Recon: UK approves fifth COVID vaccine with Novavax approval; Lilly delays timeline for submitting Alzheimer’s drug application

• Ex-Pfizer researchers stole secrets to launch diabetes drug, lawsuit says (Reuters) (Endpoints) (STAT)
• Licensed Drug Distributors Would Get More Scrutiny in FDA Plan (Bloomberg)
• Eli Lilly pushes back timeline for Alzheimer's drug application (Reuters)
• FDA will rigorously review vaccines for children under 5, surgeon general says (Washington Post) (NYT)
• Biden’s relaunched cancer moonshot needs funding for liftoff (Politico)
• Merck sees 2022 sales up nearly 20%, mostly on new COVID pill (Reuters)
• UPenn sues Genentech over patent infringement with four cancer drugs (Endpoints)
• Key lawmaker: ARPA-H won’t be part of NIH (STAT)
• The Politics Of US FDA Advisory Committees (The Pink Sheet)
• Price of COVID treatments from Pfizer, Merck, GSK align with patient benefits -report (Reuters)
• Biogen 2022 forecast below Street view on Alzheimer's drug uncertainty (Reuters)

• UK Drug Regulator Approves Novavax Covid-19 Shot (Bloomberg) (Reuters)
• EU to ease rules on COVID pass to remove hurdle for vaccine trials (Reuters)
• EU watchdog says supports fast development of Omicron-only vaccine (Reuters)
• PhRMA goes on the offensive, attacking the WHO and putting the EU, UK, Australia and others on notice (Endpoints)
• Roche says aiming to provide clarity on Alzheimer's drug efficacy (Reuters)

• Global diplomatic failure made COVID 'far worse', says leading expert (Reuters)
• Africa must speed up vaccinations despite perception Omicron is milder, WHO says (Reuters)
• German vaccine commission backs Novavax COVID vaccine for adults (Reuters)
• In world first, S. Africa's Afrigen makes mRNA COVID vaccine using Moderna data (Reuters)
• Singapore approves Pfizer's oral COVID-19 medicine Paxlovid (Reuters)
• US to cover cost of over-the-counter COVID tests through Medicare (Reuters) (Washington Post)

• Slowing COVID-19 Sales Will Drag On Roche In 2022 (Scrip)
• Eli Lilly results beat on diabetes drug, COVID antibody therapies (Reuters)
• 2022 Will Be A Test For Gilead, Starting with TROPiCS-2 Study Of Trodelvy (Scrip)
• J&J’s Janssen inks $1B biobucks pact for Mersana’s ADC tech in 3 targets (Fierce)
• Dewpoint, with a handful of Big Pharma partners from Merck to Pfizer, collects $150M to advance its 20 programs (Fierce)
• J&J discontinues work on eczema drug, leading to $610M in impairment charges for ex-XBiotech asset (Fierce) (Endpoints)
• AbbVie's Gonzalez: Skyrizi and Rinvoq to become Humira 2.0 — while adding an indication for atopic dermatitis (Endpoints)
• AstraZeneca punts midphase cardiovascular prospect to startup (Fierce)
• Amgen, looking for a path into red-hot 'molecular glues,' inks a deal with Plexium for 2 programs, potentially more (Endpoints)
• Rajeev Venkayya, Takeda’s longtime vaccines chief, departs to lead a stealth pandemic-focused biotech (Endpoints)
• Al Sandrock makes his first post-Biogen move, joining turnaround effort at a troubled gene therapy startup (Endpoints)
• Searching for CRISPR 2.0, Intellia spends $45M cash on an unknown Berkeley spinout (Endpoints)
• With cancer biomarkers, experts say the future has finally arrived (STAT)
• A scientific pioneer finds herself on the sidelines of the race in xenotransplantation (STAT)

• JAMA: ‘General Wellness’ Apps Could Pose Patient Safety Quandary (MedTech Insight)
• Quest CEO Rusckowski to step down after a decade, following record-setting 2021 (Fierce)
• BD's Q1 revenue beats Street despite COVID-19 testing decline (MedTech Dive)
• Siemens Healthineers ups 2022 forecast after COVID-19 test boom, but sees increased competition (MedTech Dive)
• Thermo Fisher, Hologic plan for extended test demand in 2022 (MedTech Dive)

• Ex-Drug Co-Op CEO Convicted In Landmark Opioid Case (Law360)
• Drug Distributor Stymied On FDA Topics In Wash. Cross Trial (Law360)