Government
Maintaining America’s momentum demands that policymakers resist policies that undermine research and development incentives.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was supposed to convene next week, but that meeting has been pushed back as the CDC is once again leaderless and FDA’s double-reversal on Moderna’s flu shot highlights continued uncertainty in the vaccine space.
The FDA’s drug review process can often be “unpredictable,” and review teams typically “differ greatly” in what they ask of drug sponsors, Sen. Bill Cassidy said.
Jay Bhattacharya will become the latest leader of the CDC on an acting basis, days after Jim O’Neill stepped aside.
FDA vouchers are normally a coveted prize for biopharma companies, but a surprise rejection for Disc Medicine’s rare disease drug has biopharma reconsidering.
The FDA outright refuses to review Moderna’s mRNA-based flu vaccine as CBER director Vinay Prasad’s conduct is scrutinized; Disc Medicine receives an unexpected rejection, which Prasad may also have had a hand in; Compass Pathways posts new late-stage data on its psilocybin-based depression drug; CDC is once again leaderless.
Jim O’Neill was deputy secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services and also acting director of the CDC after the abrupt ouster of Susan Monarez in August 2025.
Richard Pazdur had spent 26 years at the FDA before stepping down last year due to disagreements with Commissioner Marty Makary about lowering the number of clinical trials required for a new drug application, Pazdur told the media.
Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research head, is accused of interpersonal impropriety as pushback builds against his decision to reject Moderna’s influenza vaccine candidate.
An unnamed FDA official also told reporters that it would be good for Moderna to “show some humility” and admit that it didn’t follow the regulator’s recommendations in testing its mRNA flu vaccine.
PRESS RELEASES