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Today’s Big News

Feb 20, 2025

PhRMA leaders prepare to meet with Trump as new chair Albert Bourla espouses optimism

CDC’s ‘Wild to Mild’ flu vaccine campaign muzzled amid HHS handover: report

Incyte pens $885M biobucks AI pact to use Genesis' GEMS to develop new drugs

Merck, plaintiff agree to hit the brakes on Gardasil trial in California

Illumina maps out entry into spatial transcriptomics

Canada locks down an initial 500K doses of GSK's bird flu vaccine

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PhRMA leaders prepare to meet with Trump as new chair Albert Bourla espouses optimism

By Fraiser Kansteiner

Ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump, trade group the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America is welcoming its new board chair and drafting plans for government-industry collaboration in the coming months.

CDC’s ‘Wild to Mild’ flu vaccine campaign muzzled amid HHS handover: report

By Andrea Park

A popular awareness campaign now in its second year that encouraged people to get flu vaccines to reduce their risk of severe infection has been halted at the CDC, NPR reports.

Incyte pens $885M biobucks AI pact to use Genesis' GEMS to develop new drugs

By James Waldron

Incyte is sticking to its strategy this year of finding “early-stage, exotic stuff”—paying Genesis Therapeutics $30 million upfront to use the biotech’s artificial intelligence platform to develop small-molecule medicines against undisclosed targets

Merck, plaintiff agree to hit the brakes on Gardasil trial in California

By Zoey Becker

Attorneys on the plaintiff's side, who are arguing that the vaccine caused injuries, proposed a restart in September with a new jury.

Illumina maps out entry into spatial transcriptomics

By Conor Hale

The company said its spatial technology will run on its current NextSeq and NovaSeq hardware through a new multimodal software platform, with a full commercial release scheduled for 2026.

Canada locks down an initial 500K doses of GSK's bird flu vaccine

By Fraiser Kansteiner

The Public Health Agency of Canada has leveraged an existing deal with GSK to lock down an initial supply of 500,000 doses of the British drugmaker’s avian influenza vaccine for humans. Overall, 60% of available doses will be shipped out, with Canada holding back another 40% in a federal stockpile.

US biotech Hookipa retracts merger plans with UK company

By Gabrielle Masson

After announcing acquisition plans at the beginning of 2025, immunotherapeutics biotech Hookipa Pharma has decided not to buy rare disease company Poolbeg Pharma.

AstraZeneca pays $160M for FibroGen's China unit, regional rights to roxadustat

By James Waldron

AstraZeneca is paying $160 million for FibroGen’s Chinese business, giving the U.K.-based Big Pharma the regional rights to oral anemia drug roxadustat.

German research institute teams up with Barbados to improve cardiometabolic treatments for Black individuals

By Gabrielle Masson

BioMed X Institute is teaming up with the Barbados government in an effort to accelerate cardiometabolic treatments for people of African descent.

Heart monitoring patch maker VitalConnect raises $100M

By Conor Hale

The wearable cardiac monitor maker VitalConnect has raised $100 million to help develop its in-hospital wireless patient trackers.

Fierce podcasts

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A heartwarming review of cardiovascular news, most-loved stories

This week on "The Top Line," we celebrate Valentine's Day with a discussion about heart-related updates and the stories we've loved covering so far this year.