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It’s a very good morning at this time because it’s lastly heat right here in Chicago, and I’ll be seeing Beyoncé tonight.
Let’s get into the information.
RFK Jr. flip flops on HHS cuts, as Republicans keep away from powerful questions
Well being secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified in entrance of two Congressional committees yesterday.
At a listening to of the Senate well being committee, he swung between defending the latest sweeping modifications at HHS and backtracking on points of the company overhaul. When lawmakers confronted him on the impacts of particular layoffs and funding cuts, Kennedy at instances demurred or appeared confused concerning the fallout. Learn extra.
When he appeared earlier than the Home Appropriations Committee, Republicans pushed again on some points of his MAHA agenda, however they largely centered on peripheral points — not the proposed HHS price range cuts, the latest mass firings, or the long-running controversy relating to his stance on vaccines that Democrats have centered on. Learn extra.
In the meantime, at STAT’s Breakthrough Summit West in San Francisco, former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf criticized RFK Jr.’s feedback on the hearings.
When Kennedy appeared earlier than the Home Appropriations Committee, he mentioned his opinions about vaccines have been “irrelevant” and that it’s not his job to present medical recommendation. However Califf pushed again.
“His opinions usually are not irrelevant,” the previous commissioner mentioned. “He’s the chief of Well being and Human Providers in america of America. That’s probably the most highly effective place on this planet for well being advocacy.”
One space Califf did appear optimistic about was the FDA’s present push to include generative AI into the product assessment course of. The FDA introduced it will launch the know-how agency-wide by June 30 so as to free reviewers from “tedious, repetitive duties.”
Learn extra from STAT’s Lizzy Lawrence.
Lilly, AstraZeneca deemed to have prime R&D applications
A brand new report has ranked Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca as probably the most progressive and ingenious drug firms, respectively.
The annual evaluation, performed by U.Ok.-based IDEA Pharma, ranks drug firm R&D applications on two totally different units of standards: innovation, which takes under consideration income from new merchandise, new drug approvals, and main drug growth occasions; and invention, which seems on the variety of medicine an organization has in growth, its medical trials, and its R&D funding, amongst different elements.
The rankings can dramatically shift 12 months to 12 months. For instance, final 12 months, Novo Nordisk was on the prime of the “innovation” listing, however this 12 months, it ranks ninth. The consultancy famous that Lilly moved to the highest of the listing as a result of its rival GLP-1 drug, bought as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight problems, and to the progress it’s made in Alzheimer’s.
Learn extra from STAT’s Matt Herper.
Extra reads
- UnitedHealth Group is beneath legal investigation for potential Medicare fraud, Wall Avenue Journal
- Projected variety of uninsured from GOP’s invoice is nearing ranges not seen since ACA repeal effort, STAT
- Prenatal genetic remedy for SMA exhibits promise in a mouse examine, STAT
