Clinical Trial of the Oral Drug NV-387 to Treat Ebola to Start Next Week, Hoping to Reduce Fatalities and Spread, As the Largest Ebola Outbreak is Expanding in DR Congo with 48% Crude Fatality Rate, Says NanoViricides - BioSpace

• The FDA approved Scholar Rock's drug Isembyld for adults and children aged 2 and older who are already using therapies for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). • A late-stage clinical trial showed that patients using Isembyld alongside an SMN2-targeting drug improved their motor skills after one year, while the placebo group declined.

• Clinical trials for the oral drug NV-387 will begin to treat a rapidly expanding outbreak of the Bundibugyo Ebolavirus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. • The virus has spread into displacement camps hosting over 4.4 million people who lack adequate drinking water, sanitation, and medical resources.

• Moderna and Merck are developing an mRNA cancer vaccine to treat patients with late-stage skin cancer. • The vaccine showed success in clinical trials when used in combination with an immunotherapy drug.

• Medical researchers are warning that misinformation and vaccine hesitancy could limit the effectiveness of upcoming personalized cancer vaccines. • These vaccines are designed to prevent cancer from returning by training the immune system to recognize specific proteins on a patient's tumor.

• The FDA is meeting this Wednesday to gather input from the public and industry stakeholders for the next Prescription Drug User Fee Act, which will set agency priorities for fiscal years 2028–2032. • Health policy firm Aviva Strategies noted in a Friday memo that the FDA's Rare Disease Innovation Hub is working to align the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

• Researchers at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center found that annual U.S. cancer deaths linked to alcohol consumption more than doubled between 1990 and 2023. • Data published in The Lancet Regional Health — Americas shows these deaths rose from 11,361 in 1990 to 23,126 in 2023.

• The White House signed secretive agreements with 26 drugmakers that may exempt various medicines from mandatory price reductions in Medicare. • A new analysis indicates these deals could drastically reduce the projected savings from the "most-favored nation" pricing policy, which aims to align U.S. drug costs with lower prices paid abroad.

• A new market for peptide-based medicines is emerging and growing quickly, building on a history of therapies that dates back to the 1920s. • Insulin served as one of the earliest and most important peptide therapies to help people manage diabetes.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared that the record-setting cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce has ended. • Health officials confirmed that all contaminated iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico and recalled by Taylor Farms de Mexico is now off the market.

• The World Health Organization classified Candida albicans, C. auris, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Cryptococcus neoformans as critical priority fungi. • These specific fungi were selected based on their widespread prevalence and the high mortality rates associated with invasive mycoses, or deep-tissue fungal infections.

• A narrative review synthesized global data from 2000 to early 2026 to analyze the escalating crisis of antimicrobial resistance. • The study utilized surveillance data from the World Health Organization and Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance to outline the scale of the problem.