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Pharma lobbyists focus on a surprising new target: the FDA 

February 23, 2026
Pharmalot Columnist, Senior Writer
Top health officials, including (from right) Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with President Trump at the White House in 2025.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

STAT+ | Pharma lobbyists focus on a surprising new target: the FDA

FDA insists decisions are based on science, but lobbyists said they believe the odds of approval go up if a decision can be spun as a win for Trump.

By Daniel Payne and Lizzy Lawrence


STAT+ | Bayer sues J&J over 'false and misleading claims' about competing prostate cancer treatments

The lawsuit is a reminder of the profits at stake for treating prostate cancer, a market forecast to generate $28 billion in U.S. sales by 2033.

By Ed Silverman


STAT+ | FDA unveils rules for bespoke gene therapies, predicting flood of rare disease applications 

"Plausible mechanism pathway" is to make it easier for individual gene-editing success stories like Baby KJ to be produced at a vastly wider scale.

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SERGEI GAPON/AFP via Getty Images

STAT+ | Novo Nordisk's next-gen obesity drug stumbles in comparison study

The drug, which Novo hopes can help it turn its fate around in the obesity market, underperformed versus Eli Lilly's tirzepatide.

By Andrew Joseph


STAT+ | Gilead to buy Arcellx in nearly $8B deal

Gilead Sciences said Monday it is acquiring Arcellx in a deal worth $7.8 billion, merging two biotech companies already co-developing a CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma. 

The transaction values Arcellx at $115 per share, or a 79% premium to the stock's Friday close. Arcellx shareholders will also be eligible for an additional payment equal to $5 per share, based on achieving a future sales target. 

By Adam Feuerstein


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