STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about an FDA commish nominee, mRNA cancer vaccine results, and more

The Pharmalittle column highlights two major stories. First, President Trump is expected to nominate Heidi Overton, deputy director of domestic policy for the White House, to serve as the next FDA commissioner. Overton has been a powerful health policy voice in Trump's second term and has at times frustrated leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement. She joined the White House at the start of the term, has led health policy, and worked closely with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If nominated, she will need to face scrutiny from a U.S. Senate panel.

Second, a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine from Merck and Moderna, added to an existing treatment, slowed the return of melanoma and its spread in a late-stage clinical trial. Detailed data have not yet been released, but if the results hold up, they could deliver new hope and potentially longer lives for patients. The findings further validate mRNA as a platform for both traditional vaccines and therapeutics, and approval would be a boon for Moderna's mRNA platform, which has become a political lightning rod.