STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about a Novo setback, support for Replimune’s melanoma drug, and more
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- FDA advisory panel voted 10-3 to recommend Replimune's experimental RP1 treatment for advanced melanoma, ruling the company had gathered sufficient data for FDA review after the drug was rejected last year and again this past April.
- RP1, an engineered viral immunotherapy, is now headed for FDA review; investors have interpreted the agency's decision to convene an advisory committee meeting as a sign of new lenience under the FDA's new leadership.
- GLP-1 weight-loss prescriptions are showing early signs of a slowdown as employers and insurers pull back on coverage, signaling the market could be entering a more restrained phase after years of breakneck expansion, per Bloomberg News.
- Cigna CEO Brian Evanko said the insurer's pharmacy benefits manager has seen coverage declines and slower utilization growth for weight-loss GLP-1 drugs in recent months compared with prior periods.
- About 6% of big employers dropped coverage for weight-loss drugs in 2026, according to a Mercer consulting firm survey.
Why it matters: The 10-3 panel vote for Replimune's RP1 — rejected twice before by the FDA — gives investors a concrete read on how the agency under new leadership weighs investigational cancer therapies, which they are already reading as new lenience. Separately, 6% of large employers dropping GLP-1 coverage for 2026 and Cigna's reported slower utilization mark the first measurable pullback in the obesity-drug market after years of unchecked expansion.
