New IRA Drug Prices, Lots of Layoffs, Moderna’s Vaccine Opportunity

With the Democratic National Convention underway, the Biden Administration’s announcing the first 10 drug prices negotiated under the under the Inflation Reduction Act seems likely to be a political move. But it’s still unclear how much the government is really saving—and what sorts of discounts patients will see. Separately, the biopharma industry saw a flood of layoffs. Lykos Therapeutics slashed around 75% of its staff following the FDA’s rejection of its MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. Meanwhile, diagnostic company GRAIL parted with about a quarter of its workforce, and German biotech Evotec could cut 400 roles globally. And as vaccine makers fall off the COVID-19 cliff, some are turning to combination COVID-flu vaccines, with Pfizer and BioNTech last week announcing mixed data following Moderna’s positive results earlier this summer.