Policy

With the recently announced layoffs of 3,500 FDA staffers and exits of branch directors Patrizia Cavazzoni and Peter Marks, there could be a wealth of talent available to biopharma companies. Does this pose an ethical quandary? It depends on who you ask.

Nearly two dozen states on Tuesday sued the Department of Health and Human Services over a planned $11 billion funding cut for public health projects while New Jersey Senator Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours in protest of Trump administration policies.

Biopharma leaders react to the forced resignation of CBER Head Peter Marks as RFK Jr.’s promised job cuts begin at the FDA; Novo Nordisk presents mixed results from oral semaglutide in cardiovascular disease; the EU’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use declines to recommend Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug; and pharma R&D returns grew in 2024.

Already reeling from years of market chaos, the announced departure of CBER chief Peter Marks sent a ripple across biopharma markets.

The latest cuts, which are part of a larger reduction of 10,000 at the Department of Health and Human Services, were reportedly underway Tuesday, with CDER Office of New Drugs Director Peter Stein added to the list of casualties.

The stock market—and biotech insiders—reacted negatively to the allegedly forced resignation of CBER Director Peter Marks, who said RFK Jr. does not seek “truth and transparency” but rather “subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

President Donald Trump continues to warn of tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry; Susan Monarez replaces Dave Weldon as CDC director nominee; Novo Nordisk joins the triple-G race; Alnylam wins approval for Amvuttra in ATTR-CM; and Cassava Sciences ends development of simufilam in Alzheimer’s.

The investments come amid an ongoing insurance fraud probe into AstraZeneca’s former China head Leon Wang—and despite mounting pressure from President Trump for pharma companies to re-shore their manufacturing operations.

Johnson & Johnson follows Eli Lilly in spending billions on U.S. manufacturing after President Donald Trump threatened major tariffs on pharmaceutical products. Pfizer has also promised a similar commitment.

The CDC budget cuts could pose headwinds for HIV drugmakers like Gilead and Merck but are unlikely to severely cripple their HIV divisions, according to analysts.