Recon: Emergent execs face grilling on the Hill; Bristol-Myers enters $1.2B AI pact

• Emergent was aware of vaccine manufacturing issues even as it collected $27 million a month from US (STAT) (The Hill) (Politico) (CNBC) (Washington Post)
• Troubled Vaccine Maker and Its Founder Gave $2 Million in Political Donations (NYTimes 1, 2)
• Bristol-Myers pays up to $1.2bn to enter artificial-intelligence pact (FT) (Endpoints)
• Democrats call on FTC to investigate AbbVie’s Humira pricing strategy (STAT) (BioPharmaDive) (The Hill)
• HHS cracks down on AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi for limiting access to discounted drugs under the 340B program (Endpoints)
• Sarepta touts clean data for commercial grade Duchenne gene therapy, clearing key hurdle to PhIII (Endpoints) (BioPharmaDive) (Press)
• US will donate substantial portion of vaccines through COVAX -US official (Reuters)
• CDC says 600,000 kids ages 12 to 15 have received Covid vaccine shots in last week (CNBC)
• Top FDA official says fully vaccinated people could need Covid booster shots within a year (CNBC)

• UK increasingly confident that vaccines work against Indian variant (Reuters)
• Pfizer to produce COVID-19 vaccine component in Ireland (Reuters)
• Under pressure EU presents WTO plan to boost vaccine output (Reuters) (FT)
• UAE, Bahrain to offer Sinopharm COVID-19 booster shots (Reuters)
• GAVI hopeful COVID-19 vaccine exports from India can resume in Q3 (Reuters)
• ‘Slavery’ found at a Malaysian glove factory. Why didn’t the auditor see it? (Reuters)

• China cuts COVID-19 vaccine ingredient shipment to Brazil (Reuters)
• DOJ, HHS Watchdog Warn COVID Vaccines Must Be Free (Law360)
• Spain approves Pfizer shots for under-60s who got AstraZeneca first dose -El Pais (Reuters)
• BerGenBio fails COVID-19 trial, makes post hoc case for program (Fierce)
• Indian vaccine maker extends freeze on export of Covid jabs (FT)
• Dr Reddy's in talks with RDIF on Sputnik V for other countries (Economic Times)
• Covaxin trials in children between 2-18 years to begin in 10-12 Days: Govt (Economic Times)
• India's Biological E. to produce Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine (Economic Times)

• Biopharma R&D 'surged' in 2020, but trial productivity levels a mixed bag: report (Fierce)
• Your money or else: Some drug makers could be ‘highly’ susceptible to ransomware attacks (STAT)
• Lilly and Innovent look to bring their anti-PD-1 from China to the US; Merck KGaA names new EMD Serono president (Endpoints)
• Pediatric Cancer Dataset Gaps, FDA ‘High Bar’ Make Use Of External Control Arms Difficult (Pink Sheet)
• Cures 2.0 Leaders Sees Biden ‘Advanced Research’ Project As Ticket To Bill’s Success (Pink Sheet)
• Janssen inks inflammatory disease collaboration with Mestag Therapeutics (PharmaTimes)
• Decades after a tragic failure, gene therapy successfully treats a rare liver disease (Science)
• Drug Pricing Shake Up Likely In Germany (Pink Sheet)
• Companies Brace For ‘Oral Explanations’ On EU Filings (Pink Sheet)
• Fujifilm, BlueRock Form Strategic Alliance to Develop iPSC Therapies for Ocular Diseases (PharmaJapan)
• Legacies: 60 biopharma pioneers over 60 who helped birth a tech revolution in the making (Endpoints)
• CMC holdup delays Iovance filing again — to 2022 — as FDA seeks more assay data for TIL therapy (Endpoints)
• Months after Novartis buyout, the old Vedere Bio team is back at it with a new pipeline and a fresh $77M (Endpoints)
• Novartis loses another NIBR exec as neuro expert Shanker joins a gene therapy biotech (Fierce)
• There’s a new team occupying the executive suite at Merck. And they’ve got a new game plan (Endpoints)
• Acceleron uncorks more mid-stage data for PAH drug sotatercept as part of the drug's resurrection campaign (Endpoints)
• Looking to reshape the metastatic cancer landscape, HiberCell fills the tank with a slate of mid-stage tests queued up (Endpoints)
• Thermo Fisher partners with UCSF to provide a one-stop shop for early biotech manufacturing (Endpoints)
• Advances in targeting ‘undruggable’ transcription factors with small molecules (Nature)

• US panel trims colorectal cancer screening age, opens door to annual Cologuard use (MedtechDive)
• BD blueprints $200M delivery device plant in Spain, plans to add 600 jobs by 2030 (Fierce)
• Laser-sensor startup Atonarp nets $50M to chase chemistry-free point-of-care diagnostics (Fierce)
• Ascensia unveils online platform that connects to glucose meters for diabetes management, analytics (Fierce)
• PathAI finds its way to $165M series C for diagnostic and drug development software (Fierce)
• New Thai medical device regulations increase technical data requirements (Emergo)
• Rand Paul Reintroduces Bill Aimed at Blocking FDA Regulation of LDTs (360dx)

• Bayer seeks approval of $2 bln plan to limit Roundup claims (Reuters)
• Takeda Unit Inks Deal To End IP Suit After Bayer's $173M Win (Law360)
• Opening Args In NY Opioid Trial Set For End Of June (Law360)