STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about FDA commissioner contenders, a heart drug failure, and more
Article excerpt
The White House is reviewing a list of three top contenders for the FDA commissioner post
Good morning, Jason Mast here filling in for Ed Silverman again. Today, in STAT’s Brooklyn outpost we’re drinking, yes, heresies of heresies, plain old water. Sometimes you have to give the heart a rest. The news, though, never stops. Here are the headlines. …
The White House is reviewing a list of top contenders for the FDA commissioner post, STAT reports. The shortlist includes Heidi Overton, a White House adviser; Jeffrey Vacirca, an oncologist and health system executive; and Stephen Ferrara, a health affairs official at the Defense Department. The role has been filled, on an acting basis, by Kyle Diamantas, since Marty Makary resigned earlier this year.
A closely watched heart failure drug from AstraZeneca and Ionis failed in a pivotal trial, STAT tells us. The drug, called Wainua, was a core part of AstraZeneca’s plans to reach $80 billion in annual sales, and the news sent both companies’ stocks tumbling. Some analysts partly blamed the recent spate of approvals of other medications for the disease, called ATTR-cardiomyopathy, from Alnylam and BridgeBio. Many patients were already on another drug, making it harder to demonstrate Wainua’s effect.
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