Med-tech deal value, excluding M&As, totaled $628.41 million in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, an increase of about 322% from the $149.08 million recorded in Q1 2025 though a 36% drop from Q4 2025‘s $978.58 million.

Phase II data disclosed March 31 by Pepgen Inc. in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) hobbled the stock but might have been much different if not for one outlier in the 5-mg/kg multiple ascending dose cohort of the ongoing phase II Freedom2-DM1 trial – and Wall Street is pondering what the hitch means for the Boston-based firm as well as the competitive space.

Introduced last year as a pilot program, the U.S. FDA Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher (CNPV) could be here to stay – at least for the duration of Marty Makary’s tenure as FDA commissioner. Since the FDA unveiled the CNPV last June, it has welcomed 18 products from 16 companies into the “game-changer” program for patients, as Makary described it. The goal is to provide an “ultrafast review pathway,” one to two months instead of the standard 10 to 12 months, for drugs and biologics of strategic national importance while maintaining the FDA’s scientific and regulatory standards, according to the agency.

BioWorld tracked 152 clinical trial readouts across phases I through III in February 2026, up from 144 in January but down from 215 in December. Of those, 20 phase III trials reported positive results, while one failed to meet key endpoints. By phase, February’s updates consisted of 50 from phase I, 46 from phase II and 57 from phase III.

With all the focus of late on the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the FDA’s 30-plus advisory committees have been flying under the radar, especially since many of them haven’t met for a few years now.