Recon: CDC approves new COVID vaccine recommendations; AstraZeneca licenses Algen AI gene-editing platform for $555M

• CDC approves updated Covid-19, chickenpox vaccine recommendations (STAT) (Reuters)
• Acting CDC director O'Neill calls on vaccine makers to separate combined MMR shot (Reuters)
• Trump administration delays effort to address Medicare drug price negotiation loophole (STAT)
• FDA to rework 'CERSI' university collaborations, will make funding changes (Endpoints)
• FDA launches pilot program to improve US generic drug manufacturing (Endpoints)
• Measles-free status in jeopardy in the Americas as outbreaks continue (Reuters)
• Kennedy push for autism drug gets a boost from pharma (Reuters)
• Johnson: ACA subsidy deadline an ‘eternity’ away (The Hill)
• Carve Away: D.C. Circuit Keeping the “Chubby Label” Carve-Out Alive (FDA Law Blog)
• US Supreme Court will not hear Purdue appeal in OxyContin patent case (Reuters)

• AstraZeneca signs up to $555 million AI deal with Algen to develop therapies (Reuters)
• With much to win (or lose), drugmakers and European officials bear down on major policy overhaul (STAT)
• Keeping it simple: Chen Yu steers into round three with $1.3B biotech fund (Endpoints)
• Cell therapy CDMO Mytos unveils its first facility in the UK (Endpoints)
• WHO estimates at least 15 million teenagers use e-cigarettes worldwide (Reuters)
• ‘We Are Not The Dark Side Of The Force’ – EU Regulator Urges ATMP Firms To Use Advice Services (Pink Sheet)
• Germany: Newly Adopted Contractual Clauses To Reshape Clinical Trial Negotiations (Pink Sheet)

• Amgen says its cholesterol shot prevented heart problems in a broad population (STAT)
• Skye’s obesity drug fails in mid-stage study (STAT)
• 2025 Nobel Prize in medicine goes to Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for immune system discoveries (STAT) (Endpoints)
• Abivax releases more data from major Phase 3 wins in ulcerative colitis (Endpoints)
• Metsera got less than it wanted from Pfizer in long-awaited obesity biotech acquisition (Endpoints)

• From erectile dysfunction to weight loss, how telehealth got hooked on drug-first thinking (STAT)
• Coverage for telemedicine has ended abruptly. For my patients and me, it’s a disaster (STAT)
• Mid-stage health tech startups struggling to raise, report finds (Endpoints)
• Revvity, Sanofi team on early Type 1 detection; Kihealth raises funds for diabetes test rollout (MedTech Dive)
• Biolinq Aims To ‘Shine’ In Early 2026 With Needle-Free CGM US Debut, Human Data On Protein Sensor (MedTech Insight)

• More than 250 sick in German E. coli outbreak (Food Safety News)
• FDA increases import requirements on shrimp, spices from Indonesia because of radioactivity (Food Safety News)

• Onshoring could threaten the resilient supply chain for biosimilars and generics (STAT)
• Morgan ‘Dr. Noc’ McSweeney’s advice on becoming a science-based social media influencer (STAT)
• Colorado board makes first-in-the-nation move by setting a payment limit on an Amgen drug (STAT)
• How this week’s Supreme Court case on conversion therapy could impact the regulation of medicine (STAT)
• The NIH ordered me to stop my ‘dangerous’ gain-of-function research. It isn’t dangerous at all (STAT)
• She’s leading NIH’s push to reduce the use of animals in biomedical research (STAT)
• As NIH launches new autism research effort, the focus is on environmental factors (STAT)
• These Trump voters are wary of COVID shots, but don't want RFK to restrict other vaccines (Reuters)