Recon: Lilly to acquire Verve in potential $1.3B deal; RFK Jr. eyes crackdown on drug ads

• Eli Lilly to buy gene-editing biotech Verve for up to $1.3 billion (STAT)
• Purdue opioid settlement gets backing from 55 attorneys general (Endpoints)
• What's coming in five years? FDA chief points to universal flu vaccine, new approval pathway (Endpoints)
• US CDC official in charge of COVID, RSV data resigns ahead of vaccine meeting (Reuters)
• FDA Announces New Vouchers to Cut Drug Reviews to Two Months (Bloomberg)
• Orphan Cures Act dropped from Senate reconciliation bill (Fierce Pharma)
• RFK Jr. Plans Crackdown on Pharma Ads in Threat to $10 Billion Market (Bloomberg)

• China, where obesity levels are low, becomes hotbed for weight loss drug trials (STAT)
• MHRA’s Tallon Hails PMS Regulation As Start Of UK Device Framework Transformation (MedTech Insight)
• EU Decision Time For Madrigal’s MASH Drug Resmetirom And 11 Others (Pink Sheet)
• Kisunla Back In The Spotlight As EMA Reconsiders Alzheimer’s Drug Rejection (Pink Sheet)
• Canada Joins Global Push To Drop Costly Clinical Trials For Biosimilars (Pink Sheet)
• Alzheimer’s Drug Leqembi May Be On Course To India, Kisunla In The Wings (Pink Sheet)

• Isomorphic Labs sets up U.S. presence, with an eye on clinical trials (STAT)
• Obesity drugs don’t just offer weight loss. They give patients agency (STAT)
• Mineralys gets a mid-stage win in hypertension patients with poor renal function (Endpoints)
• Dyne pivots on primary endpoint, delays filing for DM1 drug (Endpoints)
• Immuneering says MEK pill beats standard of care in first-line pancreatic cancer (Endpoints)
• Blistering Rally in Herbal Medicine Stock Mints $26 Billion Fortune (Bloomberg)

• Could the FDA take an indirect approach to regulate LDTs? (MedTech Dive)
• SS Innovations’ robot used in its 1st cardiac surgery in Americas (MedTech Dive)
• Zyno recalls infusion pumps over unvalidated software (MedTech Dive)
• Philips Deals Itself A Strong Hand In POCUS Stakes (MedTech Insight)
• Liquid Biopsy Startup Mursla Bio Launches AI Precision Medicine Platform (MedTech Insight)
• Harbinger Health Showcases Two-Tiered MCED Test With Strong Specificity And Per-Cancer Accuracy (MedTech Insight)

• Kraft Heinz to stop launching new products with artificial colors (Reuters)
• White House health efforts need farm industry input, over 250 agriculture groups say (Reuters)
• Turning Resistance into Opportunity: Motiving Change in the Food Industry (Food Safety)

• Doctors lose Medicare pay bump in Senate version of tax bill (STAT)
• Senate GOP proposes steeper cuts to Medicaid funding in tax cut bill (STAT)
• To boost Medicare Advantage profitability, Humana turns to old tactic: the annual wellness visit (STAT)
• Private equity firm will finance Harvard research lab, in possible template for future (STAT)
• Fresenius Medical Care's 2030 targets underwhelm market (Reuters)
• Surgery Partners rejects Bain Capital's take-private offer (Reuters)
• Ascension Health Expands Reach With $3.9 Billion AmSurg Deal (Bloomberg)