Peptide News Digest

Senator Hassan Letter to RFK Jr Asks if Trump Is Retatrutide Patient, Lilly's First Public Statement, Rep. Lieu Suggests Terminal Illness, BIO 2026 Closes in San Diego

Hassan letter to RFK Jr on retatrutide compassionate use; Lilly's first statement; Lieu terminal-illness press conference; BIO 2026 wraps June 25.

4 stories · Covering regulatory, industry, research

Editor's Note

Day three of the retatrutide compassionate-use story turned formal. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) sent a written letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asking whether the 79-year-old patient is President Trump and characterizing the program use as a 'highly anticipated medication for obesity' provided 'to a single VIP individual for free, without providing that opportunity to other Americans.' Hassan also questioned Kennedy at a Senate hearing about 'vanity projects' at HHS. Eli Lilly issued its first public statement on the case to STAT News: 'We make these decisions following all applicable regulations.' On the House side, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) held a press conference suggesting Trump may have canceled the 21st Century ROAD to Housing bill signing because he is receiving an experimental drug for a terminal illness, prompting White House Communications Director Steven Cheung to call Lieu a 'dumba--.' BIO 2026 wrapped Thursday in San Diego after four days, 20,000+ attendees, 130+ sessions, and an industry-leading partnering meeting volume. A C&EN feature published this month, drawing on CAS Content Collection data, documented the cyclic peptide patenting surge: Chinese universities lead globally on cyclic-peptide filings, with US universities the leading filers outside China.

Regulatory

Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) Letter to HHS Secretary RFK Jr. (June 25): Demands Answers on Retatrutide Compassionate-Use Recipient, Characterizes as 'Highly Anticipated Medication for Obesity to a Single VIP Individual for Free'; Lilly's First Statement to STAT: 'We Make These Decisions Following All Applicable Regulations'

Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), ranking Democrat on the relevant committee, sent a formal written letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on June 25, 2026, demanding answers about whether President Trump (who turned 80 on June 14) is the 79-year-old patient who received compassionate-use access to Eli Lilly's investigational retatrutide. Hassan wrote: 'Reporting suggests that you have used this pathway to provide a highly anticipated medication for obesity to a single VIP individual for free, without providing that opportunity to other Americans.' Hassan also questioned Kennedy at a Senate committee hearing earlier the same day about 'vanity projects' at HHS. The June 25 letter is the first formal congressional action on the compassionate-use case originally reported by STAT News on June 23. Eli Lilly issued its first public statement to STAT News on June 25: 'We make these decisions following all applicable regulations.' The company has not disclosed how it evaluates retatrutide expanded-access requests or whether other applications are pending. Outside experts continue to question whether refractory obesity plus obstructive sleep apnea plus pulmonary hypertension meets the FDA's 'serious or immediately life-threatening' threshold typically reserved for terminal illness. The Senate letter creates an oversight track parallel to the political controversy already running through cable news and X.

#retatrutide #maggie-hassan #rfk-jr #hhs #compassionate-use #eli-lilly #senate-oversight #trump #access-equity
Regulatory

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) Press Conference (June 24): Suggests Trump Canceled 21st Century ROAD to Housing Bill Signing Because Receiving 'Experimental Drug for Terminal Illness'; White House Communications Director Steven Cheung Calls Lieu 'Dumba--' in Response

California Rep. Ted Lieu (D) held a press conference on June 24, 2026 suggesting that President Trump canceled the signing of the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing bill earlier that day because he is fighting a terminal illness and dealing with side effects from an experimental drug. Lieu pointed to the STAT News retatrutide compassionate-use report and reasoned that compassionate-use access typically requires terminal illness. Lieu cited Trump being 'unable to stay awake at meetings, having visible arm weakness, and swelling in his hands' as supporting observations. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung responded by calling Lieu a 'dumba--' for the suggestion. The exchange escalated the political dimension of the retatrutide story from White House versus reporter (Kush Desai vs Lizzy Lawrence on June 23-24) to House Democrat versus White House Communications Director. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is a bipartisan housing reform bill that Trump was scheduled to sign on Wednesday June 24, 2026, with the signing canceled the same day. The White House has not provided a public explanation for the cancellation beyond denying any connection to the retatrutide story.

#ted-lieu #trump #retatrutide #compassionate-use #white-house #steven-cheung #21st-century-road-to-housing #political-controversy
Industry

BIO 2026 International Convention Closes Thursday June 25 in San Diego After Four Days, 20,000+ Attendees, 130+ Sessions Across 18 Focus Areas: Peptide-Notable Deal Flow Includes Insilico-SK $2.5B (Day 1), BioArctic-Lilly $800M BrainTransporter (Day 2), Lilly-Chai STAT Readout (Day 3), Lilly-Astellas Stalking-Horse Bid for Sangamo Assets

The 2026 BIO International Convention closed Thursday June 25 at the San Diego Convention Center after four days, 20,000+ industry leaders in attendance, 130+ sessions across 18 focus areas, and a partnering-meeting volume that BIO sources said matched or exceeded prior-year records. Peptide-relevant headline deals across the convention week: the Insilico Medicine + SK Biopharmaceuticals $2.5 billion AI-neuroimmune drug discovery deal on Day 1 (June 22, $18M upfront + $670M per program in development and commercial milestones); BioArctic + Eli Lilly $800 million BrainTransporter blood-brain barrier delivery pact on Day 2 (June 23); STAT News' Day-3 BIO Readout column behind-the-scenes coverage of Eli Lilly's January Chai Discovery AI biologics partnership (June 24); and the disclosed Lilly-Astellas joint stalking-horse bid for Sangamo Therapeutics assets in bankruptcy (capsid delivery platform, zinc finger platform, modular integrase platform, prion disease program ST-506; Astellas takes Fabry disease asset isaralgagene civaparvovec). Fujifilm Life Sciences showcased a continuous electroporation gene delivery system and high-sensitivity in-line Raman measuring system at its Innovation Showcase. BIO 2027 returns to Boston June 7-10, 2027.

#bio-2026 #san-diego #insilico-medicine #sk-biopharmaceuticals #bioarctic #eli-lilly #chai-discovery #sangamo-bankruptcy #astellas #fujifilm
Research

C&EN/CAS Content Collection Feature (June 2026): Cyclic Peptide Patenting Surge: Chinese Universities Lead Global Filings, US Universities Lead Patentees Outside China, Bicycle Therapeutics and Bristol Myers Squibb Anchor Corporate Filings; Enlicitide Cited as Oral-Pill Cyclic-Peptide Milestone

A Chemical & Engineering News feature published in June 2026, drawing on data from the CAS Content Collection, documented the cyclic-peptide patenting surge over 2020 to April 2026. Chinese universities are the top filers globally on cyclic peptides. Outside China, US universities lead. Among corporates, Bicycle Therapeutics and Bristol Myers Squibb were called out for sustained patent activity covering cancer, infectious, inflammatory, and autoimmune disease indications. The article frames cyclic peptides as bridging the small-molecule and biologic divide: enhanced conformational rigidity, elimination of unstable terminal residues, and improved metabolic stability are the structural advantages that allow some cyclic peptides to be dosed orally. Merck's enlicitide decanoate (MK-0616, oral PCSK9 macrocyclic peptide for hyperlipidemia) was cited as the proof point for oral-pill cyclic-peptide drug development; an enlicitide NDA submission was underway as of mid-2026. The broader market backdrop: macrocyclic and stapled peptides are projected to grow from $1.22 billion in 2024 to $4.76 billion by 2030 at a 21.44% CAGR, driven mostly by oncology pipelines and the macrocyclic deal flow that includes the Unnatural Products-Novartis $1.7-1.8B cardiovascular pact (February 2026), Biogen-Dayra $50M+ immunology pact (November 2025), and the Parabilis Helicon platform (Regeneron $2.3B collaboration, June 10 $670M record IPO).

#cyclic-peptide #macrocyclic-peptide #enlicitide #bicycle-therapeutics #bristol-myers-squibb #cas-content-collection #patenting #merck #pcsk9