Recon: House Democrats question RFK Jr. over health agency firings; EMA reaffirms positive recommendation for Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi

• US health agency now says employees must respond to DOGE email (Reuters)
• Former director Francis Collins retires from NIH, urging ‘respect’ for embattled workers (STAT)
• Medicare and Medicaid agency faces compromised functions and disruption from Trump’s firings (STAT)
• US House Democrats press Kennedy over health agency firings (Reuters)
• US Health Secretary Kennedy calls for end to deadly Texas measles outbreak (Reuters)
• At least seven drugmakers say they will participate in round two of IRA negotiations (Endpoints)
• Bipartisan 'pill penalty' fix and other bills vie for inclusion in reconciliation package (Endpoints)
• Sebela’s Miudella Is First Hormone-Free IUD To Win FDA Approval In 40 Years (MedTech Insight)
• US FDA issues labeling changes for testosterone products (Reuters)

• We tried to quantify the impact of abrupt PEPFAR cuts. The results startled even us (STAT)
• U.S. actions may set polio eradication back, WHO says (Reuters)
• EU regulator reiterates positive recommendation for Eisai-Biogen's Alzheimer's drug (Reuters)
• India's Sun Pharma aims to launch its obesity drug in five years, managing director says (Reuters)
• Uganda reports second Ebola death, a 4-year-old, WHO says (Reuters)
• ICER finds GSK inhalers offer advantages over generic competitors (Endpoints)
• CHMP recommends Regeneron, Novartis drugs that still await FDA approval (Endpoints)
• Prostate Cancer Research Urges UK To Implement Screening Program Without Delay (MedTech Insight)

• AbbVie steps into the obesity drug race, licensing medicine from Danish firm (STAT)
• After Phase 3 depression setback, Neumora pauses two trials to make changes, scraps another (Endpoints)
• ADCs from a decade-old Singapore biotech find new life with $187M (Endpoints)
• Lexicon plots Phase 3 trial for diabetic pain drug despite mid-stage flop (Endpoints)
• Novo Nordisk signs $354M partnership with AI-guided biotech for ‘risky’ new metabolic mechanisms (Endpoints)
• African drugmaker Aspen says new Latam and Eli Lilly portfolio boosting earnings (Reuters)
• Aspen Surges as It Sees Own Diabetes, Obesity Drug Sales by 2026 (Bloomberg)

• Illumina to lay off 96 San Diego employees (MedTech Dive)
• Medtronic partners with Brainomix on AI stroke tool (MedTech Dive)
• Court Decision On LDTs ‘Quite Realistic’ Before May Deadline, Says ACLA Attorney (MedTech Insight)
• Review: Oura’s Ring 4 Leads the Emerging Smart Ring Market (Bloomberg)

• DTC Advertising: Industry Learning To Live With US FDA’s Clear, Conspicuous And Neutral Rule (Pink Sheet)
• US FDA’s March Approval Candidates Take Aim At Established Markets (Pink Sheet)
• Sponsors Increasingly Happy With CBER Written Responses To Formal Meeting Requests (Pink Sheet)
• EU Urged To Prioritize Clinical Strategy Talks In Pre-Submission Process (MedTech Insight)
• EMA Makes It Easier To Discover Ongoing Studies With New Clinical Trials Map (Pink Sheet)