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Jazz’s HER2 Bispecific Wins First-Line Gastric & McKesson Pays $2.25B for Precision Medicine

Wed, Aug 26, 2026 15 min Hosts: Alex Mercer & Maya Patel
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The FDA cleared Jazz Pharmaceuticals' Ziihera (zanidatamab) in first-line HER2-positive gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma with median overall survival of 26.4 months — but the second regimen on that same label has never shown a significant survival benefit, and the analysis that settles it is due by the end of September. Alex and Maya dig into the label breadth the FDA granted, the boxed warning for diarrhea, and the $250 million milestone Zymeworks just banked on approval. Plus: McKesson buys Precision Medicine Group for $2.25 billion, pushing a drug distributor deep into trial design and commercialization. And Sentivera — the ARCH and Population Health startup founded after Metsera — licenses a preclinical Type 2 inflammation asset from Haisco Pharmaceutical in a deal worth up to $1.5 billion.Alex Mercer and Maya Patel host. Get the daily rundown in your inbox — subscribe at thepharmacloseout.com.

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