RFK Jr. adviser Calley Means and Kennedy’s son Finn attended the Enhanced Games, the pro-doping athletic competition and biohacking extravaganza that took place over the weekend in Las Vegas, according to The Washington Post. Send news tips and personal bests to John.Wilkerson@statnews.com or John_Wilkerson.07 on Signal.
Ripple effects
For weeks, Republicans have been preoccupied with an immigration funding bill that they’re pushing through Congress, without support from Democrats. I’ve not been writing about that bill because it doesn’t include health care policies. But it’s now becoming relevant to health care, albeit indirectly.
Early last week, Republicans were expected to pass that budget reconciliation bill without much friction. By the end of the week, Senate Republicans adjourned for a week-long recess without voting on it due to an impasse over a new $1.8 billion settlement fund for Trump’s allies. They’d also butted heads with the president over his demands for $1 billion for a White House complex and ballroom.
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Hi! Hope you had a nice extended weekend.
Today: Eli Lilly’s gene-editing data seems promising for high cholesterol, an AI drug discovery CEO dispelled some AI drug discovery hype, and the new interim FDA chief is so far well received.
Rise and shine, everyone, another busy day is on the way. And it is getting off to a good start here on the Pharmalot campus, where we have clear blue skies and chilly breezes greeting us today. Who could ask for anything more? Actually, we could — it is time to reheat the coffee kettle for another cup of stimulation. Our choice today is strawberry creme, a pantry favorite. Please feel free to join us. Remember, no prescription is required and no rebates are involved. And now, here are your tidbits. Hope you have a productive and meaningful day, and, as always, please do keep in touch. We have adjusted our settings to accept postcards and telegrams. …
Eli Lilly reported that a high dose of its gene-editing therapy reduced cholesterol levels by 62% in participants in a Phase 1 clinical trial, an early but encouraging test of whether a one-time treatment may one day help people seeking to lower their LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol, STAT writes. Lilly acquired the therapy in its $1 billion buyout of Verve Therapeutics last year. There were no treatment-related serious adverse events in the study, a notable finding given that Verve had to shelve its first candidate over safety concerns. Lilly now plans to begin a Phase 2 trial in an unspecified number of patients and will likely need to then run Phase 3 trials in thousands of patients for the treatment to earn approval.
Eli Lilly agreed to buy three early- and mid-stage vaccine developers in deals that could cost up to nearly $4 billion, STAT notes. The drugmaker, which is rich with cash from its booming GLP-1 business, in recent months has picked up companies working on cancer, autoimmune diseases, and sleep disorders, all for under $10 billion each. The new acquisitions — Curevo, LimmaTech Biologics, and Vaccine Company — will give Lilly a much larger footprint in infectious diseases, an area that has not recently been a priority for the company. Lilly framed the move as one that fit with a broader focus on preventing serious health problems.
Eli Lilly said Tuesday it would buy three early- and mid-stage vaccine developers, a boost for the field.
The deals — which together could cost up to nearly $4 billion — are the latest acquisitions from Lilly, a company rich with cash from its booming GLP-1 business. In recent months, it’s picked up companies working on cancer, autoimmune diseases, and sleep disorders, all for under $10 billion each.
The companies being bought are Curevo, LimmaTech Biologics, and Vaccine Company.
WASHINGTON — People in the food world didn’t know what to expect when the Trump administration appointed a little-known Florida attorney as the FDA’s top food official in 2025.
They knew Kyle Diamantas worked at Jones Day representing food, beverage, and tobacco-industry clients. They saw the picture of him and Donald Trump Jr. holding giant, dead wild turkeys after a hunt. He had no experience in public health, in medicine or science, or in government.
The credentials didn’t scream qualified. And Diamantas was stepping into a center rocked by DOGE layoffs and a defiant resignation by former leader Jim Jones.
Sen. John Cornyn: How many patents do you [have?] AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez: … A hundred and thirty-six patents. Cornyn: A hundred and thirty-six patents on one drug? Gonzalez: But, well, remember, Humira is like nine different drugs, or 10 different drugs. So — Cornyn: I thought you said to Sen. [Debbie] Stabenow it was the same molecule. Gonzalez: It is the same molecule, but it treats different conditions. And if you look at that patent portfolio — Cornyn: So you use the same molecule to treat different conditions and you can get a patent on that treatment? Gonzalez: Certainly.
The above exchange comes from a 2019 congressional hearing. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, was asking AbbVie’s CEO, Richard Gonzalez, to explain to the Senate Committee on Finance how his company had amassed so many patents on this single drug called Humira. Gonzalez, who was no stranger to controversy, chose to respond by likening it to multiple drugs. After AbbVie had received the first regulatory approval for Humira to treat rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that causes inflammation of the joints, it thought the drug might also work on inflammatory bowel disease. In fact, AbbVie would eventually test, obtain patents for, and get FDA approval of the drug for several inflammation-related conditions. For Gonzalez, the 136 patents AbbVie had accumulated up until that point were justified. They were “innovations they had created,” he said. This would mean another 18 years of patent protection beyond the expiry of Humira’s original patent in 2016.
Eli Lilly said Monday that a high dose of its gene-editing therapy reduced cholesterol levels by 62% in participants in a clinical trial, an early but encouraging test of whether a one-time treatment may one day help people seeking to lower their LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol.
Lilly acquired the therapy, VERVE-102, in its $1 billion buyout of Verve Therapeutics last year. Executives tout it as a potential treatment to broadly prevent heart disease, the world’s leading killer, as many patients struggle to stay on existing, more conventional medicines for reducing cholesterol levels.
There were no treatment-related serious adverse events in the Phase 1 study — a notable finding, given that Verve had to shelve its first candidate due to safety concerns.
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Merck’s bet on an antibody-drug conjugate developed in China has paid off in a major Phase 3 lung cancer study, where sacituzumab tirumotecan paired with Keytruda sharply outperformed Keytruda alone in a subset of lung cancer patients.
Also, the NIH is down another leader, and Sam Altman-backed longevity startup Retro Biosciences raises more funds.
And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda is unusually busy thanks to a lengthy to-do list that must be tackled before we walk one of the no-longer-so-short people down the aisle. What else? Hard to keep track, but once the chaos subsides, we hope to settle in for another listening party, where the rotation will likely include this, this, this, this and this. And what about you? Spring is in the air, so perhaps this is time to hike a trail, stroll through a park, or take a long drive to nowhere. You could also plan a summer getaway (book now before those fuel costs rise again) or clear out the perennial clutter. If all this is too much or the weather fails to cooperate, you could simply go into zen mode and plan the rest of your life. Well, whatever you do, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy, and see you on Tuesday, since there is a long weekend due to a holiday on this side of the pond. …
Biogen and Denali Therapeutics said Thursday that their experimental therapy for Parkinson’s disease failed to slow the degenerative brain disorder in a randomized trial, dealing a substantial blow to a scientific approach that stoked excitement among advocates and academics, STAT explains. In the study, 648 adults with Parkinson’s were randomized to receive either a placebo or a pill targeting a protein called LRRK2. In 2004, researchers discovered that mutations in the LRRK2 gene can cause a rare, inherited form of Parkinson’s. And in 2018, another group of scientists showed that blocking the protein might actually benefit all patients with the disease. The results are a significant setback to the latter idea.
Earlier this month, Genentech offered countless academics and other researchers up to $125,000 in grants to generate papers about several topics that read like key talking points for a trip to Capitol Hill,STAT reports. The company is seeking “rigorous, independent” work that focuses on the potential consequences of U.S. pricing policies on future innovation, the idea that pharmaceutical discovery is a strategic national asset, and the risks surrounding R&D, according to a request for proposals that came with a June 30 deadline for submissions. Such overtures are hardly new, but this particular solicitation appears notable partly because the company is being very direct about seeking research that is designed to address specific points, rather than solicit topics that may — or may not — dovetail with corporate goals.
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