As the FDA flies the Progressive Pride Flag in honor of Pride Month, an appropriations bill provision would limit the flags that could be flown at it and other federal agency buildings. Plus news on Medicare's amyloid PET NCD, reimbursement for new end-stage renal disease drugs, opioid disposal and what FDA can't use its user fees for in 2024. 

ElevateBio closed a series D venture capital round and revealed a potentially multibillion-dollar deal between its Life Edit subsidiary and Novo Nordisk as demand for its cell and gene therapy capabilities grow.

Public Company Edition: J&J’s consumer health spinout Kenvue grossed $3.8bn in its public market debut and Acelyrin raised $540m in an upsized IPO. Also, Seres accessed $250m in new debt for Vowst commercialization while follow-on offerings raised $325m for ImmunoGen and $240m for Morphic. 

Public Company Edition: With the XBI up more than 9% in April, a few follow-on offerings –$23m to support Gamida Cell’s small product launch and $500m to fund Vaxcyte’s large clinical trial program – have made it to market. Also, China’s CytoMed launched the sixth biopharma IPO in the US this year.