Republicans Target NIH For Changes If They Win Senate Control Next Year

Politico: The Reckoning Facing The NIH
The National Institutes of Health will face an overhaul if Republicans gain control of the Senate next year. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy — the Republican in line to lead the Senate committee that oversees the agency — said Thursday that reform was long overdue. “Congress has not thoroughly reviewed NIH operations and practices since the 21st Century Cures Act passed in 2016,” he said in a release. (Schumaker, Reader, Paun and Payne, 5/9)

The Hill: NIH Official Set To Testify Before COVID Panel On ‘Discrepancies’ In Pandemic Timeline
Lawrence Tabak, principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will testify before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic later this month, with committee Chair Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) planning to ask about “discrepancies” between prior testimonies. Tabak has agreed to testify before the subcommittee on May 16. (Choi, 5/9)

In other administration news —

Reuters: US FDA Advises Healthcare Facilities To Switch From Getinge's Heart Devices
The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday advised healthcare facilities to move away from using Getinge's (GETIb.ST) heart devices in patients as they faced safety and quality concerns despite a string of recalls. The recommendation is based on concerns that the company has not sufficiently addressed the problems and risks with the recalled devices, it added. Getinge did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (5/9)

CNN: FDA Considers Updating Blood Donation Guidelines To Keep Nation’s Supply Safe From Malaria
The US Food and Drug Administration is considering a requirement for blood banks to use a new test that can detect the parasites that cause malaria in certain donors’ blood, and it’s seeking the opinion of its independent advisers on the best way to meet its goal of zero transfusion-related cases without unnecessarily prohibiting some people from donating blood. (Christensen, 5/9)

CDC investigates stem cell injections in Mexico —

AP: The CDC Issues A Report About Infections From Stem-Cell Treatments In Mexico
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report Thursday about three cases of infections apparently linked to stem-cell treatments American patients received in Mexico. The CDC issued the report Thursday on infections of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM), which it described as “difficult-to-treat” and “intrinsically drug-resistant” and “rapidly growing.” (5/10)

CIDRAP: Three Drug-Resistant Infections In US Tied To Stem-Cell Injections In Mexico
An investigation by clinicians and public health officials from Colorado and Arizona has linked a cluster of antibiotic-resistant infections in three US residents to embryonic stem-cell injections at clinics in Mexico. In a report published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the investigators said the infections were caused by Mycobacterium abscessus, an intrinsically drug-resistant species of nontuberculosis mycobacterium that has previously been associated with medical tourism. (Dall, 5/9)

From Congress —

The Hill: Lawmakers Target Heavy Metals In Baby Food With New Legislation
A pair of Democratic senators introduced new legislation to limit the levels of harmful metals in commercial baby food, they announced Thursday. The bill, called “The Baby Food Safety Act of 2024,” would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new authority to enforce higher safety standards for commercial baby food and imported products. (Fortinsky, 5/9)

The Hill: John Joyce And Wiley Nickel Want To Modify The Inflation Reduction Act To Foster Rare Disease Research
Reps. John Joyce (R-Pa.) and Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) discussed Thursday why they’re pushing to pass their bill that would alter provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with the congressmen saying the legislation is needed to ensure continued research into treatments for rare diseases. Joyce and Nickel discussed the ORPHAN Cures Act while speaking at The Hill’s event “Science & Policy, The Future of Cancer Care,” sponsored by AstraZeneca. (Choi, 5/9)

The 19th: Warren, Moore Propose Mamas First Act For Medicaid Coverage Of Doulas, Midwives
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, both Democrats, are introducing legislation Thursday that would allow Medicaid coverage of doulas and midwives. The bill, called the Mamas First Act, aims to “improve access to care before, during, and after pregnancy to under-served and under-resourced communities” as an OB-GYN deficit looms and the high rates of pregnancy-related deaths persist. (Davis, 5/9)

Also —

AP: 1 Lawmaker Stops South Carolina Health Care Consolidation Bill That Had Overwhelming Support
A bill that would have consolidated six South Carolina heath care agencies and was overwhelmingly passed by both chambers of the General Assembly died on the session’s final day Thursday in a procedural move by a member angry he was mocked by his colleagues. Republican Rep. Josiah Magnuson has been against the bill from the start, saying it would create a health care czar who could take over like a dictator if there was another pandemic emergency like COVID-19. (Collins, 5/10)

Newsweek: Brett Kavanaugh's Remarks Used Against Anti-Abortion Republican
A federal judge cited conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a ruling that allowed lawsuits to proceed against Alabama's attorney general over his statements about prosecuting those who help Alabama residents travel to another state to seek abortions. Alabama banned abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape and incest after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending constitutional protections for abortion. (Rahman, 5/9)

Reuters: Ozempic Lead Counsel Selection Process Is Model For Judges In Big Cases
Back in March, at the first hearing, opens new tab in consolidated litigation over allegedly undisclosed side effects from Ozempic and other diet drugs, plaintiffs lawyers told a Philadelphia federal judge that they'd already agreed on a slate of four lawyers to lead the mass tort case. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Gene Pratter of Philadelphia appointed those same four lawyers ... as lead counsel in the multidistrict litigation against diet drugmakers Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) and Eli Lilly (LLY.N). (Frankel, 5/9)