On his first afternoon in office, President Donald Trump followed through on his promise to withdraw from the World Health Organization, putting the U.S. on an isolated public health path. 

Trump previously attempted to pull the U.S. out of the WHO during his first term, halting funding for the global organization. But the move took time, and President Biden reversed the decision before the withdrawal was complete. Now, citing discontent with the COVID-19 global response and unfair payment demands, Trump has started the termination process again, which won’t be immediate.

Without the critical data and up-to-date information from the WHO on global outbreaks, U.S. agencies may be left in the dark. And the whole situation adds sudden uncertainty to the broader regulatory environment in the U.S. going forward. Still, a look back at 2024 shows the industry is all in on innovation. Today, we’re checking out some of the top drug approvals from last year and what they might mean for R&D in 2025, especially with question marks around the regulatory landscape. Plus, we’re diving deeper into how the pharma industry is leveraging data beyond clinical performance. 

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