Welcome to the Weekly Rundown where the DDN editors cover this week’s top biotech and pharma news.
Research finds no increased autism risk from acetaminophen during pregnancy
Taking acetaminophen (Tylenol) during pregnancy does not increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder in children, according to a large population-based study from Denmark published in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers analyzed more than 1.5 million births between 1997 and 2022 using national health registry data, including over 31,000 children exposed to acetaminophen in utero, and found autism rates of 1.8 percent among exposed children compared with three percent among those not exposed. This evidence aligns with a previous study in Sweden, published in 2024, which showed that initial signals of a small association between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental conditions disappeared once researchers accounted for shared familial factors using sibling-controlled analyses. In that study, which examined nearly 2.5 million children, the modest increases seen in autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability risk in standard models were no longer present when comparing siblings, suggesting that underlying genetic or environmental influences rather than the medication itself were driving the observed differences. The results come after political and regulatory scrutiny of Tylenol use in pregnancy, including warnings issued in the US and a proposed label change by the FDA, which has contributed to a reported decline in use among pregnant people. – Bree Foster
FDA signals interest in expanding testosterone therapy to treat low libido in men
The FDA took an initial step on April 16, 2026, toward broadening the approved use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), inviting sponsors of existing TRT products to reach out about pursuing a new indication for low libido in men with idiopathic hypogonadism, a condition characterized by low testosterone without an identifiable underlying cause. Currently, approved TRT products are limited to men with hypogonadism tied to known structural or genetic causes. The agency's move follows a preliminary review of published clinical literature and a December 2025 expert panel meeting, which surfaced data suggesting TRT may be safe and effective for this broader patient population. The FDA is encouraging holders of approved TRT new drug applications to contact the agency by April 30 regarding supplemental submissions. The agency was careful to note that any new indication would still require substantial evidence of effectiveness and a favorable benefit-risk profile. The announcement signals a shift in how the agency is approaching men's health, though it stops well short of an approval, and considerable clinical work remains before any label expansion could move forward. – Andrea Corona
New topical therapy shows major hair growth in Phase 3 trials
Cosmo Pharmaceuticals has reported positive topline results from two Phase 3 trials of its clascoterone 5 percent topical solution for male androgenetic alopecia, showing statistically significant increases in hair count versus placebo and marking what could be the first major therapeutic advance in male pattern hair loss in more than 30 years. Across 1,465 patients enrolled in the identically designed Scalp 1 and Scalp 2 studies in the US and Europe, the treatment achieved relative improvements in target-area hair count of 539 percent and 168 percent compared with placebo, alongside a safety profile comparable to placebo. The company said both trials met their primary endpoints and were supported by positive patient-reported outcomes, with no meaningful differences in adverse events between groups. Clascoterone is a topical androgen receptor inhibitor designed to block DHT (dihydrotestosterone) activity directly at the hair follicle, avoiding systemic hormonal exposure associated with oral therapies. Cosmo said it is preparing parallel regulatory submissions in the US and Europe following completion of 12-month safety follow-up in 2026, as it seeks approval for what could become the first topical therapy of its kind for hair loss. – Bree Foster
Researchers pinpoint a protein driving metastasis in one of breast cancer's hardest-to-treat forms
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have identified a protein that plays a central role in enabling triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) to spread to other organs, offering a potential new therapeutic target for a disease with notoriously limited treatment options. The study, published in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy and led by Etta Livneh and Moshe Elkabets, found that elevated levels of PKC-eta (protein kinase C-eta) activate the YAP protein within the Hippo signaling pathway, a cascade that regulates cell growth and metastasis, allowing cancer cells to detach, migrate, and colonize distant organs including the lungs and liver. When PKC-eta was reduced or eliminated in laboratory and animal models, tumors grew more slowly and showed significantly less metastatic spread. The team also identified a naturally occurring peptide that targets and degrades PKC-eta, and in experimental models, introducing this peptide disrupted YAP regulation and curbed the cancer's ability to spread. The findings are preclinical, and considerable work remains before these insights reach the clinic, but the researchers say PKC-eta could serve both as a prognostic marker to flag patients at high risk of metastasis and as a therapeutic target in its own right. – Andrea Corona
Lilly bets $300 million on a next-generation cancer drug designed to hit tumors twice
Eli Lilly announced on April 14, 2026, that it is acquiring CrossBridge Bio, a Houston-based preclinical startup, for up to $300 million in cash, including an upfront payment and a development milestone payment. Founded in 2023 around technology developed by Kyoji Tsuchikama at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, CrossBridge has built a dual-payload antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform designed to deliver two cancer-killing drugs simultaneously to tumor cells, a meaningful departure from the single-payload approach used by most current ADCs. Its lead candidate, CBB-120, targets TROP2, a protein already validated by approved therapies like Trodelvy, but pairs a topoisomerase 1 inhibitor with an ATR inhibitor, a combination intended to widen the therapeutic window, generate more durable responses, and overcome resistance mechanisms that limit existing treatments. An investigational new drug application is expected later this year. The deal fits a clear pattern for Lilly, which has been steadily building out its ADC capabilities through acquisitions, clinical investment, and a planned $5 billion ADC manufacturing facility in Virginia. – Andrea Corona
Northwestern engineers built artificial neurons that can talk to real brain cells
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed flexible, printed artificial neurons capable of generating electrical signals realistic enough to activate living brain cells, a finding published April 15, 2026, in Nature Nanotechnology. Led by materials scientist Mark Hersam and co-led by Vinod Sangwan, the team built the devices using electronic inks made from nanoscale flakes of molybdenum disulfide and graphene, deposited onto flexible polymer substrates through aerosol jet printing. A key insight came from turning a known flaw into a feature: Rather than burning away the polymer residue left in the ink, as others had done, the team partially decomposed it, creating narrow conductive filaments that produce neuron-like electrical spikes. When tested on slices of mouse cerebellum, conducted with neuroscientist Indira Raman, the artificial neurons hit a timing and waveform sweet spot that prior approaches had missed, reliably triggering responses in real neural circuits. Beyond neuroprosthetics and brain-machine interfaces, the work carries implications for computing: the brain is roughly 100,000 times more energy efficient than a digital computer, and as AI-driven power demands push companies toward gigawatt data centers and nuclear power plants to keep them running, hardware that mimics the brain's architecture could offer a way out. — Andrea Corona
