Policy
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s health department has consistently touted radical transparency as being key to its mission. Recent instances—the FDA’s decision not to disclose the recipients of three Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers and FDA and CDC choices not to publish vaccine-related papers—call this intent into question.
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BioSpace looks back at 2025 and where the FDA is going in 2026.
While requests by government officials for anonymity when speaking to the media are nothing new, the practice attracts more scrutiny when the Department for Health and Human Services has pledged a commitment to “radical transparency.”
TrumpRX and DTC sales may expand prescription drug access, but they will not solve the affordability crisis by themselves.
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A spokesperson for the FDA said the agency is “considering a wide range of options to support American innovation.”
Top Trump administration officials have taken issue with Marty Makary’s management style, pointing to infighting between his appointees and the difficulty to get a hold of the FDA commissioner.
Representatives from companies such as Sanofi and Forge Biologics point to the potential for PreCheck to drive activation of idle production capacity and help companies that are already building plants.
Following restricted vaccine approvals and changes to CDC immunization schedules, Merck, Pfizer, GSK and Sanofi are all suffering revenue hits to their vaccine programs.
The upheaval of the Health and Human Services workforce and leadership leaves much to be desired in terms of delivery, recently retired FDA Chief Information Officer Vid Desai tells BioSpace, but the regulatory agency is evolving to be more open to much needed change.
According to reporting from Reuters, reviewers at the agency pointed to an inability to differentiate from placebo to justify rejecting the drug, but an FDA office director approved the drug anyway.
Having seen Congress spend money to onshore semiconductor production, pharma groups are pushing for similar incentives for domestic drug manufacturing.
Industry leaders say uncertainty in funding, clinical development and manufacturing is driving companies to embrace digital transformation, streamlined operations and strategic partnerships to navigate a turbulent market and global tariff pressures.
While the threat of tariffs dies down for the pharma industry, President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing a new investigation that could result in import taxes against U.S. trading partners that don’t pay enough for drugs.
EMD Serono will offer its fertility treatments on TrumpRx at a steep discount, and Roche’s direct-to-consumer offering will cover its flu pill Xofluza.