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Today, we see new data on a next-generation obesity candidate from Novo Nordisk and pages on the FDA’s website pulled down, including those centered on boosting clinical trial diversity. Also, the Sacklers and Purdue strike a $7.4 billion settlement in the long-standing opioids lawsuit, and more.
Novo’s next-gen amylin injectable shows promise in obesity
Novo Nordisk’s next-generation obesity drug, dubbed amycretin, led to 22% weight loss after 36 weeks in a Phase 1/2 trial, a result that — if confirmed in larger trials — could give the medicine an edge over available obesity treatments. Novo’s shares were up more than 10% this morning.
The injectable drug targets the GLP-1 and amylin hormones. Novo is also developing amycretin as a pill and reported positive results from an early study of the oral version last year.
The successful readout is a needed win for the Danish company, which saw its shares tank by as much as 20% last month after another closely watched obesity medicine candidate, called CagriSema, showed weight loss results that fell short of investor expectations. CagriSema also targets GLP-1 and amylin.
Read more from STAT’s Drew Joseph.
FDA purges website material on clinical trial diversity
Just days after the Trump administration took office, the FDA has joined other federal agencies in scrubbing pages related to diversity, equity, and inclusion from its website. But among the pages pulled down have been those promoting diverse ethnic and economic groups in clinical trials — an issue that has become a widely shared scientific goal, not typically caught up in the partisan debate over DEI initiatives focused on hiring and communications.
The goal of diversifying trials is to test experimental drugs and devices on various populations who would ultimately derive benefits or incur risk.
It is unclear whether the removal of the webpages means the administration intends to abandon efforts to diversify clinical trials, but the mood inside the FDA is uneasy, sources told STAT’s Matthew Herper and Lizzy Lawrence. There are broad changes underway across health agencies.
Sacklers, Purdue to pay $7.4 billion over opioid cases
The Sackler family and Purdue Pharma have agreed to pay a $7.4 billion settlement to resolve lawsuits over their role in the opioid crisis.
Under the new terms, the Sacklers would not receive immunity from future lawsuits, STAT’s Ed Silverman writes. A previous deal was scuttled last year by the U.S. Supreme Court over the insistence of some Sackler family members who sought immunity.
The settlement aims to address the damages caused by Purdue’s aggressive marketing of OxyContin. The funds will support addiction treatment and prevention programs over the next 15 years.
Neomorph, AbbVie strike $1.64 billion deal
San Diego biotech Neomorph is partnering with AbbVie in a deal worth up to $1.64 billion to develop molecular glue degraders, a class of small molecule drugs designed to selectively degrade disease-driving proteins. Many companies are chasing molecular glue, FierceBiotech writes, including Roche, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Merck.
The companies have both oncology and immunology targets in mind. Neomorph, which launched in 2020, has struck other large deals — including a $1.45 billon pact with Biogen and another with Novo Nordisk that’s worth up to $1.46 billion.
Chinese biotechs and departing the WHO
What does President Trump’s decision to leave the WHO mean for public health? Should U.S. companies be intimidated by Chinese drug development? And is Elaine tired of Adam and Allison? We discuss all that and more on this week’s episode of “The Readout LOUD,” a weekly biotech podcast from STAT.
First, we go over our closing thoughts from the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, including the chatter around Chinese drugs and a surprise run-in with a past cohost. Then, STAT’s infectious disease reporter, Helen Branswell, joins us to explain the implications of Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the WHO.
More reads
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Flagship Pioneering forges Cambridge connection with UK research institutions, FierceBiotech
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What a buzzy startup reveals about Britain’s biotech sector, The Economist