Recon: Trump reportedly eying Martin Makary to lead FDA; Novartis acquires Kate Therapeutics for up to $1.1B

• Trump likely to pick Johns Hopkins surgeon, COVID mandate critic Makary for FDA, sources say (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
• Top FDA official says Trump and RFK Jr. will mean ‘vigorous dialogue’ on vaccines (STAT)
• FDA vaccine chief Peter Marks pledges to stay as long as he's welcome (Endpoints)
• RFK Jr. is exploring a plan to upend Medicare’s physician payments system (STAT)
• RFK Jr. wants to blow up the ‘corrupt’ FDA, but he could Make America Sick Again (STAT)
• Wall Street awaits Amgen weight-loss drug data expected to move shares (Reuters)
• Bluesky is the new destination for X/Twitter’s health and   science community. Here’s why (STAT)
• FDA updates label of 33-year-old cancer drug with new dose and warning (Endpoints)
• US FDA’s Drug Center Losing Shortages, Controlled Substance Leadership With Throckmorton Retirement (Pink Sheet)
• Florida Gov. DeSantis’ Canadian Drug Import Plan Goes Nowhere After FDA Approval (KFF)

• After youth vaping surge, the U.K. moves to ban disposable e-cigarettes (STAT)
• What records? Chinese company refuses to let FDA inspectors review documents or machinery (STAT)
• HTA Bodies In England, US and Canada Collaborate On Developing Health Economic Methods (Pink Sheet)
• EMA: Regulatory Decisions On Pediatric Cancer Drugs ‘Cannot Happen In Isolation’ (Pink Sheet)
• Elon Musk's Neuralink receives Canadian approval for brain chip trial (Reuters)
• Novartis buys gene therapy startup Kate Therapeutics, joining pursuit of muscular dystrophy treatment (STAT)
• Novartis raises sales guidance until 2028 (Reuters)
• Novartis: launch of Morphosys drug by could be 2027 or later (Reuters)

• Versant enters obesity with new startup (STAT)
• Cidara's $100M PIPE; Pyxis Oncology's stock falls on Phase 1 data (Endpoints)
• Amgen names Stanford geneticist and biotech founder to CSO post (Endpoints)
• Kyowa Kirin acquires ex-US rights to Kura’s leukemia treatment for $330M upfront (Endpoints)
• NewAmsterdam aces Phase 3 trial, but investors are skeptical (Endpoints)
• Venrock adds $500M to healthcare investing strategy after outlining 10th fund in January (Endpoints)
• Pfizer taps oncology head Boshoff as Dolsten's chief scientific officer successor (Endpoints)

• A new device for delivering drugs without needles draws inspiration from the elegant squid (STAT)
• Caltech spinout debuts with AI-driven 'mirror peptide' platform (Endpoints)
• When generative AI meets the FDA: First digital health adcomm kicks off discussion (Endpoints)
• Henry Schein to acquire medical supplier Acentus (MedTech Dive)
• Verily alum looks to improve access to retinal scans (MedTech Dive)
• Dexcom invests $75M in Ōura, agrees to integrate smart rings and CGMs (MedTech Dive)
• Labcorp hires Julia Wang as CFO (MedTech Dive)

• Advamed CEO welcomes Dr. Oz as Trump’s pick to lead CMS (MedTech Dive)
• The health care industry is girding for Trump’s tariffs —and pushing hard for carveouts (STAT)
• Top Medicaid official says Republicans’ proposed reforms are ‘just plain bad policy’ (STAT)
• US FDA Biosimilar Standards Likely Sealed Interchangeability Designation’s Fate (Pink Sheet)
• Skinny Label Limits: Supreme Court Denies Norwich Bid For US Xifaxan Reprieve (Pink Sheet)
• New Draft Guidance Provides Detailed (and Burdensome) Recommendations for Chemical Assessments to Support Medical Device Biocompatibility (FDA Law Blog)