Hello, everyone. Damian Garde here, filling in for Ed Silverman on what is an abbreviated work week here in the U.S., where the holiday discourse has pivoted from how to deal with quarrelsome relatives to whether a certain overexposed obesity treatment is ruining the apparently hallowed tradition of consuming more food than you need. If your personal geography spares you from all this, perhaps consider giving some thanks. In the meantime, here as always are some tidbits to get your day started. And do let us know if you hear anything interesting out there. …
German drugmaker MorphoSys saw its shares fall about 25% after reporting disappointing data on an experimental blood cancer treatment, STAT reports. The drug, pelabresib, hit its primary endpoint in a myelofibrosis study but failed to meaningfully beat placebo on a measure of patients’ symptoms. MorphoSys intends to file pelabresib for regulatory approval, but analysts are skeptical of its future.
The Texas attorney general is suing Pfizer over allegedly selling ineffective ADHD medicines to the state’s Medicaid program, Reuters tells us. The suit, which names Pfizer and the supplier Tris Pharma, claims the companies manipulated quality control data on the pediatric drug Quillivant XR, covering up evidence that the product didn’t properly dissolve. The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages. Pfizer did not immediately comment on the allegations, according to Reuters.