💉In an executive order signed Monday, President Donald Trump called for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to be split into three separate shots. Trump unveiled the new order at an Oval Office event, during which he and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. insinuated there was a link between vaccines and higher rates of autism. 

The move creates a quandary for new CDC Director Erica Schwartz, who was confirmed last week after a yearlong vacancy for the permanent job. During her nomination hearing, Schwartz was questioned by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) about whether she would stand up to others in the administration on vaccine policy. Cassidy was quick to criticize the new vaccine directive. “I’m a doctor. This executive order is wrong,” Cassidy wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism.”

Meanwhile, vaccine makers and clinical development veterans say it could take years to separate out the vaccine. Up to 10 years, to be exact, a Merck spokesperson said in a statement to Endpoints News. Read more here from Max Bayer.

💊An oral LSD drug from Definium Therapeutics succeeded in a Phase 3 trial for generalized anxiety disorder this week, the biotech announced. A single dose of the drug, called DT120, improved patients’ anxiety symptoms nearly two-fold compared to placebo on a clinician questionnaire. The result was highly statistically significant and met expectations by showing at least a five-point improvement on the symptom questionnaire. 

Definium is waiting for another Phase 3 anxiety trial to produce data before filing for approval in anxiety. But the drug could also compete in major depressive disorder after it passed a Phase 3 test there in June. Should DT120 succeed in another Phase 3 depression trial, the drug would likely challenge Johnson & Johnson’s ketamine-based nasal spray Spravato. Data for the other anxiety trial are expected in September, while the second depression study should have a topline readout next year. Definium also hopes to launch a pivotal trial for post-traumatic stress disorder in 2027. 

💰The company was unveiled on Wednesday morning with backing from Deerfield Management to advance its three immunology and inflammation (I&I) drug candidates, Kyle LaHucik wrote. Its scientific co-founders include former Sanofi R&D exec Frank Nestle and immunology professor Georg Schett. 

Boulevard is already in Phase 1 in the US with an internally discovered bispecific antibody that it hopes will offer less frequent dosing and better efficacy than Vera Therapeutics’ Trutakna in IgA nephropathy. Behind BLVD101, Boulevard has a trispecific T cell engager that it hopes to send into the clinic within the next year. The company licensed the candidate from METiS TechBio, a Chinese AI drug delivery startup.