Phase IIb data of Metsera Inc.’s lead GLP-1 receptor agonist, MET-097i, showed significant weight loss and good tolerability, supporting a phase III start later this year, and validating Pfizer Inc.’s decision a week ago to buy the obesity-focused company for $7.3 billion.

Despite down-to-the-wire negotiations, the odds are that parts of the U.S. government will shut down at midnight Sept. 30, as Senate Democrats refused to support a seven-week, clean continuing resolution already passed by the House to keep the government funded while Congress hammers out fiscal 2026 spending bills.

The threat of tariffs on imports of branded drugs is about to be realized after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 100% import duty will apply beginning Oct. 1. However, the flurry of recent announcements by pharma companies of investments in U.S. manufacturing plants may have paid off, with the president saying in his announcement on Truth Social that the 100% rate will be enforced “unless a company is building their manufacturing plant in America.”

Up to 71% of people carry at least one pathogenic variant that could contribute to development of a heritable disorder in offspring, but until now, prospective parents often had to undergo multiple tests to understand their risks. Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. (Pacbio)’s expanded Puretarget portfolio provides a quicker and more streamlined solution as it covers all challenging tier 3 genes identified in the American College of Medical Genetics technical standard.

Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc., agreed to pay $7.2 million to settle allegations that two photoplethysmography products it distributed were the subject of illicit Medicare claims, a problem the company inherited when it decided to do business with Semler Scientific Inc. of Campbell, Calif.

Anaphylaxis rates caused Larimar Therapeutics Inc.’s stock (NASDAQ:LRMR) to take a hit on the latest data from an open-label study with nomlabofusp in the neuromuscular disease Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), but the company is targeting a BLA submission to seek accelerated approval in the second quarter of next year.

Genmab A/S is paying $8 billion to acquire Merus NV, gaining rights to the latter’s phase III-stage petosemtamab, a bispecific antibody initially in development for head and neck cancer, and continuing the firm’s strategy to transition from a royalty-based operation to a fully integrated biopharma.

The U.S. FDA released a trio of draft guidances to help sponsors in developing and monitoring cell and gene therapies, as well as other regenerative medicine therapies.

As President Donald Trump promised again in a Sept. 23 media briefing, most-favored-nation (MFN) prescription drug pricing could soon come to America.