Biden nominates Monica Bertagnolli to head NIH
May 15, 2023... Biden announced he would nominate National Cancer Institute Director Monica Bertagnolli to fill the long-vacant director slot at NIH.
Senator pushes NIH for ‘formal’ review of Covid response
May 4, 2023... Republicans continued to press top health officials on the coronavirus response during a Thursday hearing on the NIH budget.
Biden’s pick to lead NIH stares down an increasingly political litany of questions
May 3, 2023... Biden’s presumed NIH pick, cancer official Monica Bertagnolli, will face a slew of increasingly political questions in her upcoming confirmation battle.
Biden to tap head of National Cancer Institute to lead NIH
April 20, 2023... President Biden will nominate oncologist Monica Bertagnolli, director of the National Cancer Institute, to lead the National Institutes of Health, three people familiar with the White House’s plans told STAT.
Pharmalittle: White House to tap cancer center chief to lead NIH; generic abortion pill maker sues FDA
April 20, 2023... The White House plans to nominate Monica Bertagnolli, director of the National Cancer Institute, to lead the National Institutes of Health, which has not had a permanent director since December 2021.
Biden makes big demands for cancer research and new ARPA-H agency
March 9, 2023... The president asked for a combined $3.6 billion over the next few years to be channeled to the Cancer Moonshot.
With an $11 billion price tag, the White House pitches a plan to end hepatitis C
March 9, 2023... The Biden administration is calling on Congress to fund a more than $11 billion program to eliminate hepatitis C in the United States.
Pharmalittle: FDA head wants to get rid of advisory panel votes; premature-birth drug is finally withdrawn
March 8, 2023... FDA Commissioner Robert Califf would like to get rid of voting at the end of advisory committee meetings "as much as possible."
Science adviser Collins hints at a big White House ask to eliminate hepatitis C
March 7, 2023... Science adviser Francis Collins hinted Tuesday at a big White House ask for funding to eliminate hepatitis C.
Venture capital is investing little in new treatment for addiction, report finds
Feb. 2, 2023... A report suggests that, even though U.S. addiction deaths are hovering around their all-time high, drug companies and the investors who back them are unlikely to provide solutions anytime soon.
How the Biden administration’s Covid preparedness policies could narrow America’s political divide
Jan. 31, 2023... The Covid Winter Preparedness Plan advises contradictory goals: that Americans can return to normal and at the same time stay safe by avoiding exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
Federal panel approves plans to safeguard lab-made virus research
Jan. 27, 2023... Some scientists who attended the public meeting warned that virus-related research could be unintentionally hampered by the recommendations.
Biopharma leaders helped save democracy. Now what?
Jan. 18, 2023... Some argue that it’s not the job of biopharmaceutical leaders to weigh in on policy matters outside of their wheelhouse. But that ecosystem won’t function properly if our democracy doesn’t.
STAT in D.C.: The Politics of Health Care
Jan. 12, 2023... Take a deep dive into the biggest discussions and decisions taking place in Washington. Together with STAT reporters, the evening's speakers will unpack how policymakers are impacting the future of health and medicine — from scientific breakthroughs to patient access to care. Explore virtual and in-person ticketing options. And, STAT+ subscribers unlock a free ticket…
Priorities pile up for HHS, FDA, CMS, NIH, and other health agencies
Jan. 3, 2023... The nation’s federal health agencies already have a long to-do list for 2023.
Getting hepatitis C treatment opens new doors for the incarcerated
Dec. 15, 2022... “I have taken a life,” Loisel told STAT, sitting in the visiting room at the Maine State Prison. “At some point you want to give life.”
Hundreds of incarcerated people are dying of hep C — even though we have a simple cure
Dec. 15, 2022... More than 1,000 incarcerated people died from hepatitis C-related complications between 2014 and 2019, even though a simple cure is available, according to a new STAT investigation.
ARPA-H’s new director wants to go on a hiring spree
Dec. 7, 2022... President Biden’s new ARPA-H director has one big message: Please apply.
Congress: Close the gap between funding for nutrition research and the toll diet-related disease takes on Americans
Dec. 2, 2022... It's time to close the research gap in nutrition and health. Congress is deciding the next budget right now, and it needs to take doctors' orders on this one.
White House science adviser Alondra Nelson on the midterms, the cancer moonshot, and a book in the works
Nov. 15, 2022... "Science and technology policy is one of the few places where one can get any kind of bipartisan cooperation."
‘Science is just rocketing forward’: A Q&A with former NIH director Francis Collins
Oct. 29, 2022... Former NIH director Francis Collins spoke with STAT about his hopes for early-cancer detection, curing progeria, and other advancements in genetic research.
Pharmalittle: White House pharma help in plan to combat hepatitis C; J&J blood cancer drug will cost $39,500 a month
Oct. 26, 2022... The Biden administration is preparing a comprehensive initiative to fight hepatitis C that would streamline testing and treatment and bring down costs.
Who will get the call from Stockholm? It’s time for STAT’s 2022 Nobel Prize predictions
Sept. 30, 2022... The shortlist of possible Nobel Prize winners this year in science and medicine includes researchers who elucidated how cells make energy and discovered the chemical chatter of bacteria, and the pioneers behind Covid mRNA vaccines.
‘I’m deeply concerned’: Francis Collins on trust in science, how Covid communications failed, and his current obsession
Sept. 19, 2022... “The big thing that I know I didn't do, and I don't think a lot of the communicators did, was to say this is an evolving crisis, this is going to change every time we made a recommendation,” former NIH leader Francis Collins said.
With a promising new plan to pay for pricey cures, two states set out to eliminate hepatitis C. But cost hasn’t been the biggest problem
Sept. 13, 2022... Experts assumed the biggest obstacle to eliminating hepatitis C was the sky-high cost of a new miracle cure. But an investigation into Washington's and Louisiana’s efforts reveals more intractable issues.
Biden appoints former government scientist as first leader of ARPA-H
Sept. 12, 2022... The president is appointing biologist and former government scientist Renee Wegrzyn as the first director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.
Pfizer isn’t sharing Covid vaccines with researchers for next-gen studies
Sept. 6, 2022... Researchers studying next-gen vaccines to fight an evolving Covid threat are running into problems getting existing vaccines to use in their research.
What Fauci’s exit tells us about the ongoing fight against Covid
Aug. 24, 2022... There was a time when Anthony Fauci thought he would retire when the Covid-19 pandemic was over. That, he admits now, may never happen. But this December, he announced this week, will have to be good enough.
Inching closer to an essential global pandemic treaty
Aug. 3, 2022... Despite interest in a global pandemic treaty, nothing has been agreed upon and nothing in the limited procedural victories has benefited marginalized global citizens. It's time for the real work to begin.