HHS Nominee RFK Jr. In The Hot Seat At First Confirmation Hearing

This week’s edition of InnovationRx covers HHS nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Senate confirmation hearing, chaos at the NIH and federal research funding, new dosages for an Alzheimer’s drug, a major tuberculosis outbreak, and more. To receive it in your inbox, subscribe here.

This morning, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. testified at a confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee as the legislative body weighs whether to approve his appointment as Secretary of Health And Human Services, which oversees the National Institutes for Health, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control.

Kennedy faced criticism for his anti-vaccination advocacy, despite stating that he is “pro-vaccine” during the hearing. Senators, including Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., raised concerns about his involvement in a measles outbreak in Samoa, where over 80 unvaccinated individuals died. Warren also criticized Kennedy for receiving referral fees from lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies over vaccine claims.

Abortion was another focal point of the hearing, with Senators from both parties seeking clarity on Kennedy’s stance on abortion and reproductive care. Republican Senators questioned FDA regulation of abortion drug Mifepristone and Kennedy’s commitment to Trump Administration policies on abortion. Kennedy assured Senator James Lankford Rep.-Okla. that he would implement the President’s policies.

You can read the full liveblog of today’s hearing here, and stay tuned for Kennedy’s second confirmation hearing tomorrow in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee. The timing of the final vote is still uncertain.

In A Week Of Chaos And Trump’s Attempts To Freeze Funding, Scientists Fear For Critical Medical Research

Last Wednesday, around 1:30 p.m. Pacific time, Esther Choo, a professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, received an email notifying her that the NIH study section she was supposed to participate in the following day was canceled. The NIH’s decision to halt meetings and communication, part of President Trump’s “pause” in scientific proposals and grants review process, sparked fear and concern among scientists.

The NIH plays a crucial role in American scientific research, allocating a significant portion of its $47 billion budget to medical research. Without the NIH meetings, known as study sections, the agency cannot review grants and make research awards. These funds are essential for studying various health issues such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and opioid addiction. Many universities and medical institutions rely on federal grants for research funding.

“A lot of people are in limbo,” said Rebeca Burdine, a Princeton professor of molecular biology. “That’s where you’re seeing the panic because we just don’t know.”

Acting NIH director Matthew Memoli issued a memo on Monday clarifying that ongoing clinical trials and research predating Trump’s inauguration can continue. However, the status of pending grants remains unclear. The NIH stated in an email that “At this time, no new studies are being launched.”

Trump’s funding freeze extended beyond health and science, as the White House paused all federal grants and loans in a memo from the Office of Management and Budget. Agencies were instructed to review their grants and loans to align with Trump’s executive orders, which include banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. A federal judge granted an administrative stay in a case challenging the funding freeze, with a hearing scheduled for Monday.

The implications of the funding freeze extend beyond healthcare, as Trump aimed to assert control over the federal purse and reshape the President’s relationship with Congress. On Wednesday, OMB rescinded the freeze on federal funding in a new memo.

BIOTECH AND PHARMA

The FDA approved monthly maintenance doses for an Alzheimer’s drug, called Leqembi, from Japan’s Eisai and Biogen. Patients with early Alzheimer’s can receive the maintenance doses after 18 months of getting twice-weekly ones. A phase 2 clinical study found that the doses could be spaced out after the first year-and-a-half on the drug while still keeping the brain plaques believed to be a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease from accumulating. The drug had received standard approval from the FDA in 2023, but its growth had been slow, in part because of the time and effort required to get more than 100 injections a year.

PUBLIC HEALTH AND HOSPITALS

An outbreak of tuberculosis in Kansas has become the largest recorded outbreak of the illness in the United States since the mid-1950s. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 67 active cases this year through January 24. Health officials stated that the general risk to the public, even in the outbreak area, remains “very low.” TB treatment involves antibiotics over a period of four to nine months.