The first round of the U.S.’ Medicare negotiations accounted for a lot of digital ink and headlines in 2024. Next year is sure to bring more of the same as Medicare is to announce up to 15 Part D drugs to be negotiated in the second round by Feb. 1, even as several constitutional challenges to the process continue in federal appeals courts across the country. Read More
Even though pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reforms were dropped from the continuing resolution that was signed into law Dec. 21 to keep the U.S. government fully functional through March 14, the incoming administration and Congress likely will continue to try to rein in the PBMs, which serve as middlemen in the nation’s drug supply chain. Read More
First, the good news about pandemics – and in 2024, there was big “good news.” Science Magazine named lenacapavir (Gilead Sciences Inc.) as the Breakthrough of the Year. In two separate trials, lenacapavir prevented HIV transmission with 100% efficacy in cisgender African women and 99.9% efficacy in men and gender-diverse persons when administered twice a year. Read More
In the 1970s, scientists from several countries proposed to reconstruct, one by one, all the neurons in the brain as they appear under an electron microscope. They started with a small worm. Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons. It took 16 years. How much time would be required to repeat this arduous task for the 100 billion neurons in the human brain? Read More
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Bristol Myers Squibb, Traws, Vyne, Xbiotech. Read More
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Corxel, Ikena, Inmagene, Jemincare, Neurosense, Rapt, Vicentage. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Applied, Astrazeneca, Bristol Myers, Eli Lilly, Glaukos, Keymed, Novo Nordisk, Nuvation, Pfizer, Rhythm, Tonix, Vertex. Read More
