Drugs

RFK Jr.'s HHS Nomination Moves to Senate Floor

Despite his many years of advancing vaccine skepticism, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to be the next HHS secretary moves one step closer to completion after the Senate Finance Committee voted 2/4 to advance it to a floor vote. The 14-13 vote followed party lines. The committee’s backing comes after Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) all but dismissed his own reservations against Kennedy’s past position that vaccine’s may cause autism in children (see earlier story).

Committee chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) said that Kennedy, if confirmed, will have the “opportunity to deliver much-needed change to our nation’s health care system. He has spent his career fighting to end America’s chronic illness epidemic and has been a leading advocate for healthcare transparency, both for patients and taxpayers.” Crapo said that in response to concerns about perceived conflicts of interest raised by committee members, Kennedy has amended his ethics agreement, “going beyond what is required by the Office of Government Ethics.”

Committee Democrats signaled their disapproval with Kennedy’s nomination, with ranking member Ron Wyden (D-OR) noting that Kennedy “made 114 separate appearances in the last four years where he espoused anti-vaccine views or spread misinformation about the efficacy of vaccines. In 36 of those instances, Mr. Kennedy directly linked vaccines to autism. Last week, Mr. Kennedy was given ample opportunity on a bipartisan basis to recant his decades-long career peddling anti-vaccine conspiracies. Instead, he dodged and weaved, and gave no indication that if confirmed as HHS Secretary, he would stand by the long-settled science surrounding routine vaccinations.

“On abortion,” Wyden continued, “Mr. Kennedy’s answers once again only raise more questions. He refused to tell us whether he would blindly follow a directive from Donald Trump to break the law and end access to mifepristone, and seemed to have no understanding of his role in enforcing existing federal laws that guarantee women the right to life-saving abortion care. Mr. Kennedy also failed to show a basic understanding of the Medicare and Medicaid programs he’d be tasked with overseeing. That alone should be disqualifying.”

Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton’s responses on vaccines, contraception and abortion medication during her 9/24 Senate confirmation hearing raise concerns that ideology could influence her decision-making if she takes over the agency, MSNBC senior medical analyst Dr. Vin Gupta said Friday. Gupta was particularly critical of Overton’

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton emerged from her Senate confirmation hearing Thursday (see earlier story) without resolving questions about whether she has enough Republican support to advance — and with a rapidly narrowing window for confirmation before the midterm elections. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing provided few

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA has classified Boston Scientific's recall of its Imager II Angiographic Catheters as Class I because a manufacturing problem could cause catheter tips to degrade and detach, potentially resulting in life-threatening complications. The agency announced the Class I classification 9/25, updating an Early Alert it issued

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome

FDA has approved Roche’s Gazyva (obinutuzumab) for reducing the risk of relapse in adults and children aged 2 and older with frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent, childhood-onset idiopathic nephrotic syndrome who are in remission. The expanded approval covers the use of the CD20-directed antibody beyond its existing

Read more

Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome