COVID-19 vaccine

The United States has already delivered more than 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 years old to sites that will administer the shots, a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson said on Thursday.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday blocked e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. from selling its nicotine products in the United States, potentially dealing a fatal blow to the once high-flying San Francisco company.

DEM BioPharma

DEM BioPharma, backed by an impressive list of investors, debuted Thursday with $70 million that will assist in its efforts to treat cancer with an approach that leverages CRISPR screening and macrophage biology in immuno-oncology. 

The federal agency granted accelerated approval for Tafinlar (dabrafenib) + Mekinist (trametinib) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 6 years of age and older with unresectable or metastatic solid tumors with BRAF V600E mutation who have progressed following prior treatment and have no other treatment options.

Monkeypox

The World Health Organization will decide on Thursday whether to declare monkeypox a global health emergency, stirring criticism from leading African scientists who say it has been a crisis in their region for years.

GSK and Novartis reinforced commitments on Thursday to tackle neglected tropical diseases, as world leaders and health experts gather in Rwanda to discuss ways to better combat illnesses affecting more than a billion people, mostly in impoverished communities.

monkeypox

The Biden administration announced on Wednesday it is expanding monkeypox testing capacity to five commercial laboratory companies amid rising cases.

Nearly 1 in 5 American adults who reported having COVID-19 in the past are still having symptoms of long COVID, according to survey data collected in the first two weeks of June, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday.

Precision BioSciences entered into an exclusive global in vivo gene editing research and development collaboration and license deal with Novartis Pharma. The two companies will work to develop a potential cure for hemoglobinopathies such as sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia.

U.S. Capitol dome, Congress, Anerican flag

A bipartisan bill introduced by the leaders of the Senate Diabetes Caucus aims to curb the pricing of life-saving insulin by capping monthly co-pays for diabetics who use both commercial insurance plans, as well as the government-backed Medicare.