Trump claims his policies made insulin ‘so cheap, it’s like water.’ But for most people, it costs just as much as before
WASHINGTON — Not only has he lowered drug prices, President Trump claimed in the first…
Category: Politics
STAT Plus: Drug industry CEOs will testify this week about some of pharma’s most controversial medicines
The House Oversight Committee will hold two days of hearings this week with six drug…
Republicans blasted Obama’s use of an obscure Medicare law. Now Trump’s using it on $200 drug coupons — and the GOP is silent
WASHINGTON — The last time a president used an obscure law to spend billions of…
Trump promises seniors $200 prescription drug gift certificates, but questions abound
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday pledged to send $200 prescription drug coupons to 33…
STAT Plus: Q&A: Vivek Murthy, a top Biden adviser, on Covid-19 vaccines, the drug industry, and the future of public health
WASHINGTON — After a years-long hiatus, Vivek Murthy is back in the political spotlight. As…
Joe Biden’s campaign-trail challenge: Casting doubt on a Trump vaccine without fueling broader vaccine skepticism
WASHINGTON — To Joe Biden and his campaign allies, it’s a straightforward distinction: They trust…
Trump’s attacks highlight CDC’s stumbles on public health messaging
WASHINGTON — Robert Redfield’s statement was unambiguous: A Covid-19 vaccine, he said, might not be…
STAT Plus: Biden-aligned group outlines potential Day 1 drug pricing actions
WASHINGTON — A leading think tank aligned with the Democratic Party is laying the groundwork…
Trump’s last-ditch drug pricing moves could help him in November. But they likely won’t save Americans money
WASHINGTON — With 50 days to go before the 2020 election, President Trump is taking…
Top health official echoes Trump’s Covid-19 views, drawing accusations of politicizing U.S. mental health agency
Reopen the schools, diminish the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, and the economy comes first….
With election looming, Trump releases major, last-ditch drug pricing order
WASHINGTON — President Trump released an executive order Sunday that would drastically cut how much…
Public trust in CDC, Fauci, and other top health officials is evaporating, poll finds
WASHINGTON — A new poll paints a bleak picture of Americans’ views toward the coronavirus…
A Senate race in Kansas between two doctors sets the stage for an election hyper-focused on health policy — and on Covid-19
A Democratic doctor campaigning for Senate in Kansas is betting she can leverage her health…
Amid broad mistrust of FDA and Trump administration, drug companies seek to reassure public about Covid-19 vaccine safety
WASHINGTON — A group of nine leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies pledged on Tuesday to…
Pharma drew a line in the sand over Covid-19 vaccine readiness — because someone had to
Talk about a rebuke. President Trump may want a Covid-19 vaccine to ship in time…
Prominent biotech leaders release Covid-19 guidelines calling for FDA independence, data transparency
WASHINGTON — A group of prominent biotech CEOs are calling on their peers and the…
STAT Plus: How Trump could use a rare regulatory maneuver to lower drug prices before Election Day, and how it could backfire
WASHINGTON — The final two months before a presidential election don’t typically feature much policymaking,…
STAT Plus: Congressional committee to subpoena AbbVie in drug pricing investigation
A Congressional committee plans to subpoena AbbVie (ABBV) for documents about pricing practices for two…
STAT Plus: Small vape makers seek another extension on a looming FDA application deadline, sparking battle with advocates
WASHINGTON — Vaping companies have just nine days until they must submit formal marketing applications…
Conservative operative ousted as FDA spokeswoman after just 11 days
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration removed a top Food and Drug Administration communications official from…
STAT Plus: New poll shows wide support for several Trump drug pricing reforms, but not rebate changes
WASHINGTON — Voters in several battleground states overwhelmingly support several of President Trump’s recent proposals…
Trump has launched an all-out attack on the FDA. Will its scientific integrity survive?
WASHINGTON — President Trump has instigated an all-out crusade against the Food and Drug Administration…
New Covid-19 testing guidelines, crafted at the White House, alarm public health experts
Public health experts reacted with alarm Wednesday to new Covid-19 testing guidelines issued by the…
STAT Plus: Drug industry lobbyists circulate two drug pricing proposals in hopes of warding off a Trump executive order
WASHINGTON — The pharmaceutical industry is weighing two drug pricing policies that it could offer…
As Covid-19 pressures mount, political newcomer Stephen Hahn struggles to protect an FDA under siege
WASHINGTON — Stephen Hahn, a political novice who moved here in December to take over…
FDA commissioner needs to push back and tell Trump the agency is not part of the ‘deep state’
The next 73 days are going to be very difficult for Stephen Hahn. As the…
Drug makers rebut Trump tweet that FDA ‘deep state’ is delaying Covid-19 vaccines and drugs
WASHINGTON — In a tweet Saturday morning, President Donald Trump accused the Food and Drug…
PhRMA scrambles to respond to Trump’s drug pricing ultimatum, as Monday deadline looms
WASHINGTON — Drug makers and their lobbyists are struggling to agree on a strategy that…
‘No miracle is coming’: In acceptance speech, Biden rips Trump for Covid-19 mismanagement
WASHINGTON — Former vice president Joe Biden excoriated President Trump’s Covid-19 response as he accepted…
Ramped-up testing and daily briefings: Inside Biden’s plan to take over a tumultuous Covid-19 response
WASHINGTON — No president has ever inherited a pandemic. But if Joe Biden is elected…
Trump campaign’s Facebook ad blitz casts Biden as pharma’s preferred candidate
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s reelection campaign is appealing to swing voters by attacking “Big Pharma”…
‘A powerful shift’: Disability advocacy, once an afterthought in presidential races, gains new traction
For decades, the disability advocacy community has fought for a permanent — and prominent —…
STAT Plus: AAMC, the medical school trade association, gave $500,000 to dark-money group in 2018
WASHINGTON — The dark-money group Citizens for Truth in Drug Pricing, which has run several…
STAT Plus: FDA’s reopening plan will keep biologics labs shuttered far longer than other government labs
WASHINGTON — The FDA is keeping its biologics labs shuttered far longer than other government…
Pharma is showering Congress with cash, even as drug makers race to fight the coronavirus
WASHINGTON — The world’s biggest drug makers and their trade groups have cut checks to…
Trump to order government to buy certain drugs solely from U.S. factories, setting up major shakeup for industry
WASHINGTON — President Trump will sign an executive later today directing the federal government to…
STAT Plus: Scientists are testing pricey rare-disease drugs as Covid-19 treatments. What if one works?
Some of the existing drugs scientists are testing as Covid-19 treatments have a special status…
STAT Plus: The FDA is finalizing its long-awaited rules for CBD
A version of this story first ran in D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s weekly newsletter about the…
STAT Plus: The drug industry’s new tactic in Washington: calling Trump’s bluff
WASHINGTON — The pharmaceutical industry has sparred with President Trump for four years over drug…
Democratic group warns that the U.S. is unprepared to distribute a Covid-19 vaccine
WASHINGTON — A Democratic group warned Tuesday that the U.S. is fundamentally unprepared to manufacture…
Covid-19 relief package likely to include billions more for vaccines, testing
WASHINGTON — The latest round of Covid-19 relief could include a dramatic increase in new…
Trump administration unveils four executive orders aimed at lowering drug prices
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration unveiled four executive orders on Friday aimed at bringing down…
STAT Plus: The FDA got a lot more flexible during Covid — and pharma’s already pushing to make it permanent
WASHINGTON — The pharmaceutical industry made it clear to the Food and Drug Administration that…
STAT Plus: In unusual arrangement, deputy HHS secretary’s wife has been lobbying the agency on behalf of health care companies
WASHINGTON — Emily Hargan, who is married to Department of Health and Human Services Deputy…
Pharma promises lawmakers, again and again, industry won’t cut corners with Covid-19 vaccines
The pharmaceutical industry does not want you to worry about the safety or efficacy of…
STAT Plus: Many drug companies working on Covid-19 vaccines and treatments are lobbying harder than usual
WASHINGTON — Pharmaceutical companies racing to develop coronavirus treatments and vaccines have upped their lobbying…
STAT Plus: Three lawmakers own large sums of stock in vaccine makers set to testify before their committee
Three of the lawmakers tasked with grilling pharmaceutical executives on the development of Covid-19 vaccines…
What will it cost? And 5 other questions Congress could push Covid-19 vaccine makers to answer
Some drug companies say we’ll have a coronavirus vaccine by the winter. Others say that’s…
NIH Director Francis Collins defends Fauci amid White House criticism
WASHINGTON — Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, defended the beleaguered…
How HHS’s new hospital data reporting system will actually affect the U.S. Covid-19 response
WASHINGTON — It’s a fight over something as seemingly mundane as government data collection. But…