While the annual State of the Union address has morphed over the years from a summation of the state of the U.S. government and the president’s legislative agenda into political theater on both sides of the aisle, President Donald Trump did include some recommendations to Congress in his Feb. 24 speech. Among those recommendations was a request for Congress to codify his most-favored-nation pricing policy for prescription drugs.

In handing a win to Regenxbio Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit also cleared some leaves from the 101 patent eligibility threshold after years of Supreme Court decisions cluttering the passageway.

Targeting an ultrarare disease affecting about 250 U.S. residents, Immedica Pharma AB’s Loargys (pegzilarginase) won accelerated FDA approval to treat hyperargininemia in those ages 2 and older with arginase 1 deficiency (ARG1-D).

Japan is backing conditional approvals of Amchepry (raguneprocel, Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd./Racthera Co. Ltd.) and Reheart (Cuorips Inc.), positioning them to become the world’s first induced pluripotent stem cell-derived (iPSC) therapies to receive regulatory clearance.

U.S. FDA approvals began 2026 at a slower pace than usual, with eight approvals recorded in January.

Tessera Therapeutics Inc.’s lead in vivo gene editing program, TSRA-196, has been awarded orphan drug and fast track designations by the FDA for adults with α-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD).

The ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Feb. 20 that shot down President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are rippling across the world. And Trump’s immediate response to that ruling – a proclamation imposing a temporary 10% import duty on most goods brought into the country beginning Feb. 24 – isn’t helping.