Friday Five: FDA steps up to counter China’s clinical‑trial edge, AbbVie buys Apogee, and psychedelics hype yields real data

on

The Food and Drug Administration has launched a series of reforms to speed drug development and retain early‑phase clinical research in the U.S. as China overtakes the U.S. in clinical trial volume.

AbbVie has agreed to buy Apogee Therapeutics for about $10.1 billion net of cash, gaining a promising next‑generation acute myeloid leukemia (AML) therapy and expanding its oncology pipeline.

Recent and ongoing Phase 3 trials of psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA show large effect sizes in severe depression and PTSD, validating part of the hype while falling short of delivering a near‑term FDA‑approved psychedelic drug.

Sources:

Health officials launch clinical trial reforms to counter China threat

Psilocybin for Depression, MDMA for PTSD: What Phase 3 ...

Coronavirus Update: FDA steps to ensure quality of foreign products

House lawmaker brings FDA into biosecurity crackdown on China

[PDF] Acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics - AbbVie Investor Relations