Government
The selection of controversial TV personality Mehmet Oz to run the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid follows Trump’s pick of RFK Jr. to run its parent department, HHS.
Trump’s HHS pick, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is an anti-vaccine campaigner who has previously said that he plans to gut the FDA on allegations of corruption and reduce the NIH’s headcount.
GSK’s departure comes as the industry anticipates the incoming Trump administration and as it continues to grapple with the threat of the BIOSECURE Act and losses of legal challenges to the IRA’s drug price negotiation program.
While it remains unclear why AstraZeneca China President Leon Wang has been detained, news of his arrest comes just days after it was reported that he was under investigation for alleged medical insurance fraud in the country.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Etzer Darout in a note to investors said the insurance fraud probe represents a “headline risk” to AstraZeneca, but contends that the share selloff is “overdone” and likely a knee-jerk reaction by investors.
The Big Pharma companies made a last-ditch effort asking a U.S. appeals court to reconsider their lawsuits against the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare drug price negotiations, which they contend infringe on their constitutional rights.
While some analysts say Donald Trump is a wild card when it comes to drug pricing, many argue his presidency would be more positive for the industry overall, as Kamala Harris has her price-cutting sights squarely on Big Pharma.
The CDC’s vaccine advisors on Thursday maintained that respiratory syncytial virus immunization is only recommended for adults aged 75 and older, and in seniors 60 to 74 years who are at risk of severe disease.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday backed the use of Merck’s Capvaxive and Pfizer’s Prevnar 20 in adults between 50-64 years of age, opening a bigger market for the respective companies.
With Friday’s ruling by New Jersey District Judge Zahid Quraishi, Novartis joins a growing list of pharmaceutical companies that have failed in their legal challenges to the Inflation Reduction Act.
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