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This Week

Jun 27, 2025

FDA's acting CDER head Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay heads for the exit amid period of heavy turnover: reports

FDA blocks new clinical trials that ship cells from US to China

CDC immunization advisory panel endorses Merck's new RSV shot, but not without dissent

Kymera suffers Sanofi setback but secures $750M Gilead deal

Bayer-owned BlueRock lays off 50 employees, shutters Cambridge research labs

GSK, Bharat Biotech to slash the price of first malaria vaccine to less than $5 per dose by 2028

Illumina picks up proteomics developer SomaLogic from Standard BioTools for $425M

Featured

FDA's acting CDER head Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay heads for the exit amid period of heavy turnover: reports

By Eric Sagonowsky

Only a few days after reports emerged that the director of the FDA's cell and gene therapy office had been abruptly put on administrative leave, a new departure shows an intense period of leadership turnover at the agency isn't over.

FDA blocks new clinical trials that ship cells from US to China

By Nick Paul Taylor

The FDA has stopped new clinical trials that export American citizens’ living cells from the U.S. to “China and other hostile countries for genetic engineering and subsequent infusion” back into American patients.

CDC immunization advisory panel endorses Merck's new RSV shot, but not without dissent

By Kevin Dunleavy

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has blessed Merck’s new respiratory syncytial virus shot Enflonsia, but the decision was hardly resounding from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly formed panel of advisors.

Kymera suffers Sanofi setback but secures $750M Gilead deal

By Nick Paul Taylor

Kymera Therapeutics sweetened news of a setback Wednesday, revealing that Sanofi is pulling back from its lead IRAK4 degrader alongside details of the selection of a follow-up prospect and a $750 million deal with Gilead.

Bayer-owned BlueRock lays off 50 employees, shutters Cambridge research labs

By James Waldron

Bayer-owned BlueRock Therapeutics is laying off 50 employees and shuttering its research labs in Cambridge, Mass., in order to focus its resources on its priority cell therapies, a spokesperson said.

GSK, Bharat Biotech to slash the price of first malaria vaccine to less than $5 per dose by 2028

By Zoey Becker

The commitment is part of a wider pledge to international vaccine alliance Gavi’s upcoming replenishment phase for 2026 through 2030.

Humor in drug ads? Biogen, 21Grams make it work with gold-winning campaign at Cannes Pharma Lions

By Zoey Becker

The company and ad agency 21Grams explained how to approach comedy in drug advertising during a session at this year’s Cannes Lions festival called "Laughing at Doom: Using Humor to Talk about Illness/Hellscapes."

Illumina picks up proteomics developer SomaLogic from Standard BioTools for $425M

By Conor Hale

Illumina is diving deeper into proteomics research with a $425 million plan to acquire SomaLogic, including its protein analysis platforms and certified lab services business.

Arialys' precision therapy shows promise in rare encephalitis disorder and beyond

By Kevin Dunleavy

Arialys has created a first-in-class precision medicine that is showing potential to become the first therapy to address the underlying cause of a rare brain disorder.

Automation, robots and local talent guide the way at Lilly's new $2B-plus North Carolina injectables plant

By Fraiser Kansteiner

For Lilly, building a new parenteral products and devices facility in the city of Concord was a natural evolution following the decision to throw down $470 million on a similar injectables plant at North Carolina’s famed Research Triangle Park.

Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

AbbVie, ADCs and the future of cancer care

This week on "The Top Line," AbbVie’s Daejin Abidoye, M.D., joins us to discuss the future of antibody drug conjugates.

Inside Fierce Medtech's Fierce 15

Hype and hope for AI in rural healthcare

A bold bet on sharing real-time patient data

Resources

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