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The ‘Fantasy We Have of Vaccines’ Is in Trouble
Until last week, the future of vaccination for human papillomavirus, or HPV, in the U.S. seemed clear. For several years, a growing body of evidence has suggested that just a single dose of the vaccine may be as effective as two are, offering decades of protection against the virus, which is estimated to cause roughly 700,000 cases of cancer each year.
More than 50 other countries have already adopted the one-dose schedule, and many experts hoped that the U.S. might follow suit this year. The decision rests, primarily, on the deliberations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a vaccine-advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ACIP was initially expected to put to a vote, as early as next week, the questions of HPV-vaccine dosing and, simultaneously, whether to strengthen the recommendations that advise vaccination starting at nine years of age.
Several experts told me that they had tentatively expected both motions to pass, making HPV vaccination easier, cheaper, and quicker. The HPV vaccine is one of the most powerful vaccines ever developed: It is unusual among immunizations in that it durably prevents infection and disease at rates close to 100%. If it was deployed more widely, “we could see the end of cervical cancer,” Kirthini Muralidharan, a global-health expert and HPV-vaccine researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told me.
Bill Gates in Brussels Next Week for Fresh Vaccine Financing Push With EU Leaders
Bill Gates will visit Brussels next week to participate in a Gavi vaccine alliance summit together with EU leaders to pledge provision of vaccine purchases for developing countries in an event co-hosted by The Gates Foundation and the European Union.
The goal of the event is to collect €9 billion between 2026 and 2030. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, will likely represent the EU at the event.
Gavi is a global vaccine alliance bringing together public and private actors that help vaccinate more than half the world’s children against some of the deadliest diseases. The Gates Foundation, alongside the European Union, is its biggest sponsor.
Gavi intends to immunize at least 500 million children in the next five years. This, according to their press release, would save 8-9 million lives. It is not immediately clear how much the EU will contribute to this plan financially.
Industry Anger at FDA Oustings
The Alliance for Regeneration Medicine, or ARM, a trade group that represents more than 400 members companies across 25 countries, including emerging and established biotech firms, has taken aim at the powers that be in U.S. healthcare.
This follows two figures from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Office of Therapeutic Products director Nicole Verdun and deputy director Rachael Anatol — being placed on administrative leave.
The MFN Executive Order: A Global Reset for U.S. Pharma
The Trump administration reignited the U.S. drug pricing debate by signing a sweeping Executive Order on May 12, introducing a “Most Favored Nation” (MFN) pricing framework. This policy seeks to directly align what Americans pay for prescription drugs with the lowest prices paid in peer economies such as Germany, Switzerland, and Canada.
While the messaging is clear — lower prices for American patients and an equalizing of prices across the globe — the operational, legal, and global implications are far more complex. For the pharmaceutical industry, the MFN Executive Order (EO) is not just a pricing directive; it’s a potential reshaping of global commercial strategy, U.S. operations, regulatory enforcement, and innovation economics.
The MFN EO is designed to halt what the administration calls “global freeloading” — where other developed countries benefit from U.S.-funded drug innovation at significantly lower costs. The EO gives manufacturers 30 days to voluntarily match the lowest international prices or face a range of potential actions including rulemaking, importation expansion, and antitrust investigations.
GLP-1 Reduced Migraine Frequency by Nearly Half, in a Pilot Study
GLP-1 drugs could treat more than just diabetes and obesity. They may also reduce migraine frequency. That is according to the findings of a study presented on Friday at the European Academy of Neurology congress.
The pilot study found that GLP-1 agonists reduced monthly migraine days by almost half. The authors hypothesized that the drug lowers migraine frequency by reducing intracranial pressure.
“It’s a hugely interesting and very important study, and it opens all sorts of questions about how the drug works,” said Alexandra Sinclair, chair of the neurology department at the University of Birmingham. She was not involved in the study but has previously researched the agonists’ role in reducing intracranial pressure.
