Hello and happy Tuesday, D.C. Diagnosis readers! This week we find out whether House Republicans are willing to take the first steps towards Medicaid cuts. What are you hearing about the budget battles underway? Send news and tips to [email protected].
Trump administration quietly rehires FDA staff
The Trump administration has started rehiring some of the FDA employees it fired last week, the latest chapter in a haphazard and confusing layoff process, agency sources tell Lizzy Lawrence.
It’s not clear how many FDA employees were offered their jobs back, but in some cases there seemed to be broad rehirings. For example, a dozen people who worked in the office reviewing surgical and infection control devices were all reinstated. Several people working on digital health, AI-enabled technology, and other devices were also rehired.
The broader medical device division had been hit particularly hard by the layoffs. Some sources estimated as many as 10% of the device workforce lost their jobs. More from Lizzy.
Top FDA official joins Pfizer
Patrizia Cavazzoni, formerly the FDA’s top regulator in the drug division, will join Pfizer as chief medical officer. Cavazzoni was the head of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research from 2020 until her departure in January. She was one of several top officials who left the agency ahead of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation to the role of HHS secretary. She’d previously worked at Pfizer as a deputy director of operations.
As STAT’s Matthew Herper notes, Cavazzoni’s return to Pfizer could spur concern about the “revolving door” between the FDA and industry. RFK Jr. and his supporters have long cited moves between the pharmaceutical industry and its regulator as signs the agency needs a shake up. Pfizer’s been in their sights for a while now, since former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb joined the pharma giant’s board after his tenure at the agency. As STAT’s Adam Feuerstein argues, the move could have damaging implications for Pfizer and the industry.
More from Matt on Cavazzoni’s work and her return to Pfizer.
FDA reportedly picks new head of food division
The FDA has a new head of food safety, Kyle Diamantas, after its former top official resigned last week over cuts at the agency, according to a report from Bloomberg News.
Diamantas is a Florida attorney currently working as a special assistant at the FDA. Vanity Fair reported that Diamantas is one of Donald Trump Jr.’s hunting buddies.
RFK Jr. and his supporters have been eager to reform food policy. Vani Hari, a Make America Healthy Again supporter and influencer known as the “Food Babe,” told STAT’s Sarah Todd that she’s met Diamantas and “he is very motivated to reform the food system.”
U.S. agencies still keyed into WHO talks
Two U.S. government agencies that are key players in the World Health Organization-led process to select the flu viruses for next winter’s influenza vaccines are participating in a meeting to discuss the issue, despite the Trump administration’s plans to withdraw from the global health agency, sources told STAT’s Helen Branswell.
Officials from the CDC and the FDA are virtually attending the weeklong meeting that began yesterday, Helen learned. To attend the meeting, even virtually, the two agencies would have had to receive an exemption from the Trump administration due to its ban on all interactions with the WHO.
President Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to withdraw the country from the WHO. But the flu strain selection meeting presents a quandary for the administration; if the FDA can’t attend, it raises questions about how the agency would instruct U.S. manufacturers for the upcoming season. Read more.
Pause on NIH payment cuts continues
After two hours of arguments from the Trump administration and three sets of plaintiffs, a federal judge on Friday kept in place an order blocking the Trump administration from implementing a cap on how much indirect costs the NIH pays grant recipients.
The temporary restraining order — which was set to expire this Monday — is now in place until the district court judge can make a final decision. If the proposed 15% cap on indirect costs were to go into effect, experts project a $4 billion cut to university research funds. More from Anil Oza.
What we’re reading
- Novo Nordisk shortage of Ozempic and Wegovy ends, threatening compounders, STAT
- Trump admin signals it will defend drug pricing law, Axios
- A small study on Covid vaccine safety sparks an online tempest, STAT
- After angry town hall, McCormick urges caution as Trump pushes cuts at breakneck speed, Atlantic Journal-Constitution