Policy
Drug pricing, budget cuts, tariffs and other shifts under the Trump administration undermine the biopharma and healthcare ecosystem.
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In a recent interview, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said there “should be nothing political about the FDA.” Recent actions taken by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and others within the department appear to be at odds with this sentiment.
As Marty Makary nears the end of his first month on the job, the FDA Commissioner sat down for two interviews, offering statements that alternatively contradict and jibe with reported events.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary last week announced a directive that would limit industry participation in the agency’s advisory committees. But not only do company reps serve only as non-voting members, a 1997 law actually requires industry involvement.
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The overturning of the FDA’s lab-developed tests rule is just the tip of the iceberg. With the loss of Chevron deference, power has shifted from federal agencies to the courts, with potential implications for everything from the FDA shortage list to CMS drug price negotiations.
According to the nonprofit news outlet NOTUS, at least seven studies cited in the Make America Healthy Again report released last week are nonexistent. The White House shrugged off questions about the errors.
In a letter to the Department of Commerce, Novo Nordisk argued that unsanctioned compounded semaglutide, mostly from China, constitutes a national security threat to the U.S.
Leerink Partners previews the drugs likely to be subject to the Inflation Reduction Act’s next price negotiations as the program expands to Medicare Part B and smaller biotechs.
A February executive order on pharmaceutical price transparency does nothing to change the incentives that keep costs opaque. But drug companies and other stakeholders would reap the benefits of such disclosures.
In a video posted to social media on Tuesday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. claimed that there is a lack of clinical data to support the repeat COVID-19 booster strategy in children.
Rouzbeh Haghighat was serving on the board of Chinook Therapeutics at the time of the Novartis acquisition and, according to the DOJ’s allegations, used confidential information to conduct insider trading.
According to President Trump, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz is a “tough hombre” who can bring down drug costs “like a rock.”
Vocal skeptics of COVID-19 vaccinations gave mRNA a bad name and government funding for mRNA research is now being cut. On the flip side, at least one CEO said the pandemic also provided “elevated acceleration” for the field, which also holds promise in therapeutics for cancer and rare diseases.
The report takes from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s playbook, calling out rising autism rates, the vaccine schedule and over medication of children as reasons for chronic diseases.