Welcome to the Weekly Rundown where the DDN editors cover this week’s top biotech and pharma news.
Oxford scientists develop rapid Ebola vaccine as Congo outbreak grows
Scientists at the University of Oxford are developing an experimental Ebola vaccine that could be ready for clinical trials within two to three months, as health authorities race to contain an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has caused around 750 suspected cases and 177 deaths. The outbreak, driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has been classified by the World Health Organization as a “very high” risk nationally, with a declared public health emergency of international concern. The Oxford team’s candidate uses the ChAdOx1 viral vector platform, previously deployed in the COVID-19 vaccine developed with AstraZeneca, to deliver genetic material from the Bundibugyo virus via a modified chimpanzee cold virus that cannot cause disease but trains the immune system to recognize the pathogen. While animal studies are now under way and production plans are being prepared with the Serum Institute of India, researchers stress that the vaccine’s effectiveness remains unproven and depends on preclinical and early clinical results. – Bree Foster
First therapeutic approved for Hepatitis Delta Virus
After receiving priority review, the FDA has approved Gilead’s Hepcludex making it the first and only approved treatment for chronic hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection. HDV is regarded as the most severe type of chronic viral hepatitis, and only occurs when someone is already infected with the hepatitis B virus before also acquiring hepatitis D infection. The dual infection overpowers the liver, quickly leading to liver damage, liver cancer, and even death. The FDA’s decision was based on a Phase 3 trial showing that patients taking Hepcludex exhibited a combined response rate (defined as undetectable HDV RNA or a specified amount of decline from baseline and aminotransferase normalization) of 48 percent compared to two percent in patients with delayed treatment. "For individuals living with this chronic viral infection, this new treatment option offers hope in managing a disease that can rapidly progress to serious liver complications,” said Wendy Carter, Acting Director of the Office of Infectious Diseases at the FDA, in the news release. – Allison Whitten
FDA stalls decision for AstraZeneca’s breast cancer drug
On Thursday, AstraZeneca announced that the FDA will extend its Prescription Drug User Fee Act date and requested additional data to review for its breast cancer selective estrogen receptor degrader drug, camizestrant, in combination with a cyclin-depedent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor. The decision follows a previous FDA advisory panel, Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee, that voted against the drug in April, citing concerns about the trial design and clinical meaningfulness. However, the drug has seen more success in Europe, as the EU just recommended it for approval last week. In regards to the FDA’s delay, Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President, Oncology Haematology R&D at AstraZeneca, said in the statement, “We look forward to continuing the dialogue with the FDA in order to bring the benefits of camizestrant with this innovative treatment strategy to eligible patients in the US as quickly as possible.” – Allison Whitten
DNA test could spare thousands of breast cancer patients from chemotherapy
A commercially available genomic test from Veracyte can help identify patients with early-stage high-risk breast cancer who may safely avoid chemotherapy, according to data being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting. In a large randomized trial involving more than 4,400 patients, researchers found that use of the company’s Prosigna test to guide treatment allowed over two-thirds of eligible patients to forgo chemotherapy without compromising outcomes. After five years of follow-up, cancer-free survival in the test-guided group was 93.7 percent, compared with 94.9 percent in patients receiving standard chemotherapy, meeting pre-specified criteria for non-inferiority. The Prosigna assay analyzes the activity of 50 genes in tumour tissue to generate a molecular subtype and a “risk of recurrence” score used to guide treatment decisions. The findings support a more personalized approach to breast cancer care that could spare many patients the physical and long-term side effects of chemotherapy, including infertility, cognitive impairment, and early menopause, while maintaining similar survival outcomes. – Bree Foster
Mouse study links chronic oral inflammation to reduced egg quality and lower birth rates
Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center have published findings suggesting that chronic oral inflammation can impair female fertility through a systemic immune response that reaches the ovaries. The study, published in the Journal of Dental Research and led by Michael Klutstein and Asaf Wilensky, used a mouse model of dental implant-associated inflammation to track how immune signals travel beyond the oral cavity. The team found elevated inflammatory cytokines in ovarian tissue, shifts in immune cell populations, oxidative damage to follicles, and reduced oocyte quality — changes that translated into measurably lower live birth rates. Oocytes also showed DNA damage and epigenetic alterations resembling those seen in reproductive aging, pointing to a possible mechanism by which oral inflammation could accelerate fertility decline. The findings are preclinical and require clinical validation before any treatment implications can be drawn, but they add to a growing body of evidence connecting oral inflammatory conditions like periodontitis to systemic disease — and raise questions about whether managing oral inflammation could become a relevant consideration in cases of unexplained infertility. – Andrea Corona
Lilly's $3.8 billion vaccine push signals a deliberate pivot toward disease prevention
Eli Lilly this week announced agreements to acquire three vaccine developers simultaneously, marking its eighth, ninth, and tenth deals of 2026 and its most explicit statement yet that it intends to build a full infectious disease franchise alongside its dominant obesity and diabetes portfolio. The three deals, worth up to $3.8 billion combined, give Lilly a shingles vaccine candidate through Curevo (up to $1.5 billion); a bacterial vaccine pipeline from LimmaTech Biologics (up to $780 million) targeting Staphylococcus aureus, gonorrhea, and chlamydia; and a proprietary vaccine platform from Vaccine Company (up to $1.55 billion) that includes an Epstein-Barr virus program approaching early-stage trials.The timing is notable: The deals arrive as federal vaccine support has weakened under the current administration, and just months after Lilly hired Peter Marks, the FDA's former top vaccine regulator. For drug developers, the strategic logic is straightforward — Lilly's Chief Scientific Officer Dan Skovronsky framed the acquisitions as a prevention-first strategy, pointing to mounting evidence linking common infections to downstream neurological disease, cancer, and infertility. The move suggests that at least one major pharma company is betting the long-term value of infectious disease prevention outweighs the current political headwinds around vaccines. – Andrea Corona
