Recon: Germany’s Merck in talks to acquire SpringWorks; Judge orders FDA, CDC to restore deleted portions websites

• Trump administration ordered to restore removed CDC and FDA websites (Reuters)
• Halt on Trump administration’s cuts to NIH research payments expanded nationwide (STAT)
• Key GOP senators push back against NIH funding cuts (STAT)
• How RFK Jr. could revive a dormant task force to scrutinize vaccine safety (STAT)
• CVS Health's turnaround efforts in focus amid record-high medical costs (Reuters)
• Insurer Humana forecasts 2025 profit below estimates, expects drop in membership (Reuters)
• FDA Appears to Be Granting Zombie Rare Pediatric Disease Designations Waiting for the Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program to be Revived (FDA Law Blog)

• Germany's Merck in advanced talks to acquire US biotech firm SpringWorks (Reuters)
• Number of confirmed Ebola cases in Uganda rises to nine (Reuters)
• Updated EU Guidance Reinforces How Notified Bodies Should Use Existing Evidence (MedTech Insight)
• Balancing Competitiveness and Sustainability In EU Regulations, What’s Next For Pharma (Pink Sheet)
• Depemokimab & Tzield Among 10 New EU Filings (Pink Sheet)

• How the ‘amyloid mafia’ took over Alzheimer’s research (STAT)
• Vertex pain pill dominates earnings call discussion (STAT)
• Novartis returns for its anticoagulant in up to $3.1B buy of Blackstone’s Anthos (Endpoints)
• Inventiva cuts pipeline, lays off nearly entire research team in bid to get to Phase 3 MASH readout (Endpoints)
• IN8bio’s Phase 1 AML data; Layoffs at Q32 Bio and Third Harmonic (Endpoints)
• Pfizer’s prostate cancer data leak shows promising results in early-stage study (Endpoints)
• Vertex operations chief Stuart Arbuckle to retire (Endpoints)
• Eli Lilly inks $630M deal for Phase 1 MASH candidate (Endpoints)
• Bayer brings heart health message to Super Bowl, warning millennials to open their eyes to risks (Fierce Pharma)
• Pfizer wins 2025 Super Bowl with ad's 'likeability,' while Hims & Hers' spot takes engagement crown: analysts (Fierce Pharma)
• Explainer: The Thriving Shadow Market of GLP-1s for Weight Loss (BioSpace)

• Former FDA head Gottlieb calls for less regulation of certain AI tools (MedTech Dive)
• Meta Rally Makes History as It Goes on Offensive With AI (Bloomberg)
• Navigating the Unknown: EU HTA Regulation’s Impact on Commercial Confidentiality (Pink Sheet)
• Vance Warns U.S. Allies to Keep AI Regulation Light (The Wall Street Journal)

• Mass General Brigham announces largest layoff in its history amid ongoing restructuring (STAT)
• A check-in on health insurers’ medical costs, and more babies are being born (STAT)
• Stopgap measures against H5N1 bird flu can only go so far (STAT)
• Trump’s tariff impact likely ‘minimal’ for brand-name drugmakers, manufacturing partners (Endpoints)