California Supreme Court To Hear Controversial Case On HIV Drugs
The complex case involves an argument that drugmakers could be held negligent if they don't develop a particular drug. Also in the news: Amgen drops plans for an obesity pill, focusing instead on new injectable drugs to compete with Wegovy and Zepbound.
In a boost for Gilead Sciences, the California Supreme Court agreed to review a contentious legal theory that thousands of HIV patients have used in a closely watched case to argue drugmakers can be held negligent for failing to develop a medicine. (Silverman, 5/2)
Amgen said Thursday that it will no longer develop an early-stage obesity pill, and will instead focus on a more advanced injectable candidate that鈥檚 seen as a potential competitor to Novo Nordisk鈥檚 Wegovy and Eli Lilly鈥檚 Zepbound. (Chen, 5/2)
Blood-testing company Karius Inc. raised $100 million in a new funding round from investors, and will use the cash to get its technology for detecting hard-to-identify infections into more hospitals. The funding round was led by existing investor Khosla Ventures alongside 5AM Ventures and Gilde Healthcare. The company declined to give its valuation. (McBride, 5/2)
It takes a certain amount of confidence to call your biotech company Grail. According to its website, the Menlo Park鈥揵ased firm got its name because its 鈥渃o-founders believed a simple blood test could be the 鈥榟oly GRAIL鈥 of cancer detection.鈥 Now the company claims that its 鈥渇irst-of-its-kind鈥 screening tool, called Galleri, 鈥渞edefines what鈥檚 possible.鈥 At the cost of a needle stick and $949, the company can check your blood for more than 50 forms of cancer all at once. (Mazer, 5/2)
Around the country, statehouses from Harrisburg, Penn. to Tallahassee, Fla., are being flooded with tobacco industry lobbyists, according to a new report from the anti-smoking advocacy group Action on Smoking and Health. (Florko, 5/3)