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Today, we explore the future of obesity drugs and how they’re named, we chat with CRISPR pioneers about what it’s like to see the technology approved for human use, and more.

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The need-to-know this morning:
• Bayer said it prematurely stopped a Phase 3 study in stroke prevention after independent monitors concluded its experimental blood-thinning medicine, called asundexian, showed inferior efficacy compared to a standard treatment. The asundexian study setback is a significant blow to Bayer’s effort to revamp its drug-development pipeline, analysts said.
• Carmot Therapeutics filed paperwork Friday for an initial public offering of undisclosed size. The Berkeley, Calif.-based company is developing drugs that target GLP-1 and GIP to treat diabetes and obesity, similar to Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic/Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro/Zepbound.
• Bristol Myers Squibb and 2Seventy Bio said the FDA will not complete an on-time review of its application seeking to expand the use of Abecma, their CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma. Instead, the FDA will convene an advisory panel meeting — date to be determined — to examine survival data from an Abecma clinical trial.
• The U.K. and the pharmaceutical industry have reached a deal on a five-year plan outlining how the health system pays for drugs, as the country tries to keep a lid on its medicines spending while simultaneously building up its life sciences industry. STAT’s Andrew Joseph has more here.

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