• Maryland: Last week, FDA announced that acne treatments from certain brands, including Walgreens, Proactive, and La-Roche Posay, were being voluntarily recalled due to elevated levels of benzene, a known carcinogen. Benzene is one of the 20 most-produced chemicals in the United States, and extended exposure can lead to cell disruption, which can cause a weakened immune system, cancer, and irregular menstrual cycles in women. According to FDA, the recall applies primarily to retailers rather than consumers. Stores that carry the affected products have been told to remove them from shelves, but people who purchased the products have not been told to take any action. FDA also stressed that these products pose little health risks to consumers. "Even with daily use of these products for decades, the risk of a person developing cancer because of exposure to benzene found in these products is very low," FDA said. However, the agency did recommend that consumers throw away any products that have expired. (Perrone, Associated Press, 3/13; Archie, NPR, 3/13)
• New Jersey: Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) is acquiring 2seventybio in a deal worth $286 million. Through the deal, BMS gains full control of Abecma, a partnered cancer cell therapy that was initially developed by Bluebird Bio before 2seventybio spun out to become a standalone, publicly traded company, taking Bluebird's cancer cell therapies with it. Abecma was the first CAR T-therapy approved to treat multiple myeloma. According to MedCity News, Abecma was the last remaining asset from 2seventybio's spinout. Last year, 2seventybio sold its preclinical and early clinical cell therapy pipeline to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. It also sold its hemophilia assets to Novo Nordisk. BMS' acquisition of 2seventybio is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. (Vinluan, MedCity News, 3/11)
• Texas: In a sealed decision, Judge Mark Pittman of the Northern District of Texas declined to issue an injunction to stop FDA from declaring an end to a shortage of the Eli Lilly's GLP-1 drug tirzepatide. Last October, FDA announced that tirzepatide was no longer in shortage, which meant that compounding pharmacies and other companies could no longer be able to make their own versions of the drug. However, Outsourcing Facilities Association (OFA) filed a lawsuit against the agency, saying that its decision to remove the drug from the shortages list was "abruptly depriving patients of much needed treatment and artificially raising drug prices." In response to Pittman's decision, Lee Rosebush, chair of OFA, said that the organization "is considering all of its options regarding the judgement, including an appeal." Meanwhile, Eli Lilly said the decision "marks the end of the road for mass compounding of risky, unapproved knockoffs that threaten the health and safety of Americans." Currently, a similar OFA lawsuit against the FDA for removing Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 drug semaglutide is pending. (Weixel, The Hill, 3/6)

More than 100 common consumer products contain at least one chemical linked to cancer or reproductive and developmental problems, according to a recent  study  published in  Environmental Science & Technology.