CDC

The announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services highlighted a flurry of moves, which include the shifting of departments. Also this week, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tapped fellow vaccine critic David Geier to investigate vaccine safety within the CDC.

President Donald Trump continues to warn of tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry; Susan Monarez replaces Dave Weldon as CDC director nominee; Novo Nordisk joins the triple-G race; Alnylam wins approval for Amvuttra in ATTR-CM; and Cassava Sciences ends development of simufilam in Alzheimer’s.

If confirmed, Susan Monarez will have her work cut out for her, facing a measles outbreak that has already killed two people—the first measles-related deaths in the U.S. since 2015.

After withdrawing its nomination for Dave Weldon last week, the Trump administration is now reportedly considering Texas Republican Michael Burgess to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Democratic senators from Georgia, Oregon, Maryland and New Mexico called the Trump administration’s decision to terminate hundreds of CDC staffers reckless and unfair.

The CDC budget cuts could pose headwinds for HIV drugmakers like Gilead and Merck but are unlikely to severely cripple their HIV divisions, according to analysts.

The recommendations were made in a closed session with representatives from CBER, the CDC and Department of Defense.

As Marty Makary and Jay Bhattacharya sail through the Senate health committee vote, Weldon’s confirmation hearing is canceled. Guggenheim Partners heralded the last-minute move to revoke Dave Weldon’s nomination as “a positive sign for reigning in vaccine criticism.”

In the five weeks since Donald Trump returned as U.S. president, the FDA, NIH and CDC have been thrown into disarray, with meetings regarding vaccines and rare diseases canceled or indefinitely postponed—all without a clear reason why.

The postponed ACIP meeting comes barely a week after Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, despite controversy regarding his anti-vaccine history.