Hammond's Hot Takes Weekly Edition

Research evidence excerpt

Hammond's Hot Takes Weekly Edition

July 5, 2026

manufacturing facilities by letting regulators evaluate sites while they're still

under construction. The agency estimates this could save companies up to 14

months of the regulatory review timeline. Notable sites include LLY's Indiana

facility for GLP-1 production and REGN's $2B New York biologic plant.

●The House Select Committee on China has launched investigations into MRK,

ABBV, PFE, BMY, and LLY over clinical trials run in China, particularly at

sites in Xinjiang and Chinese military-affiliated hospitals. The committee is

demanding details by July 17 on oversight, ethics, and data protection. Concerns

center on whether trial participants in Xinjiang could give truly informed consent

given human rights abuses there, and whether IP from military-hospital trials

could leak to China's military.

●The UK's MHRA has approved Inqlexzo (commercialized Inlexzo in the US)

for adults with BCG-unresponsive high-risk NMIBC who either can't or

choose not to undergo bladder removal surgery. The agency has noted that it

will continue to monitor safety through its Yellow Card reporting scheme, the

UK's system that allows for reports of suspected safety issues that may have

not shown up during clinical trials.

●A federal judge blocked Colorado's first-in-the-nation attempt to cap the

price of AMGN's arthritis drug Enbrel at $31,200 a year, ruling AMGN would

likely suffer irreparable harm and that capping a patented drug's price isn't

a permissible tool even if the state has a legitimate interest in affordability.

Colorado's Prescription Drug Affordability Board had set the cap to take effect

January 1, 2027; AMGN had argued it conflicted with federal patent law and

violated its due process rights.