Gerry Smith

Drugmakers Pile Into a Cancer Gold Rush With Questionable Payoff Pharma companies are spending billions on a treatment based off old drugs, with little evidence it will extend lives.

Pharma companies are pouring billions into new cancer treatments that link two old drugs together — with little proof they help patients live longer. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Do School Cellphone Bans Improve Students’ Mental Health? Hi, it's Gerry in New York, where schools have banned smartphones in the classroom for the first time. I spoke to one high school student in a neighboring state about how a phone ban at his school has...

Cellphone bans help students focus. They may also help kids get along better, @gerryfsmith.bsky.social reports in Prognosis >
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

FDA Clears Way for Faster Personalized Gene Editing Treatments A top US regulator plans to unveil a faster approach to approving custom gene-editing treatments, a move designed to unleash a wave of industry investment that will yield cures for patients with rare ...

VERY big news for companies that make custom gene-editing treatments — the FDA is ready to unveil a faster approach to approvals. @gerryfsmith.bsky.social has the story >
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

How Moderna, the company that helped save the world, unraveled Exclusive: The inside story of why Moderna now faces a crisis unlike any in its 15-year-history.

Yesterday, we published a lengthy look at Moderna's post-Covid fall, from one of the most valued companies in the world to to a biotech facing serious questions about its longterm future

It's a story of hubris, the limits of mRNA technology, and, of course, RFK Jr

www.statnews.com/2025/10/30/m...

In my @bloomberg.com Big Take out today I explored how Hologic pushed a medical device on breast cancer patients despite hundreds of complaints, most of which stayed buried until now

How the Moms and Dads of Patients Won Sarepta’s Drug a Reprieve Some experts worry that patient groups’ growing influence is leading to the approval of drugs that may not work and could sometimes be dangerous.

New: Our deep dive on how parents of boys with a rare muscle disease got a controversial gene therapy back on the market. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Making Personalized Crispr Cures to Save More Babies Hi, it’s Gerry in New York. Researchers are trying to build on the success of “baby KJ” and make more personalized treatments for kids with rare diseases. More on that in a moment, but first ...

Baby KJ made history as the first person to get a custom-made treatment using the gene-editing tool Crispr. Now a push is underway to do the same thing for eight more kids. www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

Moderna’s Covid Shot Fully Approved by FDA for Use in Children US regulators approved Moderna Inc.’s Covid vaccine for children, but for a narrower group than before, continuing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial policy that restricts access to the shots for s...

The FDA gave full approval to Moderna's Covid vaccine for kids under 12, but only for those at increased risk. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

RFK Jr. Could Have Ensured This Grim Measles Record Wasn’t Broken US cases are the highest they’ve been since the virus was declared eradicated 25 years ago. The health secretary’s anti-vax agenda is part of the reason.

The US has hit a grim measles milestone--the highest number of cases in 33 years. It's July.

My latest @opinion.bloomberg.com (gift link):

RFK Jr. Is Scaring Parents Into Asking Doctors for Early Shots Pediatricians weigh the risks of vaccinating ahead of schedule with threat of shot shortages looming.

Parents are getting their kids vaccinated early, worried that recent moves by RFK Jr. could limit access to childhood shots.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Fun details from @jessicanix.bsky.social Damian Garde and @gerryfsmith.bsky.social in this story on RFK Jr.'s revamped vaccine panel:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

RFK Jr. Removes All Members of CDC Panel Advising on Vaccines The Department of Health and Human Services is retiring the 17 members of a committee of government vaccine advisers, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is getting rid of all the members of committee that advises the US on vaccine safety. @gerryfsmith.bsky.social has a first take out -- update coming shortly >
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

RFK Jr. Says Covid Shot No Longer Recommended for Healthy Kids US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the Covid shot has been taken off of the country’s recommended vaccine list for healthy children and pregnant women, a seismic shift i...

Today, @seckennedy.govpeeps.us said the Covid shot has been taken off the recommend vaccine list for health children and pregnant women. Here’s a gift link to the @bloomberg.com story from me and @gerryfsmith.bsky.social
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

CVS Offers Bonuses and Pizza Parties as Perks to Boost Vaccine Sales High-margin inoculations bring more customers into drugstores.

FREE LINK > Even as the federal government pulls back on vaccines, CVS is pushing Americans to get their shots. @ikeswetlitz.bsky.social explains why >

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

FDA Requires Studies of Covid Boosters for Healthy Kids, Adults US regulators will no longer approve booster shots to prevent Covid infections for healthy adults and children without new clinical trials showing they are still safe and effective, adding a costly ne...

The FDA will no longer approve Covid booster vaccines for healthy adults under 65 and kids without new clinical trials. @gerryfsmith.bsky.social has the details >
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

RFK Jr. Takes Aim at Covid Shots for Kids, Worrying Vaccine Experts Senior leaders at the US Food and Drug Administration began pushing Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. to file for full, formal approval of their Covid vaccines for children last summer. The conversations g...

The entire vaccine world is in turmoil, but Covid shots, especially for children, have become especially controversial in the Trump administration.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The US Approved an Alzheimer's Drug. Seven Patients Subsequently Died Despite the known risks of patients experiencing life-threatening side effects, prescribing standards vary widely among medical centers.

New: At least seven people have died in the US from symptoms linked to a new Alzheimer's drug over the past two years. Regulators and doctors are divided over the risks. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Vertex’s Non-Opioid Pain Drug Gets Some UnitedHealth Coverage Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s new non-opioid painkiller is being placed on a tier that means it might be costlier than other pain treatments on UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s approved drug lists.

SCOOP by John Tozzi and @gerryfsmith.bsky.social > Vertex's non-opioid painkiller, Journavx, made it onto UnitedHealth Group's Optum Rx approved drugs list, but at a tier that may make it more expensive for patients www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

A gene therapy from Regeneron improved hearing in nearly all deaf children in a clinical trial. After the treatment, most were able to hear barking dogs and conversations — some were even able to hear whispers. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

HHS Job Cuts Jeopardize Our Health and Safety Firing thousands of employees at the agencies that oversee our food supply, research cures for cancer and monitor disease outbreaks is shortsighted.

The weekend purge at HHS is putting the health and safety of Americans at risk. I talked to people w/in FDA, NIH & CMS about the important work they do--and what we lose out on with this unconscionable dismantling of public health & science in the US. My latest @opinion.bloomberg.com (gift link):

US Health Expert Flying ‘Absolutely Blind’ as Federal Health Data Vanishes President Donald Trump’s end of diversity, equity and inclusion language in federal agencies has caused US health data to be removed or not be updated. Medical experts say the extensive losses, even i...

The disappearance of federal health websites due to Trump's DEI ban has left medical experts "flying blind." @gerryfsmith.bsky.social  Tanaz Meghjani, @jessicanix.bsky.social and other Bloomberg health reporters detail the disruptions www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

How RFK Jr. Uses 'Show Me the Data' to Stymie Vaccine Debates Hi, it’s Damian in New York, where I watched the RFK Jr. Q&A and wondered whether anyone had ever uttered “amyloid” in a senate hearing before. More on that hearing in a moment, but first ...

RFK. Jr. constantly asked senators to show him the data. It sounds like a thoughtful request, but Kennedy has a long history of ignoring solid scientific evidence in favor of some non peer-reviewed "study that came out last week."
Damian Garde on the strategy >
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

New Pain Drug Gets FDA Nod as Safer Alternative to Addictive Opioids Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. gained US approval for the first new type of painkiller in more than two decades, paving the way for a safer alternative to addictive opioids that have been linked to hundr...

The FDA has approved the first new type of painkiller in more than two decades, paving the way for a safer alternative to addictive opioids. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

US Investigates Worrying Bird Flu Strain on Duck Farm in California US officials are investigating the appearance of a strain of bird flu identified in the US for the first time, a worrying sign that the virus is evolving in ways that could make it harder to contain.

There was a new strain of bird flu found in California, but the US government didn't announce it.
The World Organization for Animal Health did. @gerryfsmith.bsky.social and @jessicanix.bsky.social >> www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

RFK Jr. Profited From Lawsuits Against Agency He’s Poised to Lead Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earned millions from his work as an attorney, including referral fees from cases filed against the agency he’s been chosen to lead, federal disclosures show.

RFK Jr. got fees for suits against an HHS-manager program and held stakes in firms developing a cancer-treatment drug and a developer of gene-editing treatments. By Bill Allison, @faycortez.bsky.social and @gerryfsmith.bsky.social
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The Trump administration has paused some government health work and communications.

Scientists say it could delay essential information and slow funding for potentially life-saving initiatives.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

A Hot Take on the Bitter Cold Reality of a Polar Plunge Greetings from Michelle in snowy Washington, DC, where I’m grappling with flashbacks. It was 18 degrees and snowing in Minnesota when I dove into Lake Minnetonka on New Year’s Day. Insanity? Perhaps. ...

Fun read from @faycortez.bsky.social on taking a polar plunge and the lack of evidence that they work.

www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

A patient in Louisiana has died from bird flu, marking the first US fatality linked to the respiratory virus www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Vertex’s Opioid Alternative Meets Goal in Back Pain Trial Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s nonaddictive drug for lower back pain didn’t do better than a placebo in a midstage trial, causing the company’s shares to fall.

A new study found Vertex’s nonaddictive painkiller wasn’t better than a placebo, a setback to the company’s effort to sell an alternative to opioids.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The shooting death of a UnitedHealth executive has uncovered a deep anger at the health insurance industry www.bloomberg.com/news/article...