STAT+: Pharmalittle: We're reading about Novo's Wegovy approval in China, a Merck KGaA cancer trial failure, and more

Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is. Clear blue skies and cool breezes are wafting over the Pharmalot campus, where the official mascots have returned from their jaunt around the grounds and are now snoozing comfortably in their respective corners. This means we are free to focus on the matters at hand — rummaging through our to-do list and making cups of stimulation. Our choice today is wild mountain blueberry, a summer treat. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here is the latest menu of tidbits to help you get started yourself. We hope your day is productive and meaningful. And of course, do keep in touch. We appreciate the ideas and insights. …

The U.S. Supreme Court gave a boost to a challenge by 21 pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies to a lawsuit accusing them of illegally helping to fund terrorism that killed or injured hundreds of American troops and civilians in Iraq, Reuters writes. The justices threw out a lower court ruling that revived a lawsuit brought by the military personnel and civilians who said they were harmed between 2005 and 2011 in the Iraq war. The justices asked the lower court to reconsider the case. Hundreds of American service members and civilians, and their families, sued AstraZeneca, Pfizer, GE Healthcare USA, Johnson & Johnson, and Roche.

Novo Nordisk plans to build a $4.1 billion facility in North Carolina, as demand for its popular weight loss drugs has only increased in recent months, The Hill notes. The plant will be the company’s second fill-and-finishing manufacturing facility in Clayton, N.C., and its fourth facility in the area overall. Novo Nordisk said the new facility would expand over 56 acres and add 1.4 million square feet of production space, doubling the combined square footage of the other three facilities in North Carolina. The company said that it expects to add 1,000 new jobs, and that construction will gradually be finalized between 2027 and 2029.

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