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Category: The Readout

  • 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+: 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.