NEW: I looked into how Karim Mikhail, the new leader of the FDA's biologics and vaccine center, is trying to stabilize operations after Vinay Prasad's turbulent tenure: www.statnews.com/2026/07/15/f...

Powerful, important read from @rosebroderick.bsky.social. As states absorb Medicaid funding cuts, family caregivers face financial ruin: www.statnews.com/2026/07/13/f...

[email protected] and I dug into a recent meeting convened by HHS to discuss best practices for deprescribing psychiatric drugs, specifically SSRI antidepressants. Read more here: www.statnews.com/2026/07/13/h...

Thank you @dgorenstein.bsky.social and @lesliemwalker.bsky.social for featuring my FDA reporting on @tradeoffs.org! It was a great conversation. Listen to the podcast episode here: tradeoffs.org/2026/07/09/a...

Please read this tremendous, moving story from @jasonmast.bsky.social and @matthewherper.bsky.social about one father's $70 million quest to save his daughter Grace, and the implications his journey has for the entire rare disease therapy field. www.statnews.com/2026/07/09/m...

FDA commissioner shortlist has reached the White House, reports @danielpayne.bsky.social. Heidi Overton, Jeffrey Vacirca, and Stephen Ferrara are among the finalists: www.statnews.com/2026/07/08/n...

Must-read series from @bobjherman.bsky.social about the soaring costs of health insurance for America's workers and businesses: www.statnews.com/health-insur...

here's an early #WTHealth for the holiday week! lotsa health news with @alicemiranda.bsky.social, @lizzylawrence.bsky.social, and Amanda Seitz: kffhealthnews.org/podcast/what...

Exclusive: Vijay Kumar, top gene therapy regulator at the FDA, is leaving his role. It's a little over a year since he took over from Nicole Verdun, who was pushed out by former CBER director Vinay Prasad. www.statnews.com/2026/06/29/v...

NEW: Many of the new members of an FDA committee who will be advising the agency on peptides are involved with businesses that promote and prescribe peptides. More w/ @sarah-todd.bsky.social here: www.statnews.com/2026/06/29/n...

Very interesting explainer from @elizabethcooney.bsky.social on pulmonary hypertension, and why the new class of obesity drugs might help: www.statnews.com/2026/06/26/w...

NEW: Democrats press White House on who got special access to Eli Lilly’s new obesity drug www.statnews.com/2026/06/25/s...

For @npr.org, I discussed my story on Eli Lilly granting early access of obesity drug retatrutide to a 79-year-old patient in April. You can listen here: www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

EXCLUSIVE: Eli Lilly gave compassionate use access to retatrutide, their unapproved powerful obesity drug, to a 79-year-old man in April. The application was arranged by a top doctor at NIH, and cleared by the FDA. www.statnews.com/2026/06/23/e...

NEW w/ @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social: HHS officials announced on Monday a pilot program to speed up early-stage clinical trials, in hopes of encouraging U.S.-based trials and combating Chinese dominance in the field. www.statnews.com/2026/06/22/f...

The FDA has posted a memo that offers more insight into the disagreement between Høeg and the review team on this drug: www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_d...

NEW: FDA approved Colorado's plan to import cheaper drugs from Canada, making it the second U.S. state to be granted such authorization. www.statnews.com/2026/06/15/c...

On this week's #WTHealth podcast: @laurenweberhp.bsky.social @lizzylawrence.bsky.social, and @sandhyawrites.bsky.social on declining insurance coverage, RFKJr's workday, and drama at the ADA meeting. kffhealthnews.org/podcast/what...

NEW: The FDA approved Sanofi's type 1 diabetes drug that was selected for the Commissioner's National Priority Review program. Staff and former CDER director Tracy Beth Høeg had previously disagreed on the approval. www.statnews.com/2026/06/13/t...

The HPV vaccine was approved 20 years ago this week. In a new series, CIDRAP News looks at what we've learned. In this story, we profile two sisters: Hailey was eligible for vaccination in 2006. Erica was not. 6 yrs later, Erica was diagnosed with cervical cancer. www.cidrap.umn.edu/human-papill...

NEW: FDA leaders on Thursday listened to criticisms and recommendations for how to move forward with a speedy drug review program put in place by former FDA commissioner Marty Makary. www.statnews.com/2026/06/04/f...

HIRING ALERT: STAT is looking for a reporter to cover declining trust in science. This reporter will examine the forces eroding the authority of scientific institutions and mainstream medicine. Apply here: www.statnews.com/careers/stat...

NEW: People really seem the FDA's new acting commissioner. I talked to 10 people who know Kyle Diamantas to get a sense of what he's like, as it's likely he'll be in the role for a while as the agency searches for a permanent replacement. Read more here: www.statnews.com/2026/05/26/k...

Katherine Szarama, acting director of the biologics and vaccines center, is out as well. Karim Mikhail will replace her. Lowell Zeta will replace Jim Traficant as chief of staff. All according to an email sent to staff and obtained by STAT. Story will be updated imminently:

NEW: Acting director of the drug center, Tracy Beth Høeg, is leaving the FDA, just days after Commissioner Marty Makary resigned from the agency www.statnews.com/2026/05/15/f...

NEW: What the Trump administration wants in its next FDA chief, w/ @danielpayne.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/05/13/m...

Fantastic profile on Sen. Bill Cassidy today from @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social and @danielpayne.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/05/13/b...

Marty Makary is, needless to say, only the latest senior FDA official to leave the agency. @lizzylawrence.bsky.social and @jaspar.bsky.social have been keeping tabs. www.statnews.com/2025/04/03/f...

BREAKING: FDA Commissioner Marty Makary is resigning today. Top food regulator Kyle Diamantas will serve as acting. www.statnews.com/2026/05/12/f...

The first 3 stories in a series spearheaded by @isabellacueto.bsky.social and @levfacher.bsky.social are out! Alcohol is wreaking havoc on public health, but American society looks the other way. Check out the stories here, and look out for the next installments: www.statnews.com/alcohol-epid...

Trump reportedly plans to fire FDA Commissioner Makary. Several FDA sources told me Makary missed a planned appearance at the FDA's annual 5K race on the White Oak campus today. www.statnews.com/2026/05/08/f...

Watch to see Lizzy do an incredible 1-take off-the-cuff intro from the front seat of a rental Hyundai Elantra (that my head barely fit into) and stay for the compelling stories these former FDA officials shared with us. (Seriously though I had to open the slider of the sunroof)

Check out @alexhogan.bsky.social's incredible video of the six former FDA employees we profiled, to capture the expertise that's been lost after layoffs, voluntary and involuntary departures: statnews.com/2026/05/08/f...

NEW: The FDA has started to rehire after losing thousands of employees last year. But it will be difficult to replace what was lost. Read our profile of six of the folks who left, featuring video portraits filmed by @alexhogan.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/05/07/f...

SCOOP: Sanofi has asked the FDA to pull its type 1 diabetes drug, Tzield, out of the Commissioner's drug review voucher program. The move comes after acting CDER director Tracy Beth Høeg disagreed with a staff decision to approve the drug. www.statnews.com/2026/05/06/s...

Why the FDA authorized flavored vapes, and why public health experts are split about the decision, which came after reported White House pressure. W/ @sarah-todd.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/05/06/f...

Just wanted to recirculate my story from November on this episode (TY to the NYT for the hat tip!): www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/f...

NEW: FDA launches effort to speed up clinical trials, using AI. The agency will review trial data in real time from AstraZeneca and Amgen: www.statnews.com/2026/04/28/f...

Brittany Goldberg, another FDA senior leader, just left the drug center, according to an email viewed by STAT. She previously worked as Vinay Prasad's deputy at the biologics center. She spent around 13 years at the agency. www.statnews.com/2025/04/03/f...

I recently visited Indigo in Savannah to see how he and others at Georgia's only LGBTQ+ center are pushing to expand affirming care, even as it contracts elsewhere. www.statnews.com/2026/04/20/t...

NEW: The FDA will convene an advisory panel to discuss whether to allow broader access to peptides, a class of products that RFK Jr is a fan of: www.statnews.com/2026/04/15/p...

W/ John Wilkerson: FDA backs proposals to entice pharma companies to test, make drugs domestically www.statnews.com/2026/04/07/f...

NEW: FDA Commissioner Marty Makary marked one year at FDA with a focus on achievements in a speech to staff. He thanked career staff by name, and acknowledged the difficult of the April layoffs. But he said little on the agency’s more recent turmoil. www.statnews.com/2026/04/01/f...

A writeup of my conversation with former FDA commissioner Rob Califf, written up by the excellent @danielpayne.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/03/19/p...

NEW: FDA’s top infectious disease regulator to depart agency www.statnews.com/2026/03/18/f...

Today, HHS announced several initiatives to try and reduce reliance on animal testing in drug development, including new FDA guidance and new NIH grants: www.statnews.com/2026/03/18/f...

Very excited to interview former FDA commissioner @robcaliff.bsky.social about the recent turmoil at FDA, from leadership upheaval to politicization of science, at STAT's Breakthrough Summit East in NYC on Thursday. You can register for tickets here: www.statnews.com/stat-summit-...

Die Hard is a Christmas movie and The Fugitive is a St. Patrick's Day movie, and in ☘️ spirit I have a fun video this week. I asked some intrepid @statnews.com reporters how they would cover the pharma subplot of the classic 1993 thriller. youtu.be/zg0hIGl8Yt4

I had a lot of fun filming this video with @alexhogan.bsky.social about how STAT would have covered the pharma-related events of "The Fugitive" if they were real. I think Dr. Kimble would have cleared his name a lot earlier if STAT reporters were on the case... www.statnews.com/2026/03/13/f...

Two terrific #FDA related pieces by @lizzylawrence.bsky.social & @matthewherper.bsky.social. Matt's is a look at lessons to be drawn from Vinay Prasad's chaotic tenure; Lizzy's delves into the FDA's turning away from adcomms. www.statnews.com/2026/03/08/v... & www.statnews.com/2026/03/09/f...