Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Merck Reports Positive Trial Results in Hypercholesterolemia
The Phase 3 CORALreef AddOn trial compared the efficacy and safety of enlicitide to bempedoic acid, ezetimibe or bempedoic acid with ezetimibe
Enlicitide has the potential to be the first approved oral PCSK9 inhibitor designed to help address critical unmet needs for patients with hypercholesterolemia and help combat the ongoing cardiovascular (CV) epidemic
NY Dems pushing to raise corporate tax rate to bail out Mamdani’s massive deficit
New York state Democratic lawmakers are pushing to raise the corporate tax rate on businesses to help bail out Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is facing a projected $5.4 billion deficit in the city budget, sources told The Post.
“There’s a huge appetite to increase the corporate tax,” said a source who recently met with both state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and Senate Majority Leader Andrew Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers).
“It’s the most popular of the menu of taxes,” the city official added.
Another source familiar with the budget talks said lawmakers were “seriously discussing” a corporate tax increase.
Democrats in the Assembly are “very firm” in demanding some sort of tax increase, the Albany insider said.
It’s bound to put them at odds with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has been opposed to a big tax hike as she seeks re-election this year and aims to keep wealthy New Yorkers and businesses from fleeing New York.
“Some in Albany may be pushing for a political win by raising taxes just to be able to say that they hurt corporations, but the reality is that New York’s economy takes the loss if we continue to raise taxes when it isn’t necessary,” said Steven Fulop, president and CEO of the pro-business Partnership for New York City.
“We are forcing jobs to leave New York as we saw with Apollo this week which only further deepens the affordability crisis. The governor is right to push back, and we hope she holds the line,” Fulop said.
It was revealed on Sunday that a major Wall Street firm, Apollo Global Management, a $900 billion asset manager, is plotting a second US headquarters in the Sunbelt as Mamdani pushes to hike taxes on deep-pocketed corporations.
Legislators in the Assembly and Senate have been poring over a list of tax hikes on the wealthy sought by Mamdani, including increasing the income tax levy on millionaires, on estates and on corporate taxes.
Lawmakers have particularly discussed the corporate tax in closed-door conversations, sources said.
During last year’s mayoral campaign, Mamdani proposed raising the top corporate income tax rate for major corporations from 7.25% to 11.5%.
Another proposal would increase the city’s corporate tax from 9% to 10.8% on financial sector firms and 8.85% to 10.62% on non-finance sectors. Mamdani’s team projected that such an increase would raise $1.5 billion a year.
The Democrat-run state Assembly and Senate have their own corporate tax proposals similar to Mamdani’s.
The Assembly estimates that its own proposal to increase the statewide corporate tax from 7.25% to 9.25% for companies making more than $10 million would generate around $1.9 billion per year in revenue.
The Senate proposes increasing the statewide corporate tax rate from 7.25% to 9% for businesses with $5 million in income.
But Hochul’s office said Monday she remains opposed to such increases as she seeks re-election to a second, full four-year term. She worries about businesses as well as wealthy New Yorkers who pay a disproportionate share of income taxes fleeing the city.
“The governor’s position has not changed. She has been clear she will work with Mayor Mamdani and the state legislature to find ways to support New York City and deliver on a shared affordability agenda,” said Hochul spokesperson Jen Goodman.
The state budget is due Wednesday, April 1. But Hochul and lawmakers are not close to an agreement and talks could drag on for weeks.
An Assembly Democratic source said Hochul still holds tremendous sway in budget negotiations, and agrees she’ll likely fight any tax increase this year.
The insider said Hochul and the legislature can tap into the state’s $14.6 billion to settle any differences, if necessary.
“The rainy day fund is in good shape,” the source said.
Hochul and the legislature drained $7 billion from the emergency fund last year to shore up the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund— to increase benefits for unemployed New Yorkers and cut costs to businesses.
The city budget, heavily reliant on Albany support, isn’t due until July 1.
Negotiations are so sensitive that that tax-happy Mamdani skipped a tax the rich rally Sunday headlined by democratic socialist mentor Sen. Bernie Sanders to avoid offending Hochul.
China confirms 3 ships transited Strait of Hormuz
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed on Tuesday that three Chinese vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days. She added that the transit was carried out "following coordination with the relevant parties," thanking them for their assistance.
Mao repeated China's call for "an early ceasefire and end to conflicts to restore peace and stability in the Gulf region," stressing the importance of the strait as a major international shipping route.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/China-confirms-3-ships-transited-Strait-of-Hormuz/65985028
Galapagos Enters Framework Agreement With Gilead In Connection With Ouro
Galapagos (GLPG,GLPG.AS) has entered into a binding agreement with Gilead Sciences (GILD) in connection with Gilead's agreement to acquire all of the outstanding equity interests of Ouro Medicines, a privately held biotechnology company. Under the Framework Agreement, Galapagos' share of the total consideration for the acquisition amounts to 50% of the upfront consideration of $1.675 billion and 50% of any contingent milestone payments, which also includes the consideration under the asset acquisition term sheet. The Framework Agreement with Gilead comprises relief under the Option, License and Collaboration Agreement dated July 14, 2019 between Galapagos and Gilead, to enable Galapagos to deploy at least $500 million of its available cash independently from Gilead and outside the scope of the OLCA and the Ouro transaction, including up to $150 million for share buybacks.
The Framework Agreement has: a binding term sheet granting Galapagos licenses to certain intellectual property rights relating to Ouro's research programs, and a binding term sheet pursuant to which Galapagos would acquire substantially all Ouros operational assets in connection with the acquisition. Under the Licensing Term Sheet, Galapagos is required to fund its share of payments owed to KeyMed Biosciences Chengdu under the head license agreement between KeyMed and Ouro, comprising 25% of the milestone payments and 50% of the royalty payments that become due to KeyMed with respect to gamgertamig products.
Galapagos is also eligible for up to $100 million milestones payments upon Gilead's initiation of the first registrational trials for gamgertamig in certain other indications. Upon commercialization, Gilead will pay Galapagos tiered royalties between 20-23% on net sales of gamgertamig. Galapagos will gain a preclinical portfolio of three additional autoimmune focused programs originally from Ouro.
Blackstone closes record $6.3bn life sciences fund
Private equity firm Blackstone has said that its latest life sciences fund – BXLS VI – has closed with a total of $6.3 billion in capital commitments, which it thinks makes it the largest ever private fund for the sector.
The latest iteration of the BXLS fund was oversubscribed and is 40% bigger than the fifth fund, which closed in 2020 with a value of $4.6 billion, and another sign of the improving sentiment among investors towards the life science and healthcare sectors.
First launched in 2018, Blackstone's BXLS programme has funded some large-scale deals in recent years, notably including a $2 billion alliance with Alnylam in 2020 to develop RNAi therapeutics, a $750 million collaboration with Moderna in 2024 to develop mRNA-based flu vaccines, and big investments in companies like Teva and Reata Pharma.
Last year, it sold cardiovascular drug developer Anthos Therapeutics to Novartis in a $3.1 billion deal, and invested $700 million in MSD's TROP2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab tirumotecan for various forms of cancer, including breast, endometrial and lung tumours, in return for a royalty stream. And last month, it pledged $400 million in co-funding support for Johnson & Johnson's oral menin inhibitor bleximenib, in development as a treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
BXLS' focus is mainly on life science players with assets in the later stages of drug development, such as phase 3 testing, with a clear route to market and high commercial potential, an approach it describes as funding "products, not companies." It had around $15 billion in assets under management as of the end of 2025.
"Our partnerships with global leaders have produced 34 regulatory approvals of innovative medicines and devices," said Nicholas Galakatos, global head of life sciences at Blackstone.
"This track record highlights how we work successfully with industry trailblazers to help bring their most important products to patients around the world," he added.
Among the products brought to market thanks to its financial backing are Alnylam's Amvuttra (vutrisiran) for cardiomyopathy and polyneuropathy caused by the disorder ATTR amyloidosis, Novartis' twice-yearly cholesterol-lowering drug Leqvio (inclisiran), and AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson's market-leading BTK inhibitor Imbruvica (ibrutinib) for blood cancers.
Blackstone said the BXLS platform has an 86% regulatory approval rate for its phase 3 assets, which "has outperformed the industry's average and led to strong performance for the benefit of its investors."
"We are grateful to the BXLS VI investors for their strong support of our strategies and the firm's enduring conviction in the life sciences," said Galakatos.
https://pharmaphorum.com/news/blackstone-closes-record-63bn-life-sciences-fund
Malaysia Says Its Tankers Will Be Exempt from Iran’s Hormuz Toll
Malaysian tankers allowed to sail through the Strait of Hormuz won’t be subject to a toll imposed by Iran, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
“The Iranian ambassador has mentioned that no toll is being imposed on Malaysian vessels,” Loke said at an event on Tuesday. “We are a friendly party, we have good diplomatic relationship with the Iranian government.”
US Should Start Removing Its Troops From Germany, Proposes AfD Co-Leader Chrupalla
Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chair Tino Chrupalla spoke out in favor of withdrawing American troops from Germany. During a party congress in Saxony, he stressed that, if AfD comes to power, this should be the first step in implementing the party’s program, which calls for the removal of all allied forces from Germany and a withdrawal from NATO’s nuclear weapons sharing system.
“Let’s start implementing this program by withdrawing U.S. troops,” he said, as reported by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, cited by Do Rzeczy.
The proposal received loud applause by the audience.
Chrupalla also argued that Germany should not be involved in international military operations, praising Spain for opposing U.S. use of its bases for its conflict with Iran.
“And that is exactly right. Spain is not interfering in this war,” he said.
His criticism of American troops on German soil comes after his sharp criticism of Trump’s decision to launch a war against Iran.
“I am extremely disappointed in Donald Trump when it comes to his campaign promises,” Chrupalla during an appearance on Markus Lanz earlier this month.
“During the election campaign, he also accused Kamala Harris, that she would start World War III. And now we are on the cusp of having probably started the Third World War with Donald Trump. And that’s a breach of his word, which I really resent and which the American people also resent, who incidentally reject this war in Iran at a much higher rate than Germans. So, 70 percent of Americans do not want this war and do not support it.
Chrupalla also stated it was clear the United States was dragged into the war by Israel.
“And I think the Americans, as you can really see now if you look at all the events, were dragged into this war by Israel. There were serious negotiations where Oman, as a peacemaker, came to an agreement with Israel together with the USA, and they basically started bombing Iran on the same day. The Omani Foreign Minister has described this as a huge mistake. The entire Arab world has labeled it a mistake. The Norwegian Foreign Minister has described it as a mistake. It has also been labelled a mistake by Turkey. You can’t ignore all that. These are all countries in this region that are naturally extremely worried that this will escalate into a conflagration. And that’s what we’re seeing now. It’s a huge wildfire.”
In his most recent speech, Chrupalla also addressed Russia’s war against Ukraine. He announced that the AfD would “bring about peace” and that after the conflict ends, Ukrainians in Germany should return to their home country, criticizing the current refugee benefits system.
“This is exactly what must end. All Ukrainians must go back,” he said
Chrupalla’s speech made it clear that the AfD aims to take power in Germany, at both the state and national levels. “We must develop, moving from an opposition party to a governing party,” he said during the party convention in Löbau, as quoted by Deutsche Welle.
Germany’s next federal elections will take place only in March 2029. At that time, Chrupalla plans for the AfD to have a prime minister in Saxony and an AfD chancellor as the leader of Germany. Chrupalla also admitted that this requires further capacity-building and preparing party structures for governance.
Noting that AfD must no longer be perceived as a single-issue party, presumably referring to its focus on implementing mass deportations, and must demonstrate concrete results in government going forward.
“At some point, we will have to present our voters with successes,” he emphasized.
According to Bild reports, the party has already begun organizational preparations to take over the government by establishing a special working group for participation in the government.
Italy said to deny US access to Sigonella base
The Italian authorities rejected a request from the United States to use the Italian Air Force base Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella, Corriere reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, Italian Armed Forces' Chief of Defense Staff Luciano Portolano informed Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto a few nights ago that several US aircraft were planning to land at Sigonella before departing for the Middle East. The aircraft reportedly did not request authorization or consult with the Italian military, with Portolano being informed of the plans while the US aircraft were already in flight.
After conducting initial checks, the military chief was reportedly ordered by Crosetto to reject the US request for landing since it was established that the flights were not covered by the treaty between the countries.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Italy-said-to-deny-US-access-to-Sigonella-base/65984595
Iran hits Israel-linked ship in Gulf waters
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that its Navy targeted a container ship allegedly linked to the Israeli regime, named Express Halfong, in the Persian Gulf. In a statement shared by Iranian media, the IRGC claimed that it had struck the vessel with ballistic missiles.
Furthermore, the IRGC stated that it targeted US-linked air defense systems near Manama Airport in Bahrain and radar systems at an American military base in Kuwait. It also claimed an attack on US forces on the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
The IRGC insisted that its forces have "complete control" of the Strait of Hormuz and warned that any movement by enemies would be met with attacks.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Iran-hits-Israel-linked-ship-in-Gulf-waters/65984250
Monday, March 30, 2026
'WSJ: Trump tells aides he is willing to end Iran war without reopening Hormuz'
US President Donald Trump told aides he is willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed and leave a complex operation to reopen it for a later date, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing administration officials.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Trump's comments came on the same day that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that a long-term solution to the Strait of Hormuz crisis could be achieved without a military operation, but rather by rerouting the Gulf States' pipelines.
"Long-term solutions include rerouting energy pipelines westward, across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea and Mediterranean, bypassing Iran's geographic choke point," Netanyahu explained in an interview with conservative US media outlet Newsmax.
Currently, the Strait is one of the main chokepoints in the energy market, with 20% of global oil exports passing through it.
While Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman have territorial waters in the Strait, the presence of Iran on the other side of Hormuz has made it vulnerable, with the Islamic regime having the capabilities of threatening global energy markets by attacking ships that go through the Strait.
Gulf States demand Trump continue war with Iran "until threat is gone"
An additional Monday report by The Associated Press revealed that the Gulf States asked Trump to continue the attacks against Iran until the Islamic regime ceases to be a threat to the region.
According to Gulf and Israeli officials cited by AP, the Gulf States believe that Iran hasn't been weakened enough yet, almost a month after the bombing campaign against Iranian military assets began.
Gulf officials were especially insistent that the current situation offers a key opportunity to take out the Iranian regime, even after being hesitant during the begining of the war due to the short notice that they received prior to the Israeli and American joint strike.
This is a developing story.
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-891724
US Firm Boosts Production Of Precision Anti-Drone Systems
by Prabhat Ranjan Mishra via Interesting Engineering,
A Florida-based company is accelerating production of powerful systems that can counter small drone threats. VAMPIRE counter-unmanned systems (C-UxS) deliver precision strike capabilities against drones.
Developed by L3Harris Technologies, the system is a self-contained platform that delivers advanced reconnaissance and can conduct operations against remotely piloted aircraft.
VAMPIRE counter-unmanned system installed on vehicle
L3Harris Technologies recently installed its VAMPIRE counter-unmanned system aboard a GM Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), demonstrating a mobile solution to take out drone threats.
The facility features a flexible assembly, testing and installation area to integrate VAMPIRE onto ground vehicles and containerized weapon systems. The production line can adjust and increase volume as demand evolves.
“Deploying VAMPIRE on GM Defense’s ISV is a great example of how quickly and seamlessly this system can be used by our Army customer to defeat the rapidly growing threat of small, hostile drones,” said Tom Kirkland, vice president and general manager, Targeting and Sensor Systems, L3Harris.
“Working together, we have swiftly responded to the urgent need to defeat small unmanned autonomous systems accurately and affordably while allowing ground forces to stay tactically mobile.”
Highly adaptable to meet diverse mission
The company claims that the GM Defense ISV is uniquely engineered to fulfill U.S. Army requirements for rapid deployment. With robust off-road capabilities, the ISV significantly improves tactical mobility across a range of military operations. The vehicle is easily maintainable and highly adaptable to meet diverse mission and operational needs, according to a press release.
GM Defense partners with companies like L3Harris to design and produce diverse kits to support the broad range of mission requirements for a variety of general purpose and special operations forces. Incorporating a Counter-small UAS system like VAMPIRE adds new capability to protect operators from hostile drone attacks, as per the release.
“The versatility of the ISV is one of its core strengths, and integrating a critical counter-UAS capability like VAMPIRE showcases our ability to rapidly adapt the vehicle to meet evolving threats,” said John ‘JD’ Johnson, Vice President of Government Solutions and Strategy, GM Defense.
“This successful integration highlights how the ISV’s modular design and commercial-based architecture can quickly incorporate next-generation technologies to deliver immediate value and enhanced protection to our warfighters.”
The company also highlighted that the completely self-contained, low-cost, multi-mission, precision-guided weapons platform effectively engaged in combat operations since 2023, safeguarding personnel and critical infrastructure against hostile unmanned systems and ground threats.
The affordable, compact ISR and counter-unmanned weapons system designed to deploy on nearly any platform, vehicle or vessel, according to L3 Harris. This all-in-one system excels in Counter-small Unmanned Airborne System (C-sUAS) operations, delivering precision strike capabilities with customizable sensors and weapons, significantly reducing the cost-per-effect and overall cost of ownership, according to the company.
https://www.zerohedge.com/military/us-firm-boosts-production-anti-drone-systems
Iran Strikes Fully Laden Kuwait Oil Tanker in Dubai Port
Iran hit a fully laden Kuwaiti oil tanker in the anchorage area of Dubai’s port, damaging the hull and starting a fire on board in an escalation of attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf.
The drone strike on the Al-Salmi, a Kuwait-flagged very large crude carrier, marks one of the most significant attacks on a vessel to date, targeting a fully loaded ship just 31 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, in a busy area used by ships waiting to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
Kuwait says tanker hit in 'direct Iranian attack'
Kuwait confirmed that the tanker al-Salmi was struck in what it described as a "direct and criminal" Iranian attack while anchored at Dubai's port in the United Arab Emirates, according to a Kuwait Petroleum Corporation statement, carried by the Kuwait News Agency.
The vessel was loaded with crude when the strike damaged its hull and triggered a fire, the corporation said, warning of possible oil leakage into surrounding waters.
The news comes after the United Kingdom maritime agency first reported about a tanker being hit was hit by a projectile northwest of Dubai, igniting a fire.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Kuwait-says-tanker-hit-in-'direct-Iranian-attack'/65981224
'Goldman Traders See Signs Hedge Funds Are Capitulating on Stocks'
Heavy short sales by hedge funds and disposals by systematic investors have increased the potential for a sharp swing higher for stocks in the event of a de-escalation in the Iran war, according to traders at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Hedge funds have just cut global equity holdings for a sixth straight week, driven by short sales, Goldman’s prime trading desk said. The latest selling was wide spread, with net disposals across all major regions. In Europe, short exposure in macro products that trade on broader economic themes has reached 11%, a 10-year high, the team led by Vincent Lin wrote in a weekly recap of market data through March 26.