Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified in front of largely combative congresspeople on vaccine policy, his MAHA report and more; the mass leadership exodus at the FDA continues as CDER and CBER shed key staff; Kennedy’s revamped CDC vaccine advisors convene for their first meeting; Novo and Lilly present new data at the American Diabetes Association’s annual meeting; and BioSpace recaps BIO2025.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified in front of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Tuesday, where Democrats confronted the health secretary on hot button issues ranging from his recent overhaul over the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) committee, Kennedy’s recently published—and error-ridden—MAHA report, and his threat to ban government scientists from publishing in certain medical journals.
Meanwhile, at the FDA, the mass exodus of senior leadership continues. On Monday, Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, acting head of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), announced her retirement as of July. This follows the ouster of Nicole Verdun—the wildly popular director of the FDA’s Office of Therapeutic Products—and her deputy, Rachael Anatol. Their involuntary departure sent shock waves through the biopharma industry, as Verdun had been considered a stabilizing force at the rapidly reshaping agency.
Speaking of the revamped ACIP, the new panel will meet for the first time Wednesday and Thursday to discuss COVID-19 vaccine safety, maternal and pediatric RSV vaccines and more, as experts question the experience and anti-vaccine views of some of Kennedy’s recently appointed members and others express concern about the potential politicization of the committee.
On the clinical front, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and others presented new data from their next-generation obesity programs at the American Diabetes Association’s 85th Scientific Congress. After failing to impress investors—and meet its own high expectations—with CagriSema, Novo sought to reassure investors by touting a safety profile “in line with the GLP1-RA class,” and Eli Lilly reported that bimagrumab, when used alongside Novo’s Wegovy, led to additional weight loss while also preserving muscle mass.
Finally, we recap BIO2025, where Jef Akst, Lori Ellis and Heather McKenzie moderated panels on cell and gene therapy, cybersecurity and AI, and accelerating market entry for rare disease treatments. Relevant to the latter discussion, congressional Republicans dropped the Orphan Cures Act from their version of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” and congresspeople, including Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) at Tuesday’s hearing asked Kennedy to commit to supporting the priority review program for rare pediatric diseases, which expired at the end of last year.
