STAT's Andrew Joseph discusses biotech investor sentiment, political risks, and FDA optimism with David Kessler at Breakthrough Summit West.
Hey there, and happy Wednesday. STAT reporter Andrew Joseph here filling in for Mr. Pharmalot. It's already been a busy day here at STAT's London outpost. We hope wherever you are, you can find time to take a break for a snack or a walk. To the news we go. For biotech investors, the risks seen with the rise of the Make America Healthy Again movement are fading, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a critic of the industry, is still health secretary, and MAHA still has sway over parts of the American public. However, for Wall Street, the political risk of investing in drug companies has been demoted: It now sits well below interest rates, clinical data, and earnings in the hierarchy of concerns. Recent ousters of U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials who were seen as skeptical of the industry have helped to improve this sentiment. Even with all that tumult at the FDA, a former commissioner sees an inflection point where the agency can now make a turn for the better. David Kessler, who led the agency from 1990 to 1997 and also worked on Operation Warp Speed during the Covid-19 pandemic, spoke at STAT's Breakthrough Summit West on Tuesday. Kessler he had "great confidence" in the newly appointed acting commissioner, Kyle Diamantas. While Diamantas is an attorney rather than a medical doctor like most FDA commissioners, Kessler he understood the process well: "I think he understands the process." Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…
