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The removal ACIP members marks the most significant upheaval to the current vaccine landscape under Trump’s administration. Credit: lev radin / Shutterstock

The US department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has culled the 17 Biden-appointed members on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a move observers warn is liable to further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses. 

Under the leadership of health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr (RFK Jr), the former ACIP members will be replaced with new members who are currently under consideration. 

ACIP is the committee responsible for reviewing vaccine data and issuing official government recommendations on immunisations. 

According to a communique issued by the HHS, ‘reconstituting’ the ACIP will “restore public trust” in vaccines, with the new ACIP members intended to ensure that government scientific activities are informed by “the most credible, reliable, and impartial scientific evidence available”. 

RFK Jr said a clean sweep is “necessary” to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science, stating that the committee will no longer function as a “rubber stamp for industry profit-taking agendas”.

A degree of uncertainty reigns over the implementation of regulations imposed by US President Donald Trump that aim to bolster pharmaceutical manufacturing in the US, market analysis suggests.

Trump has signed a range of executive orders that aim to incentivise drugmakers to double-down on manufacturing infrastructure in the US. The most widely reported have been those pertaining to tariffs, making it harder for companies to import products into the US, among other effects.

A separate executive order, the implementation of which has been less clearly explained by the administration, is one signed on 5 May that will direct the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prioritise approval of domestic facilities.

Precisely, the FDA should be able to approve pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in the US faster by removing certain requirements, streamlining reviews, and providing both extra and early support. Conversely, foreign manufacturing plants will be subject to increased inspection fees.

A £29bn investment into the National Health System (NHS) is ‘substantial’, but reform of the system is essential to ‘fix the NHS’, says UK Secretary of Health and Social Care Wes Streeting MP.

Speaking at the NHS ConfedExpo conference in Manchester on 12 June, Streeting emphasised that while the investment is crucial, it is not sufficient on its own.

Streeting said: “[£29bn] is objectively a substantial funding settlement that puts wind in our sails. The investment alone isn’t enough. As I’ve consistently argued, you cannot fix the NHS problems by simply pouring more money into a broken system. It’s only through the combination of investment and reform that we will succeed in getting the NHS back on its feet and make it fit for the future.”

As a result, the funding will be used alongside the NHS 10-year plan that will look at improving all areas of the NHS including community care, technology and staffing, adding that it is to prepare the NHS for the future instead of simply dealing with the current challenges.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has unveiled first-in-human data on its trispecific antibody that demonstrates a 100% response rate in a small group of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (r/r MM).

The initial data from the Phase I trial (NCT05652335) of JNJ-5322 shows that the trispecific antibody led to a 100% overall response rate (ORR) in 27 patients who were naïve to anti-BCMA/-GPRC5D therapies at a median follow-up of 8.2 months. The patients were treated with the proposed Phase II dose of 100mg four times weekly (Q4W).

JNJ-5322 simultaneously targets BCMA (B-cell maturation antigen), GPRC5D (G protein coupled receptor family C group 5 member D), and CD3 (cluster of differentiation 3). The drug engages both malignant B cells and T cells, inducing anti-cancer cytotoxicity and T-cell activation, while overcoming tumour heterogeneity.

The Phase I trial has enrolled 126 patients as of 15 January 2025 with r/r MM previously exposed to proteosome inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs, and anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies (mAb). After dose escalation, 36 patients were administered 100mg JNJ-5322 subcutaneously Q4W as the putative recommended Phase II dose.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) has terminated a contract previously awarded to Moderna to help advance a vaccine candidate targeting avian influenza, more commonly known as bird flu.

The move to withdraw previously promised funding signals the health agency’s latest shift away from vaccine dependence, headed by vaccine-sceptic Robert F Kennedy (RFK) Jr.

Moderna won the contract in July 2024, with an initial $176m grant given by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the agency responsible for developing and stockpiling medical countermeasures in the US.

The funds were intended for Moderna to use in late-stage development of its mRNA vaccine, dubbed mRNA-1018, against the H5 influenza virus, a family of pathogens that can infect humans if transmitted from birds.

Moderna stated it “expected to advance the programme to late-stage with the HHS; however, today, received notice that HHS will terminate the award for the late-stage development and right to purchase pre-pandemic influenza vaccines”. The company will now explore alternatives to continue mRNA-1018’s clinical journey.