Recon: US buys 50M doses of Pfizer vaccine for kids; Biden abandons drug pricing plans

• Pfizer gets U.S. contract for 50 mln COVID-19 vaccine doses for kids (Reuters)
• Biden abandons his push to lower drug prices (STAT)
• Be careful who you sue: CytoDyn knowingly submitted an incomplete drug application to FDA, new documents show (STAT)
• Merck ready to deploy tens of millions of its Covid antiviral pills if regulators approve, CEO says (CNBC)
• 1.5 million Americans got a Moderna or J&J Covid booster shot in the first 5 days, White House says (CNBC)
• Public-private partnership launched to accelerate gene therapies for rare diseases (STAT) (FDA)
• Feds probe Novartis over Entresto marketing and compensation to doctors (STAT)
• Some immunocompromised people can receive a 4th Covid shot, CDC says (NBC)
• Labcorp raises annual profit forecast as demand for clinical trials rebound (Reuters)
• U.S. CDC panel to discuss COVID-19 shots for younger kids on Nov. 2 (Reuters)
• Up to 50M doses of J&J vaccine sitting idle in factory: report (The Hill)

• EU set to produce over 3.5 billion COVID vaccine doses in 2022 - chief executive (Reuters)
• A cheap antidepressant lowers the risk of Covid hospitalization, a large study finds. (NYTimes)
• WHO, partners seek $23.4 bln for new COVID-19 war chest (Reuters)
• India's Optimus Pharma seeks approval to produce generic Merck COVID-19 pill (Reuters)

• Should I Mix or Match My Booster Shot? (NYTimes)

• HHS unveils drug overdose prevention plan to boost accessibility to care (The Hill)
• Alnylam’s longtime CEO to depart, new leader named (STAT)
• Seagen’s breast cancer drug Tukysa turned down by NICE (Pharmaphorum)
• Looking to win back investor confidence, BioMarin preps for its ‘largest launch’ (Endpoints)
• BMS reports strong growth as its Q3 results beat predictions (PMLive)
• Rafael Pharma drug fails to prolong survival of patients with pancreatic cancer in large study (STAT)
• EMA nod for excessive daytime sleepiness med Ozawade (PharmaTimes)
• FDA+ roundup: CDER's breakthrough designation requests see steep decline in 2021; Drugmakers call to expand FDA guidance on PD-(L)1 dosing (Endpoints)
• A pair of partners at Frazier is following early-stage biotechs to the public market with an $830M fund. And they're already doing deals (Endpoints)
• Koch leads mammoth $215M infusion into AI startup boasting 'largest database' of immune cells (Endpoints)
• Checkmate CEO hits the exit as Art Krieg's crew struggles to warm investors to TLR9 strategy (Endpoints)

• Patients Must Be Warned of Breast Implant Risks, F.D.A. Says (NYTimes) (FDA)
• Northwestern spinout Sibel Health scores FDA clearance for patient monitoring system (MobiHealthNews)
• Latest European Commission Figures Suggest One More IVDR Notified Body In Pipeline And Then A Gap (MedtechInsight)
• AdvaMed Launches Ethics Code To Meet ‘Business & Market Realities’ In India (MedtechInsight)

• Academics Back Illumina's Grail Buy Against FTC Challenge (Law360)
• Regeneron Gets PTAB To Review Syringe Patent On 2nd Go (Law360)