STAT+: J&J reportedly in talks to buy Protagonist

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Good morning. My colleagues were hard at work throughout the weekend reporting on major firings across the CDC. We’ve also got a ton of biopharma news to catch up on below.

The need-to-know this morning

• Biocryst Pharmaceuticals is acquiring Astria Therapeutics in a cash-and-stock deal with a $700 million enterprise value. The centerpiece of the transaction is Astria’s long-acting injectable drug in late-stage clinical development to treat hereditary angioedema, or HAE, a serious tissue-swelling disorder. Biocryst markets a pill for HAE. 
• Kailera Therapeutics, a privately held developer of drugs for obesity, raised $600 million — one of the largest private financings this year.
• Denali Therapeutics said the FDA extended by three months a review of its treatment for Hunter syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. The approval decision date is now April 5, 2026. 
• Shah Capital, the second-largest shareholder of Covid vaccine maker Novavax, sent a letter to the company’s board, urging them to considering selling the company in order to boost shareholder value.
• Johnson & Johnson kicked off third-quarter earnings season and announced a plan to separate its orthopedics business, but the diversified healthcare giant did not announce a rumored acquisition of Protagonist Therapeutics.

FDA scientists say politics are increasingly overshadowing data

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