May 19, 2026

The need-to-know this morning

Relay Therapeutics reported promising Phase 2 data of its drug zovegalisib in a group of rare diseases that cause abnormal vasculature development, sending company shares up 9% in premarket trading.

pharma

Lilly tops peers on R&D performance, report finds

Eli Lilly ranked first in not one, but two categories in a prominent analysis of drugmakers' R&D activity.

Every year, the consulting firm IDEA Pharma ranks companies on innovation, which takes into account revenue from new drugs; and invention, which looks at the number of drugs a company has in development and its R&D investment. This is the first time that one company has ranked first in both categories.

Also a first in this year's report — two Chinese companies have made it onto the rankings.

Read more from STAT's Allison DeAngelis and Matt Herper on the other companies that made the cut.

pricing

Maryland drug board to cap price of Ozempic

Members of Maryland's drug affordability board have agreed that by next year, it will cap the price of Ozempic to $274 for a 30-day supply.

A growing number of states have created these types of boards, which are designed to function like a state utility commission. This is the second time Maryland's board has taken such a step to cap prices.

The price cap was benchmarked against the maximum fair price paid by Medicare, and the board estimates it will save $5.8 million a year.

politics

TrumpRx partners with Cuban, GoodRx for generics

The White House said yesterday that it's adding more than 600 generic drugs to the TrumpRx website, which directs patients to cash-pay drug offerings.

The administration is not creating new offerings; it's updated the website to include generic drugs available through other websites like Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company and Amazon Pharmacy.

Earlier this month, the White House Council of Economic Advisers estimated that TrumpRx would save $64.3 billion over 10 years, but some experts questioned the claim.

Read more from STAT's Chelsea Cirruzzo and Daniel Payne.

pricing

Drugmakers fail to stop Medicare negotiation program

The Supreme Court yesterday declined to take up lawsuits against the Medicare drug price negotiation program, dealing a major blow to the pharma industry.

Several drugmakers including AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Novo Nordisk have mounted legal challenges to the program, enacted by the Biden administration, but they've largely failed.