Recon: White House pulls CDC director nomination; Endo, Mallinckrodt to merge in $6.7B M deal

• White House pulls nomination of Dave Weldon as CDC director hours before hearing (STAT)
• Updated: Endo and Mallinckrodt to merge in $6.7B deal (Endpoints) (Reuters)
• Trump’s picks to run FDA and NIH win approval from Senate’s health committee (STAT)
• In the Boston area, biotech’s hub, a slump is being acutely felt (STAT)
• US FDA's top lawyer Hilary Perkins resigns two days into role (Reuters)
• More FDA Transitions: CDRH Deputy Director Out, New Chief of Staff And General Counsel In (MedTech Insight)

• Roche secures Zealand obesity drug candidate for up to $5.3 billion (Reuters)
• Kenya HIV patients live in fear as US aid freeze strands drugs in warehouse (Reuters)
• Canada pitches in to Entos' facility build; Vetter expands in Germany (Endpoints)
• Altered EU-US Medtech Trade Dynamics Could Endanger Patient Health (MedTech Insight)
• European measles cases doubled in 2024 after vaccinaton levels fell post-COVID (Reuters)
• WHO welcomes end of Marburg virus outbreak in Tanzania (Reuters)

• Soleno Therapeutics’ ‘life-changing’ drug nears approval decision (STAT)
• Biotech raising $35 million to take a second stab at cancer drug from Bert Vogelstein’s lab (STAT)
• Lilly, J&J boosted spending on executive security after UnitedHealth shooting (Reuters)
• The new CEO of GoodRx wants to lean into brand names and speed up the drug discount company's growth (Endpoints)
• Montara Therapeutics adds $20M to seed fundraise for neurology pipeline (Endpoints)
• Amgen reports more Uplizna data in myasthenia gravis ahead of FDA filing (Endpoints)
• NFL signs Novartis as first pharmaceutical partner-source (Reuters)
• How a Novo Nordisk Foundation-funded project sparked ultra-processed food fight (Reuters)

• New Flagship startup aims to trailblaze ‘AI science factories’ (Endpoints)
• Telehealth platforms in senators’ crosshairs over relationship with Eli Lilly, Pfizer (STAT)
• Should health care providers tell patients they are using AI? (STAT)
• Inside NYC’s waitlist-only health tech club, where young professionals find both friends and jobs (Endpoints)
• Libre 3 Sensors: With Second Plant Online, Abbott Aims For Under-Penetrated ‘Intensive Insulin’ Segment (MedTech Insight)
• Labcorp to buy Opko unit’s cancer test assets for up to $225M (MedTech Dive)
• Amplitude Acquisition Marks Global Medtech Entry With High Potential In India For Zydus (MedTech Insight)
• Dexcom Eyes US FDA Clearance For 15-Day CGM, But Insurance Coverage Remains Uncertain (MedTech Insight)

• ‘Deliberate trauma’: SAMHSA employees detail a federal agency in shambles (STAT)
• UnitedHealth continues making stealthy deals, pushing deeper into medical care as scrutiny mounts (STAT)
• HIV self-testing is easy, effective — and underutilized (STAT)
• CDC’s reported study on vaccines and autism could test RFK Jr.’s pledges to a key senator (STAT)
• Top addiction researcher Nora Volkow on NIH cuts, optimism and the limits of RFK Jr.’s 12-step experience (STAT)
• Federal research instability risks postdoc careers, American leadership (STAT)
• Why health experts fear the West Texas measles outbreak may be much larger than reported (STAT)
• Warren asks HHS watchdog to investigate GSK over its asthma inhaler maneuvers (STAT)
• Researchers make case against Gilead in HIV product hopping fight (Endpoints)