Endpoints News

A $10 billion buyout will take Walgreens Boots Alliance private, marking a strategic shift for the pharmacy giant as it moves away from public markets. https://lnkd.in/eyNXknPq

Johnson & Johnson ends its depression drug program after aticaprant fails to show sufficient efficacy. The move follows Neumora’s recent trial failure, marking another setback for neuropsychiatric drug development. https://lnkd.in/eGJ4Sq_U

Novo Nordisk is set to initiate clinical trials investigating GLP-1 receptor agonists for treating addiction disorders, signaling a potential paradigm shift in addiction therapy.

The Senate hearing to consider Trump's FDA nominee Marty Makary is off and running, and once again has started with a number of hot-button issues, like access to abortion medications, US policy toward vaccines, and — inevitably — Covid. https://lnkd.in/eciwEA7s

Merck KGaA remains tight-lipped on its advanced discussions to acquire SpringWorks Therapeutics as investors and oncology experts watch closely for signs of a deal. https://lnkd.in/eeb3Zv5y

Teladoc is in its rebuilding era. That was one of the first thoughts I had reading Ngai Yeung's coverage of the telehealth giant's 2024 annual results. In today's Endpoints News Health Tech newsletter, Ngai digs into why all eyes seem to be on 2026. Also inside: - Cerebral CEO David Mou left the mental health startup to launch a new company, Ngai reports - Business is booming at UnitedHealthcare's copay-only plan Surest, Shelby Livingston reports - I've got the latest on 23andMe's take-private plans (it seems like it was a busy weekend for the DNA-testing company!) https://lnkd.in/geBB65sd

Updated following an interview with Jazz Pharmaceuticals CEO Bruce Cozadd. “Sometimes when you do a deal, you’ve got to really explain it to people. This is one where most of our investors we’ve talked to already have said, ‘I get it. Like this is exactly the kind of thing you’ve been describing. I see the fit,’” Cozadd said in an interview with Endpoints News. Jazz is once again going the M&A route by buying Chimerix a little under half a year before the North Carolina biotech finds out whether its rare brain tumor treatment snags an FDA nod. Dublin-based Jazz has historically gone with external innovation to get its medicines, including the seizure drug Epidiolex from the $7 billion GW Pharma buyout and cancer treatment Ziihera via a licensing deal with Zymeworks. The $935 million Chimerix deal also broadens Jazz's scope in oncology, which has become more of a focus as of late for the drugmaker, whose CEO is retiring soon. #jazzpharma #chimerix #braintumordrug #biopharmaacquisition #braintumor #h3k27m #glioma #dordaviprone #prv #biotechbuyout #manda

Jazz Pharma to acquire Chimerix for $935 million, gaining a potential first approved treatment for a rare brain tumor.

Trump NIH pick sails through Senate hearing. Bhattacharya vows to support scientists, assess funding cuts: