FDA
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Morale is low at the FDA, which was hit with layoffs this week following RFK Jr.’s confirmation. Biopharma leaders and agency insiders fear further workforce cuts could delay new medicines.
The hammer came down on an unspecified number of FDA employees this weekend, days after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as HHS Secretary.
Continuing our SCOPE 2025 coverage, Rohit Nambisan, CEO at Lokavant addresses not only current challenges, but the life sciences industry’s responsibility to maintain scientific integrity.
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Many of these unlawful and unauthorized shipments were explicitly tagged for compounding, according to a new analysis. Separately, a group of state attorneys general has raised concerns about the unsafe GLP-1 drugs finding their way to American consumers.
Despite the regulatory setback, analysts appear optimistic, noting that Harmony’s long-term prospects remain bright given the development of its high-dose formulation of its sleep-regulating drug Wakix.
The FDA is mired in uncertainty with some staffers losing their jobs over the weekend and more potentially to come, vaccines and psychedelic therapies could be facing very different futures under newly confirmed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Moderna continues its downward revenue slide and Merck, Regeneron, BMS and more face strong patent headwinds.
The approvals come as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who has been critical of vaccines—takes leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Ono picked up Romvimza—previously known by its active ingredient vimseltinib—from its $2.4 billion acquisition of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals in April 2024.
Merilog’s approval comes as the insulin space has over the past year suffered several setbacks, including strong calls for price caps and, potentially, the rise of the mammoth GLP-1 market.
Evrysdi is the first, and so far only, noninvasive disease-modifying treatment for spinal muscular atrophy.
Leaked data showed that Pfizer’s mevrometostat has strong therapeutic potential in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, while recent readouts also position the pharma as a strong contender in colorectal cancer and bladder cancer.
The approval comes days after Germany’s Merck KGaA confirmed it was in advanced talks to acquire SpringWorks.
Compounding pharmacies aren’t the only makers of off-brand versions of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. The situation is causing the FDA regulatory headaches and, more seriously, posing potential risks to the public.