STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about an FDA plan for ultra-rare drugs, Novo cutting GLP-1 drug prices, and more

STAT News · Feb 24, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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By Ed SilvermanFeb. 24, 2026 Pharmalot Columnist, Senior Writer Rise and shine, everyone, another busy day is on the way. And it is getting off to a good start here on the Pharmalot campus, where we have clear blue skies and chilly breezes greeting us today. Who could ask for anything more? Actually, we could — it is time to reheat the tea kettle for another cuppa. Our choice today is pomegranate green tea. Please feel free to join us. Remember, no prescription is required and no rebates are involved. Just an old-fashioned, out-of-pocket cost. And now, here are your tidbits. Hope you have a productive and meaningful day, and, as always, please do keep in touch. We have adjusted our settings to accept postcards and telegrams…. The Trump administration released detailed guidance for approving the first bespoke medicines crafted to treat individual patient mutations, STAT writes. The guidance is step one for actually turning the idea into policy and will provide crucial details for groups hoping to develop such individualized medicines. The new pathway has been greeted enthusiastically by academics, companies, and patient groups who see it as the only way to usher in gene editing-based treatments and other drugs for patients with unique mutations or mutations too rare to interest drugmakers. But ethicists and FDA scholars have raised concerns that such a pathway, if written too vaguely, could encourage companies to push through drugs for larger populations that could be studied in larger, more traditional trials. Novo Nordisk plans to slash U.S. list prices for its popular weight loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic by up to half starting next year, The Wall Street Journal says. Under the changes, both Ozempic and Wegovy will list for $675 a month, effective Jan. 1, 2027. That is half of the current price tag for anti-obesity therapy Wegovy and a 34% cut for diabetes treatment Ozempic. The price cuts also will apply to pill versions of both injections, including one sold as Rybelsus. The reductions escalate a price war with Eli Lilly in one of the fastest-growing, most hotly contested categories in pharmaceuticals. Both companies have tried to make it easier for potential customers to get the drugs, offering their medicines directly for sale through websites. They have also sought to compete on price. Novo Nordisk and Lilly have been cutting net prices for popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs by offering discounts to insurers and consumers, including through recent deals with the Trump administration. STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and news alerts. Already have an account? Log in View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+. Subscribe