Recon: Novo to purchase Akero for up to $5.2B; Indian police make arrest in cough syrup deaths case

• The limits of FDA flexibility are tested as a controversial Biohaven drug decision nears (STAT)
• Trump Excludes Generics From Big Pharma Tariff Plan (The Wall Street Journal)
• Updated COVID shot led to less severe illness, fewer hospitalizations last year, US study finds (Reuters)
• Key US vaccine panel meeting delayed, agenda unclear (Reuters)
• US Shutdown Drags On With Republicans and Democrats Trading Blame (Bloomberg)
• Five Questions for Ex-NIH Official Who Says RFK Jr. Tried to Censor Him (Bloomberg)

• Indian police arrest owner of cough syrup company linked to deaths of 19 children (Reuters)
• In China, a low-cost push to rival a life-saving, $2M medicine (Endpoints)
• Novo Nordisk to Acquire Akero Therapeutics for Up to $5.2B (WSJ) (STAT) (Reuters)
• Akero CEO is named chair of Expedition, which raised $165M for COPD drug from China (Endpoints)
• Finnish researchers report success in mid-stage study of heart disease gene therapy (Endpoints)
• Pakistan’s Ijara Buys Sindlab, Expands Health Care Business (Bloomberg)

• Parents of children with rare diseases ask: How long until our CRISPR miracle? (STAT)
• Novo CEO Says Risk-Taking, Deals Are Needed to Win Obesity Race (Bloomberg)
• Pharma’s shift away from infectious disease research could spell disaster for the world’s poorest people (STAT)
• Startups supporting Parkinson’s care pick up new investments and key hospital partnerships (STAT)
• Monopar resurrects a shelved Wilson disease drug. Spotting a possible math problem helped (STAT)
• Expedition Therapeutics, a biotech company scouring China for drug candidates, raises $165 million (STAT)
• In biotech, Boston reigns supreme, but its competitive edge is being challenged in new ways (STAT)
• Former Moderna leaders raise $325M for biotech venture firm Ascenta Capital (Endpoints)
• AviadoBio, UgeneX Therapeutics ink up to $413M deal; Apogee’s $300M stock sale (Endpoints)

• Harvard Medical School licenses consumer health content to Microsoft (Reuters)
• Exclusive: Otsuka Precision Health buys maternal meditation platform Mindful Mamas (Endpoints)
• World’s Largest Glove Maker Eyes US Growth as China Rivals Surge (Bloomberg)
• FDA’s presence at AdvaMed conference shrinks amid shutdown (MedTech Dive)

• PepsiCo Sees Signs of Turnaround in US Beverages, Driven by Soda (Bloomberg)
• SNAP restrictions may cost $1.6B for retailers to implement: report (Food Dive)

• Blue Cross of Mass. offers buyouts to hundreds of employees amid financial struggles (STAT)
• US Republicans and Democrats split on party lines on Trump's Tylenol-autism claim, KFF poll finds (Reuters)
• What's behind Amazon’s in-person pharmacy play (Endpoints)
• Xspray gets CRL over third-party production issues; Oxford Biomedica buys site from Resilience subsidiary (Endpoints)