and housing outcomes.

    The Center for Addiction Science, Policy and Research (CASPR), a non-profit organizing the effort, and the Allegheny County Department of Human Services are planning to launch the trial in early 2027. They will enroll up to 1,200 adults with alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder, or both, who are also at high risk of criminal-justice involvement. Half will be randomly assigned to take Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, according to a press release issued yesterday.

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  • STAT+: Life Biosciences share glaucoma study updates for its cellular reprogramming drug

    STAT+: Life Biosciences share glaucoma study updates for its cellular reprogramming drug

    NIH funding uncertainty thwarts U.S. researchers, Argenx stumbles, and more biotech news

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    Jason is a general assignment reporter, with particular focus on genetic medicine and rare disease. Confidential tips can be sent on Signal at JasonMast.77.

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    This is the Readout. Please read it.

    And don’t miss us too much Monday, when the newsletter will be paused for the holiday. We’ll be back in your inbox Tuesday.

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    1. Meghana Keshavan covers biotech and contributes to The Readout newsletter.

    2. General Assignment Reporter

      Jason is a general assignment reporter, with particular focus on genetic medicine and rare disease. Confidential tips can be sent on Signal at JasonMast.77.

  • STAT+: Roche goes beyond licensing in deal with Chinese biotech

    STAT+: Roche goes beyond licensing in deal with Chinese biotech

    DOJ signals it will start scrutinizing drugmakers, PhrMA sues Trump administration, and more biotech news

    gantenerumab Alzheimer's disease Roche
    Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images

    Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector. She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.

    Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get our biotech newsletter in your inbox.

    Good morning. Let’s get straight to the news.

    The need-to-know this morning

    Roche goes beyond licensing in deal with Chinese biotech

    Over the past few years, pharma companies have flocked to China to license existing drug candidates. Roche is taking a new approach, partnering with Chinese startup Defand Therapeutics to discover new medicines.

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    1. National Biotech Reporter

      Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector. She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.

  • STAT+: Biotech companies are struggling to navigate Trump’s new tariffs

    STAT+: Biotech companies are struggling to navigate Trump’s new tariffs

    WASHINGTON — A broad tariff on imported pharmaceuticals took effect at the end of September, and some biopharma companies and the industry group that represents them say many are being left in the dark on how to get exemptions. 

    The Trump administration announced a 100% section 232 tariff in April, impacting imports of patented drugs and their active ingredients. At the time, the White House offered a number of pathways for companies to reduce their tariff burden, including striking a most-favored nation deal to sell drugs in the U.S. at similar prices to other wealthy countries or agreeing to bring production to the U.S.

    Companies that made MFN agreements would have had start paying tariff costs in July, but now aren’t on the hook for payment until early 2029, per their agreements. That exempts many of the biggest U.S. drugmakers, while leaving smaller biotech firms to face the levies.

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  • STAT+: Forbion raises $2.6 billion, its largest fundraise to date

    STAT+: Forbion raises $2.6 billion, its largest fundraise to date

    Promising Duchenne therapies will test FDA flexibility, Doudna-founded Caribou shutting down, and more biotech news

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    Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector. She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.

    Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get our biotech newsletter in your inbox.

    Good morning. Today, STAT released our 2026 Wunderkinds, a group of early-career researchers recognized for doing innovative work in health and medicine. I had the pleasure of speaking with one NIH researcher who has been figuring out how GLP-1 drugs work in the brain. But check out all of the profiles here!

    The need-to-know this morning

    • Cerevance said its experimental pill solengepras reduced Parkinson’s patients’ daily off-time, alongside other symptoms, in a Phase 3 trial. The privately held company, which will now talk to regulators about a potential approval, touts the pill as one of the first potential Parkinson’s drugs that does not act directly on dopamine, sparing patients certain side effects.
    • Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai were awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry for discovering how to manipulate “mirror image” molecules, paving the way for manufacturing more precise and safer drugs.

    Doudna-founded Caribou is shutting down

    Caribou Biosciences is shutting down after failing to raise enough money to fund a late-stage clinical trial of its off-the-shelf CAR-T therapy for lymphoma.

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    1. National Biotech Reporter

      Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector. She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.

  • STAT+: AstraZeneca opens new Boston site 

    STAT+: AstraZeneca opens new Boston site 

    Utah pilots AI service to prescribe acne treatment, drug price disclosures are coming, and more biotech news

    HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images

    Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector. She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.

    Allison covers what hot startups are getting up to, and who’s financing them. She is also co-host of the weekly biotech podcast, “The Readout Loud.” You can reach Allison on Signal at AllisonDeAngelis.01.

    Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get our biotech newsletter in your inbox.

    Good morning. From DC to Boston to Utah, we’ve got news from all over today.

    The need-to-know this morning

    • BridgeBio said the FDA granted priority review to its oral treatment for children with achondroplasia, a common form of dwarfism. An approval decision on the drug, called infigratinib, is expected by Feb. 4, 2027. 
    • Japan’s Shionogi has acquired for $2 billion the U.S.-based biotech IntraBio, the maker of an approved drug that treats the neurological symptoms of two rare diseases. 
    • Arrivent Biopharma said its experimental treatment for exon 20-mutated lung cancer failed to delay tumor progression in a Phase 3 study.

    Trump admin says drug price disclosures are coming

    Trump administration officials said yesterday they will start developing a system for health insurers to disclose prescription drug prices, and a “hopeful” final plan will come out by next May.

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    1. National Biotech Reporter

      Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector. She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.

    2. Biotech Startups and Venture Capital Reporter

      Allison covers what hot startups are getting up to, and who’s financing them. She is also co-host of the weekly biotech podcast, “The Readout Loud.” You can reach Allison on Signal at AllisonDeAngelis.01.

  • STAT+: New Trump regulations would clean up health care pricing disclosures

    STAT+: New Trump regulations would clean up health care pricing disclosures

    Public drug price information is now coming next year, Trump officials say

    Mehmet Oz at a federal event on Monday in Washington announcing new health care price transparency rules.Finn Gomez/Getty Images

    By Bob Herman

    Oct. 5, 2026

    Bob Herman is the author of Health Care Inc., an award-winning weekly newsletter about the business of health and medicine.

    Bob covers the money in health care, focusing on health insurance and hospitals. His stories delve into Medicare Advantage, opaque prescription drug benefits, and how much executives actually make. He is also the author of the Health Care Inc. newsletter. You can reach Bob on Signal at bobjherman.09.

    The Trump administration released new regulations Monday that will force health insurance companies to publish cleaned-up spreadsheets of the prices that they pay hospitals and doctors, while stripping out meaningless data that clogged up the files.

    Trump officials also said they will start developing the system for disclosing prescription drug prices next month. A “hopeful” final plan for drug pricing data will come out by next May, said Mehmet Oz, the head of Medicare and Medicaid, at an event Monday. The government will enforce those requirements by the end of 2027. 

    Last year, the Trump administration punted on finalizing drug price disclosure rules, in a victory for drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers that have fiercely guarded their prices. 

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    1. Business of Health Care Reporter

      Bob covers the money in health care, focusing on health insurance and hospitals. His stories delve into Medicare Advantage, opaque prescription drug benefits, and how much executives actually make. He is also the author of the Health Care Inc. newsletter. You can reach Bob on Signal at bobjherman.09.

  • STAT+: Will House delay Trump plan to politicize NIH grants? 

    STAT+: Will House delay Trump plan to politicize NIH grants? 

    You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

    A New York bar sells a spritz in a Hermès-esque glass purse, while in Baltimore you can get a spritz made with Miller High Life beer. Way to keep it real, guys. Send news tips and your favorite cocktail of the Deadliest Drug to [email protected] or John_Wilkerson.07 on Signal.

    The need-to-know this week

    • The House returns for one week and will vote on the Senate’s stopgap funding bill that temporarily blocks the White House’s proposal to give political appointees control over federal research grants. The House will use a fast-track process that requires two-thirds support for passage, signaling that House GOP leadership believes the Senate bill will pass. The House vote is expected Tuesday evening, according to Punchbowl News. Were it to fail, lawmakers would have to wait until the Senate returns on Sept. 14 to work out differences between the two chambers’ bills.
    • Congressional Medicare advisers kick off their annual public meeting cycle on Thursday. This cycle, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission will analyze the Part D benefit redesign. The redesign reduced cost sharing for beneficiaries and gave insurers more reason to manage costs, but it has probably also contributed to more spending. MedPAC also will study clinician quality measurements, and commissioners will continue their work on Medicare Advantage.

    Nine, or 10, more MFN deals

    President Trump announced nine more deals to set drug prices in Medicaid on par with prices available in peer countries, Daniel Payne and Elaine Chen report. But it seems they missed one.

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