Pharma under fire
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The pharmaceutical industry faces a growing mountain of threats from the Trump administration, Axios' Caitlin Owens reports.
- "I think they're more screwed than they realize," said a consultant for drug companies who's close to the administration.
🔬 Why it matters: The U.S. leads the world in pharmaceutical innovation. But experts say the whole ecosystem is under threat, which could ultimately result in fewer breakthrough treatments.
- Cuts to NIH funding will make it harder to get new research started, they say. Cuts and policy changes at the FDA threaten to make the finish line less predictable.
💊 The big picture: RFK Jr., the HHS secretary, has talked about scrapping the process the FDA uses to decide whether to approve new drugs, calling it a conflict of interest because it's funded heavily by the industry.
- That would be "catastrophic," one former FDA official told Axios.
Drugmakers are nervous about the FDA's reliability, following mass firings and a handful of high-profile departures.
- President Trump said this week that he still plans to impose new tariffs on pharmaceuticals. His administration is sticking with Biden-era policies that allow Medicare to negotiate what it pays for certain drugs.
💬 What they're saying: "We are committed to working with the administration to make America healthier," PhRMA spokesperson Sarah Ryan said. "This will require a comprehensive strategy that includes focusing more on prevention and early intervention, promoting health and wellness and developing new treatments and cures."
- "To fulfill this commitment, we also need to retain America's leadership by protecting and strengthening our world-leading, innovative ecosystem and reducing costs for Americans by taking on middlemen and unnecessary bureaucracy."
