STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about WHO obesity guidelines for kids, DOJ targeting pharma, and more

Good morning and welcome to the middle of the week. A few more days until the weekend, so keep up the good work. Today, we're offering a ginseng peach tea blend, a cherished choice from our pantry. Here's the latest news to fuel your day.

The World Health Organization has released its first set of guidelines addressing the rapid increase in obesity among children and adolescents. In 2024, 170 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 years were living with obesity, a 4-fold increase since 1990 when the prevalence was just 2%. The rise affects 70 million children aged 5-9 years and a staggering 100 million adolescents aged 10-19 years.

However, the WHO does not recommend pharmacological treatment options like bariatric surgery or weight loss devices for children under 9 years old. For adolescents aged 10-19 years, treatment with approved drugs may be considered only after a supervised lifestyle program has failed to achieve desired results.

Meanwhile, Caribou Biosciences, a biotech company spun off from CRISPR scientist Jennifer Doudna's lab, is shutting down. Despite successfully collaborating with the FDA on a Phase 3 trial design for a CAR-T therapy for advanced B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the company couldn't secure the necessary funding to complete the study.