(1/3) Some personal news: After nearly four years at @endpts.com, I’m returning to freelance journalism. It's been a meaningful time. I've been lucky to be a part of Endpoints as the newsroom grew, picked up numerous awards and gained readers.

"Russian flu," the pandemic that hit in 1977, bears an evolutionary signature of having emerged from a lab, perhaps as part of a failed vaccine effort. Covid, mpox, Ebola, and other influenza pandemics don't. Here's my story on a new way to trace the origins of pandemics. Gift link: nyti.ms/46N0W33

Multimillion-dollar gene therapies weren’t supposed to face competition. China has other plans Latest feature + data analysis endpoints.news/china-is-tak...

EveryOne Medicines, a startup making individualized therapies for genetically unique diseases, is shutting down a week after the FDA announced a streamlined pathway for those types of bespoke medicines. @jaredwhitlock.bsky.social and I have the scoop for @endpts.com: endpoints.news/everyone-med...

Exclusive: EveryOne Medicines shuts down, ending custom cure venture that banked on new FDA pathway From @scienceboss.bsky.social and me: endpoints.news/everyone-med...

China's MGI sells US subsidiary after Biosecure Act stalled ambitions endpoints.news/swiss-rocket...

After rallying, Grail's cancer test faces new uncertainty due to UK study My latest via @endpts.com endpoints.news/grails-cance...

A Chinese biotech says its gene therapy slowed aggressive brain cancer in an early human test, but the debated approach is already drawing skepticism from some researchers. endpoints.news/neuexcell-th...

Can a Chinese drugmaker become Big Pharma? Hengrui is testing that idea, laying plans to move beyond dealmaking and sell its own drugs in the US and Europe as it grows into a global force.

I'm late, but don't miss this piece from @scienceboss.bsky.social: Gene editing's search for a 'holy grail' has led to an explosion of tools, but few cures Via @endpts.com endpoints.news/as-gene-edit...

RFK Jr. adds conditions to newborn screening list, but future path unclear endpoints.news/rfk-jr-adds-...

China has a cheap, quick and quiet way to test novel therapies. Western genetic medicine makers want in endpoints.news/western-gene... Via @leileiwu.bsky.social and @scienceboss.bsky.social

Alumni Notes: From unchecked garbage fires to academic freedom, our alumni are telling the stories that link science to policy, and the everyday impacts on communities. ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/12...

Nationwide Children’s gene therapy shows early promise after Taysha pullback endpoints.news/nationwide-c...

Kansas County Agrees to Pay $3 Million Over Police Raid of Newspaper #Journalism #Kansas www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/u...

We've been here before but let's see how FDA responds this time w/ Prasad wielding his influence. (I'm sure WSJ ed board + Loomer are already drafting their 2 cents...) "Sarepta's Duchenne confirmatory trial fails, but biotech will ask FDA for full approval anyways" endpoints.news/duchenne-con...

Good piece from @leileiwu.bsky.social: Post-Hoc: As China moves beyond ‘me-too,’ do Western regulators need to reconsider? endpoints.news/as-china-mov...

Grail’s blood test got better at telling when a positive result actually means cancer based on study findings, potentially strengthening the company’s case for a wider rollout, though questions remain. endpoints.news/grails-cance...

Thank you everyone for making yesterday such an amazing, dream-come-true pub day for Lab Dog! The fun continues today with a live in-studio interview on @wamu.org.web.brid.gy 1A. Tune in or catch it later on the podcast! www.npr.org/podcasts/510...

This one truly hurts. 💔 D'Angelo was a singular, once in a generation talent. It feels cruel to lose him at a time when great artistry is sorely needed. apnews.com/article/dang...

ICYMI: In China, biotech startups are racing to make low-cost gene therapies, challenging multi-million dollar price tags and aiming to bolster global reach. endpoints.news/chinese-biot...

“We will show the world that there is a better, more responsible, and economically more sensible way of drug development,” -- Chinese biotech offering a low-cost version of a gene therapy that saves the lives of small children but at a cost of $2m endpoints.news/chinese-biot...

For families, a $2.1M medicine can feel like both a miracle and an out-of-reach reality. Now, biotechs in China are racing to develop lower-cost alternatives: endpoints.news/chinese-biot...

HHS says ‘the science speaks for itself’ on mRNA cuts. Scientists it cites disagree Good piece from @maxbayer.bsky.social endpoints.news/researchers-...

The session at #AAIC25 on Roche's next-gen #Alzheimers drug #trontinemab was jam packed and despite one patient's death, the excitement for this drug was palpable. Read more about the dramatic amyloid reduction and surprisingly low ARIA in @endpts.com - endpoints.news/roche-double...

We are closely reporting on this story. If you have any tips, please contact me on Signal at jaredwhitlock.73 endpoints.news/fda-asks-sar...

Sarepta Therapeutics said that a patient died in a clinical trial testing one of its gene therapies for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, the latest death for a company that’s already under heightened scrutiny for safety concerns. endpoints.news/sarepta-pati...

Fascinating story today from @levfacher.bsky.social about a rehab center where patients are currently being treated for substance use disorder with GLP-1 drugs — even as clinical trials measuring their effectiveness as anti-addiction medications remain years from reading out data.

In Focus: The Trump administration disbanded a federal newborn screening panel, and patients now face a hard and unpredictable path to diagnosis and treatment.

The Trump administration disbanded a newborn screening panel. Advocates now face a harder path. “It’s not acceptance. It’s next-level rage," one parent told me. endpoints.news/the-trump-ad...

As China’s drug industry expands, US biotech investors are divided: cash in or push back? Some, like Curie.Bio’s Zach Weinberg, are calling for action to limit China’s growing role in R&D.

One biotech VC calls China a threat. Another says Americans won’t forgive politicians who impede life-saving drugs. Inside the investor split on China’s ascent in drug development. w/ @andrewedunn.bsky.social + @kylelahucik.bsky.social, @maxbayer.bsky.social endpoints.news/us-investors...

"In 25 years of covering the FDA, this would be a first," said @statnews.com Matt Herper commenting on the @endpts.com story about Makary today. See below #medsky #biosky

Great scoop from @andrewedunn.bsky.social: Exclusive: FDA's Makary sought rejection of KalVista’s drug in an unusual move by commissioner, sources say endpoints.news/sources-fda-...

Illumina to buy SomaLogic for $350M upfront in proteomics push: endpoints.news/illumina-to-...

I spoke with Jade Hindmon, host of @kpbssandiego.bsky.social Midday Edition, about the consequences of the current administration’s cuts to science funding. Please share to help spread the word and raise awareness. www.kpbs.org/podcasts/kpb...

Can a drug developed for one person's rare form of ALS become a treatment for many others? A treatment made just for a 26-year-old woman offers a glimpse into how customized therapies could be just a starting point. endpoints.news/a-custom-als...

@jaredwhitlock.bsky.social has written an article about the many new companies spun out/spawned by ex-Illuminites. In it he references the crowdsourced "Illumina Diaspora" database Millard Chan and I created to keep track of them all. sandiegomics.com/illumina-dia... endpts.com/how-illumina...

DNA giant Illumina spawned an ecosystem. Now its former employees are both its customers and fiercest competitors. My latest is an in-depth look at a different kind of corporate lineage story, via @endpts.com endpts.com/how-illumina...

During the pandemic boom years, young biotechs signed huge, long-term leases for space in a competitive market. Now, many of them are being dragged down by those big obligations... and can't get rid of them, @andrewedunn.bsky.social reports

I'm late to the party but don't miss this investigation from @shelbylivingston.bsky.social into Empower, a compounding pharmacy that produces weight loss medications and other drugs. endpts.com/pharmacy-emp...

I'm thrilled to be a finalist for the NIHCM trade journalism award alongside so many amazing reporters whose work I really admire (hi @kakape.bsky.social and @jaredwhitlock.bsky.social !) Thank you NIHCM! nihcm.org/awards/trade...

Ahead of a panel at #STATBreakthrough, UnitedHealth sent a statement about how STAT's Pulitzer-recognized investigation of UnitedHealthcare using AI to deny claims is false and accuses STAT of "profiting" off of bias. UnitedHealth has never gone on the record with STAT on this topic.

Super honored to be recognized as a finalist by @nihcm.bsky.social alongside other journalists, including John Carroll of @endpts.com. nihcm.org/awards/trade...

Likewise @jesshamzelou.bsky.social.

Illumina on Thursday said the SEC has closed its investigation into the company’s $8 billion purchase of Grail, confirming @endpts.com reporting. endpts.com/illumina-con...

'Find a way, or make one': How two scientists hope to revitalize CRISPR's rare disease crisis Good piece from @scienceboss.bsky.social on efforts from @urnov.bsky.social and others endpts.com/crispr-isnt-...

Illumina hasn't had a lot of wins recently. I think they'd count this as a win. endpts.com/sec-expected...

From deal to disaster: Drugmakers face a changed Washington as Trump embraces ‘most favored nation’ prices Good reporting from @maxbayer.bsky.social and @drewsnews.bsky.social: endpts.com/drugmakers-t...

Scoop: SEC expected to drop investigation of Illumina's $8B Grail deal endpts.com/sec-expected...