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Morning! Today, we discuss a bus with anti-pharma messaging that’s traversing the country, we see the FTC file a suit against the three biggest pharmaceutical benefit managers, and more.
The need-to-know this morning
- Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca said the experimental cancer treatment Dato-DXd failed to prolong survival of participants in the TROPION-Breast01 clinical trial. Previously, the companies reported that the drug, an antibody-drug conjugate, achieved the study’s co-primary goal of significantly delaying tumor progression.
- Black Diamond Therapeutics reported preliminary mid-stage study results showing a 42% tumor response rate for its experimental drug BDTX-1535. The study participants had EGFR-mutated, non-small cell lung cancer with a further mutation known to be resistant to Tagrisso, the AstraZeneca drug that is considered standard of care.
- Biohaven Pharmaceuticals said its experimental drug troriluzole achieved the primary goal of a Phase 3 study by slowing the progression of spinocerebellar ataxia, a rare neurodegenerative disease, compared to a control group of historical patient data collected between 2005-2009. The company plans to submit troriluzole for FDA approval by the end of the year. The agency previously rejected the drug in 2023.
A mysterious anti-pharma bus barnstorms the country
A big red bus has been touring the country lately, proclaiming in bold letters that the pharma industry is in need of reform, STAT’s Rachel Cohrs Zhang reports. A new dark-money group called Americans for Pharma Reform is behind the bus, which is making the rounds in swing states in advance of the election. As to who is funding the outfit? That, for now, is a mystery.
The group is led by Rob Burgess, a Republican operative, who claims it isn’t politically affiliated. Americans for Pharma Reform is calling for limits on indsutry ad spending and patent reforms, as well as for “America First” pricing.
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