Recon: Moderna taps Baxter to fill 60-90M vaccine doses; NHS strikes deal for Novartis’ Zolgensma

• Roche joins AstraZeneca in ditching bladder cancer indication for immunotherapies (Reuters) (Endpoints) (Press)
• Moderna taps Baxter to support fill and finish of 60-90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses (Reuters)
• Government Scientists Skeptical of One-Shot Regimen for Pfizer, Moderna Vaccines (WSJ) (Reuters)
• Merck says study shows COVID-19 drug causes quick reduction in virus (Reuters) (WSJ)
• Biden team plots the country’s first national Covid testing strategy (Politico)
• CDC releases guidelines for vaccinated people after delay (Politico) (STAT)
• Stimulus bill packs a windfall for FDA and Covid-19 drug, vaccine developers (Endpoints)
• How One Firm Put an ‘Extraordinary Burden’ on the US’s Troubled Stockpile (NYTimes)
• Landmark NY Opioid Trial Delayed Amid Virus Concerns (Law360)

• EU regulator urges caution on Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine (Reuters)
• EU turns to US in scramble for Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (FT) (Reuters)
• Novartis and NHS England reach ‘landmark’ deal for Zolgensma gene therapy for SMA (PMLive) (CNBC) (The Guardian) (NHS)
• Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine Startup in Conflict With University Ahead of Planned IPO (WSJ) (FT)
• Johnson & Johnson loses court appeal over pelvic mesh negligence (The Guardian)
• From Pfizer to Moderna: who's making billions from Covid-19 vaccines? (The Guardian)
• Pharma groups spend billions to tap into booming China healthcare (FT)

• US says Russian-backed outlets spread COVID-19 vaccine 'disinformation' (Reuters)
• FDA Issues Authorization for First Molecular Non-Prescription, At-Home Test (FDA)
• FDA Authorizes Adaptive Biotechnologies T-Detect COVID Test (FDA)
• Abbott scores testing green lights for symptomless COVID-19 cases, plus flu, RSV (Fierce)
• Austria suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after death (Reuters)
• Serum Institute seeks government's intervention over import of Covid vaccine raw material from US (Economic Times)
• French 'HAS' regulator: J&J COVID vaccine could be approved in France by end of this week (Reuters)
• New Zealand to buy enough Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for entire population (Reuters)
• Japan COVID-19 inoculations off to snail pace start due to vaccine, syringe shortages (Reuters)
• India seeks funds from Quad alliance to match China's vaccine push: source (Reuters)
• Italy approves AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for over 65s: health ministry (Reuters)
• Moderna reaches supply deal with Philippines for 13 million vaccine doses (Reuters)
• Indonesia gets 1.1 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses via COVAX (Reuters)
• South Korea finds no link found between deaths and coronavirus vaccine (Reuters)
• CytoDyn’s wild weekend of data-mining study results ends in failure for its Covid treatment (STAT) (Endpoints)

• Beyond immune checkpoint blockade: emerging immunological strategies (Nature)
• Countering payers, drugmakers say net prices declined in 2020 (BioPharmaDive)
• Gilead's CAR-T med Yescarta gets a leg up on Novartis rival with FDA nod in follicular lymphoma (Fierce)
• Pregnant Women In Clinical Trials: Investigators Should Justify Exclusion, NIH Official Says (Pink Sheet)
• How might pharma buddy up with Alexa? Bayer Consumer's first interactive voice ad is food for thought (Fierce)
• Biotech IPO market looks to ramp back up as BMS partner Ikena and its immunometabolism therapies eye public offering (Endpoints)
• AnaptysBio takes a beating as its lead drug fails its first PhII test. And 5 more trials are nearing a readout (Endpoints)
• Further setting the stage for going public, Vivek Ramaswamy’s Roivant readies a deal to buy up a Vant’s stock — cheap (Endpoints)
• Argenx’s Autoimmune Disease Blockbuster-In-Waiting Gets FDA Decision Date (Scrip)
• Jazz CEO Bruce Cozadd campaigned for 6 months to buy GW Pharma. A 90% premium sealed the deal — along with $17.6M in ‘retention’ incentives (Endpoints)
• As viral vector demand surges, fledgling CDMO Matica establishes a beachhead in Texas (Fierce)
• AI uncovers Eli Lilly's rheumatoid arthritis drug Olumiant as potential Alzheimer's treatment (Fierce)
• Seres stops microbiome cancer trial, deprioritizes drug as COVID-19 throttles enrollment (Fierce)
• Gilead’s HIV therapy Biktarvy demonstrates long-term sustained efficacy (PharmaTimes) (Endpoints)
• ViiV presents positive long-term data for combined HIV treatment (Pharmafile)
• FDA grants Priority Review to Korsuva for CKD-associated pruritis (Pharmafile)
• Imfinzi, 2 Other Drugs under PMDA Safety Review (PharmaJapan)
• Inside the fall of Watson Health: How IBM’s audacious plan to ‘change the face of health care’ with AI fell apart (STAT)

• Insulin pump adoption seen climbing 21% in 2021 on wearables boom: survey (MedtechDive)
• Harmonization Of The EU Regulatory Compliance Role: Many PRRC Issues To Be Clarified (MedtechInsight)
• FDA clears ControlRad tech for reducing cath lab radiation exposure by 85% (Fierce)
• Q&A: New Standard For Device Irritation Nudges Industry Away From Animal Testing – And Toward Tests On Lab-Made Human Skin (MedtechInsight)

• Lawmakers rail against huge tax breaks drug wholesalers get from opioid settlement (STAT)
• Opioid Litigation Is Prying Open Vaults Of Big Pharma Secrets (Law360)
• Critical Supply Chains and the FDA (Alliance for a Stronger FDA)
• How Drug Cos. Can Adapt To New Reference Pricing Rules (Law360)
• FDA looks to reduce toxic elements in baby food, boost inspections (Reuters)
• Generic Drug Claims Chopped Up With Great Efficiency (Drug & Device Law)
• Medical Marijuana Is Not Regulated as Most Medicines Are (NYTimes)