1. Justice Department charges 15 in $2 billion Los Angeles health care fraud takedown (See lead article.)
Prosecutors allege sham addiction treatment, unnecessary artery procedures and hospice billing for patients who were not dying.
On October 22, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced charges against 15 defendants, including six medical professionals, in schemes the Justice Department says produced $2 billion in fraudulent claims [1]. The largest case alleges more than $1.6 billion billed to private insurers for sham substance use treatment, which the Department calls the largest of its type it has prosecuted [1]. ABC News reported that attorney information for the defendants was not immediately available [2].
2. Moderna and Merck report personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine cut recurrence risk by 42% in phase 3 trial
Full results from the INTerpath-001 trial show a recurrence benefit, but investors had hoped for more.
In the phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial of 1,137 patients with completely resected high-risk melanoma, adding intismeran autogene to pembrolizumab lowered the risk of recurrence or death compared with pembrolizumab alone (hazard ratio 0.58; 95% CI, 0.45–0.75). Two-year recurrence-free survival was 82.2% vs 70.0% at a median follow-up of 24.6 months, and overall survival data are not yet mature [3][4][5]. The results are company-reported ahead of a scheduled ESMO 2026 presentation on October 24 and are described as accepted for publication in NEJM, not yet published [3][4]. BioSpace reported the data leaked online before the official release and that Moderna shares fell 21% that day [5].
3. FDA approves bepirovirsen (Hibsago), the first antisense therapy for chronic hepatitis B
A six-month course of GSK's injectable drug offers some patients the chance to stop all hepatitis B treatment.
The FDA approved GSK's Hibsago (bepirovirsen) on October 20 for certain adults with chronic hepatitis B without cirrhosis whose virus is suppressed on antiviral therapy and whose HBsAg level is 3,000 IU/mL or less [6][7]. In the pooled B-Well 1 and B-Well 2 trials, 19% of patients given bepirovirsen (233 of 1,220) reached functional cure, compared with none of 614 on placebo [7][8]. The FDA calls it the first approved antisense oligonucleotide for chronic hepatitis B; the label carries a boxed warning for serious liver reactions and low platelet counts [6].
4. FDA grants accelerated approval to dostarlimab for MSI-H/dMMR locally advanced rectal cancer
For a small, genetically defined group of rectal cancer patients, an antibody alone may spare surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
On October 19, the FDA granted accelerated approval to GSK's Jemperli (dostarlimab) for adults with stage II/III locally advanced rectal cancer that is MSI-H or dMMR [9]. In the single-arm AZUR-1 trial, 110 of 154 treated patients (71%) received dostarlimab alone with no further treatment and no disease progression, and a supporting 50-patient study reported a 93% sustained complete clinical response at 12 months [9]. GSK calls it the first and only approved immunotherapy for this population, which is estimated at about 3% of locally advanced rectal cancers [10].
Digest references
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, U.S. Department of Justice. "L.A. Health Care Fraud Takedown Results in 15 Defendants Charged, Including Six Medical Professionals, with $2 Billion in Losses Alleged." Press release, October 22, 2026. Link
Pereira, Ivan. "Feds charge 15 suspects in multiple alleged insurance, Medicare fraud schemes." ABC News, October 22, 2026. Link
Cancer Network Staff. "Intismeran Plus Pembrolizumab Reduces Recurrence Risk in Resected Melanoma." CancerNetwork, October 22, 2026. Link
Steinzor, Pearl. "Merck, Moderna Cancer Vaccine Cuts Melanoma Recurrence Risk by 42%." AJMC, October 22, 2026. Link
Armstrong, Annalee. "ESMO 2026: Merck, Moderna shares fall as cancer vaccine disappoints after data leak." BioSpace, October 22, 2026. Link
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "FDA Approves First-of-Its-Kind Chronic Hepatitis B Treatment." FDA, October 20, 2026. Link
GSK. "Hibsago (bepirovirsen) approved in the US for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB)." Press release, October 20, 2026. Link
Halpern, Luke. "FDA Approves Bepirovirsen, First ASO for Chronic Hepatitis B." Pharmacy Times, October 21, 2026. Link
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "FDA grants accelerated approval to dostarlimab for locally advanced rectal cancer." FDA, October 19, 2026. Link
Turner, Diana. "FDA approves first immunotherapy for advanced rectal cancer." Drug Discovery World, October 22, 2026. Link