STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about a pancreatic cancer drug approval, a Trump deal with biotechs, and more

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a life-extending treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer made by Revolution Medicines, the first to attack a genetic cause of the aggressive malignancy. The approval was supported by a practice-changing clinical trial showing that patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who received the drug as a second-line treatment achieved a median overall survival of 13.2 months, compared to 6.7 months for patients given standard chemotherapy.

Separately, the Trump administration plans to announce new drug-pricing agreements with several midsized biotech companies on Monday, according to Bloomberg News. The companies will agree to provide discounts on outpatient drugs to state Medicaid programs so that the prices states pay align with what the companies charge in foreign countries. Participation by state Medicaid programs is optional. In exchange, the companies will be exempt from pilot programs forcing similar discounts in Medicare, and relief from tariffs is also part of some of the discussions.