The U.S. Senate has approved the nominations of two key members of the Trump administration, Marty Makary as FDA commissioner and Jay Bhattacharya as NIH director. While these are two of the most critical appointments for the Trump administration, the Senate still has two other important appointments in queue, including the directors of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the CDC.

Pleco Therapeutics BV has held a successful pre-IND meeting with the FDA to discuss the continued development of PTX-252, an intravenous formulation designed to treat patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Palatin Technologies Inc. has obtained U.S. orphan drug designation for PL-7737 for leptin receptor (LEPR) deficiency, including obesity caused by this condition.