Biogen could have stripped HI-Bio for parts when it bought the biotech for $1.15 billion last year--instead, it used the California company as a foundation to build a brand new, immunology-focused West Coast Hub. I've got the details here! 🧪💊

Cuts to NIH grants have disrupted at least 383 clinical trials, with infectious disease research hit especially hard. A stark example of the real-world repercussions of Trump and co.'s health policy 🧪 my latest:

Biotechs beware: you're in for a scare. Had a blast writing this year's edition of the Biotech Graveyard, a terrifying Fierce Biotech tradition where we honor the ghosts of biotechs past and also allude to the 1958 novelty song "The Purple People Eater." Give it a read--if you dare!

About 30 years after their discovery, Nobel-winning regulatory T cells are on the cusp of becoming new medicines; and as one of this year's laureates told me, they have the potential to become a "universal drug" 🧪 my deep dive into Tregs:

When it comes to China tariffs and limiting licenses to innovation from the country, Nkarta CEO Paul Hastings is urging the Trump administration to “let that one go." Read more from my interview here ⬇️

The FDA has handed out its first national priority vouchers, positioning 9 companies to complete the approval process in one to two months. www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/fda-...

An extremely common drug used to treat diabetes was able to soothe brain inflammation in female mice with multiple sclerosis, suggesting it could be a ready treatment option for a vexing disease that disproportionally affects people with female sex chromosomes 🧪 my story:

The most complicated story I've ever worked on has dropped. It's long and worth the read. I go deep into the world of alternative funding programs & how they're harming patient access to timely prescriptions: www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/new-w...

Emerging from the darkness of this era will require us to acknowledge that the previous status quo, including many institutions that may have served us well in another era, have been failing for my entire lifetime.

Greg Bovino, Kristi Noem, and DHS need to answer for their unchecked attacks on Chicago residents. ICE is an out-of-control danger to our peaceful communities. The images from the Sun-Times today speak for themselves.

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is here and it's a doozy: the discovery of regulatory T cells! I woke up at 2am to write this story so if you see any typos, no you didn't:

If the university is found in violation of civil rights laws, a "debarment" would prohibit the university from business relations with any federal agency for a specified timeframe. www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/hhs-...

To understand how budget cuts could impact the NIH, economists looked to the past--and their alternate history revealed how Trump-level defunding would have undercut breakthrough new medicines of the 21st century 🧪 my story:

After a tumultuous journey filled with delays and rejection, the FDA has approved Stealth BioTherapeutics’ treatment for the ultrarare disease Barth syndrome, marking the peptide as the first therapy for the condition.

NIH-sponsored research was the basis of all 356 new drug approvals between 2010 and 2019, according to a new AAMC report. Here, I take a look at the states most impacted by NIH research cuts, plus the domino effects on clinical trials, the economy and public health.

Vaccines work. Period.

The problem with allowing guns everywhere is that no one is safe anywhere.

Had a blast visiting the Knight Cancer Institute in Portland to talk about their record-setting $2 billion gift from Nike founder Phil Knight, and how they plan to use the cash to become a household name in cancer research and care. Check it out, and enjoy the photo quality from my ancient iPhone!

Wellcome Leap and Melinda French Gates' Pivotal are investing $100 million in women's health breakthroughs for areas like cardiovascular, autoimmune and mental health.

Today, I was joined by organizations representing 100,000 doctors & medical experts. They know — I know — that vaccines work, and have saved millions of lives. We cannot allow Sec. Kennedy or anyone else to undermine faith in science and put the health of our children at risk.

Can anyone get a Covid shot if they want one? The answer, in short, is no. www.statnews.com/2025/09/04/c...

We need an HHS Secretary who respects science and does not make policy based on conspiracy theories. Vaccines are safe and effective. Kennedy is threatening the health of our kids and all Americans. He must resign.

The Trump administration has canceled the Biden era rule where airlines would have to compensate passengers for flight disruptions.

Breaking News: In a win for Harvard University, a judge said that the government broke the law by freezing billions of dollars in research funds.

Industry vets Clive Meanwell and John Maraganore have unveiled Corsera Health, a new biotech with a once-annual preventive heart disease candidate and AI risk-predicting tool. “Imagine a world without cardiovascular disease. That's what we're aiming to do,” Maraganore told Fierce Biotech.

Kennedy to testify before Senate panel on health agenda reut.rs/463NvL4

Praying for of all those affected by today’s horrific shooting in Minnesota, injuring and killing innocent young people who were simply starting their school year. We are all too accustomed to awful news like this, but must never accept such suffering and loss as normal.

In June, Exelixis' stock soared on the back of a big phase 3 win over Bayer's gastrointestinal cancer med Stivarga. Now, the company is laying off 130 employees and closing down its Pennsylvania location. In biotech, life comes at you fast! My story:

A 26-year-old collaboration between the government and top research centers to advance new pediatric brain cancer treatments is being wound down, an HHS spokesperson confirmed to @endpts.com. Money is being redirected to another childhood cancer funding channel. endpoints.news/hhs-winds-do...

The Supreme Court vote greenlights the NIH's prior termination of grants related to DEI. However, the court did block Trump’s anti-DEI guidance for future funding. On both matters, Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivered the key vote.

“You’re saying to Texas voters: you don’t get to pick who represents you. Donald Trump picks who represents you.”

New statement from the NIH reads, in part: "This is not business as usual; it is a deliberate course correction to strengthen accountability and ensure NIH funds research that delivers measurable impact for all Americans."

We are casually cruising toward destroying all public health protections. I can't tell you how many times my friends who work in pediatric healthcare see the sickest kids with vaccine-preventable illnesses and anti-vax parents. This is so upsetting. www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/hhs-r...

Deep learning models trained on 40,000 chemicals were able to design new antibiotics from scratch--including one that a model built starting from a single atom. My story:

I cannot emphasize enough that the playbook being used against mRNA vaccines (and vaccines in general) is IDENTICAL to the playbook used to restrict voting rights after the 2020 election: actively sow public distrust, then cite the distrust you sowed as an independent reason for your desired policy

"This is the single most stupid thing they could be doing." After HHS pulled the plug on $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccines, one agency leader decided he's had enough. My story for Fierce:

HHS has delivered another stop-work order for Vaxart’s oral COVID-19 candidate, with a spokesperson citing the mRNA vaccine rollback. Vaxart's program doesn't contain mRNA. The phase 2b trial is using Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine as a control.

Denali Therapeutics has unveiled an antibody that can cross the blood-brain barrier and attack amyloid associated with Alzheimer's, but without triggering ARIA, a potentially life-threatening complication. Coverage by @megadarren.bsky.social.

Tiba Biotech's BARDA contract was terminated as part of RFK Jr.'s campaign / vendetta / grudge match against mRNA vaccines. Except Tiba wasn't working on mRNA, or a vaccine. Odd!

Access to safe abortion protects the health of women and girls. As with all other health services, women and girls should be able to access safe and respectful abortion care, when they need it, without fear of harm, punishment or recrimination. #HealthForAll

The Trump administration has broken the law by withholding funds that Congress had allocated to the National Institutes of Health, according to the Government Accountability Office.

RFK Jr.'s war on vaccines (and mRNA) continues. mRNA naturally occurs in all of our cells, and vaccines have been used safely for hundreds of years. We've never seen a US health official completely reject fundamental science this much before. My story:

The FDA has missed the date for Coya Therapeutics’ investigational new drug application, citing a lack of resources, according to a legal filing from the biotech. The delay impacts an early stage of drug development in which companies submit preclinical data and request to move into human studies.

NIH plans to shrink the share of grant applications it will award for the remainder of the fiscal year, in some cases by more than half. www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/n...

A 3rd patient has died after receiving one of Sarepta's gene therapies. The patient was part of a phase 1 limb-girdle muscular dystrophy trial. The death occurred last month.

With measles raging and RFK casting doubt on the vaccine, I thought it'd be worth looking into what treatments are out there for kids who catch this terrible disease. And...there are none. My story on why "you just cannot develop a drug" for measles (and how it really should be eradicated by now!)

Getting Coca-Cola to use cane sugar rather and ice cream manufacturers to stop their use of synthetic dyes are the latest achievements trumpeted by the Make America Healthy Again movement. www.statnews.com/2025/07/17/c...

“We've been hearing about SBIR grants canceled,” John Stanford, executive director of Incubate, told Fierce Biotech, adding that the cancellations are tied to biotechs that have investors in China, Canada, Norway and the EU. www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/us-a...

The FDA is introducing a new priority voucher program for biotechs that align with the agency's priorities.

“The medical community and the patient community both have been urging the FDA to act here and act quickly,” Stealth's CEO told Fierce today. “I hope it can happen, because there's nothing else in the pipeline out there for this disease.” www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/hang...