Matthew Herper

Vinay Prasad was not good for the FDA. But his ouster makes things worse Vinay Prasad's ouster from the FDA will likely be celebrated in many corners. But beware of what comes next.

Vinay Prasad was not good for the FDA. But his ouster makes things worse - thoughtful take by @matthewherper.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/07/30/v... via @statnews.com

In preparation of today's mark-up of the NIH appropriations bill in the Senate and other activities, I sent this note to Senator Susan Collins' office.

1/2

I swear one of my cats understands English but she will NOT do what you ask. (She does the opposite, that's how you know.)

Trump administration moves to ban concentrated 7-OH, kratom-related synthetic “We’re not targeting the kratom leaf or ground-up kratom,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.

Trump administration moves to ban concentrated 7-OH, kratom-related synthetic

FDA says it is not focused on ‘natural kratom leaf products’

www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/7...

Given state of NIH this is smart also cats.

Going to shift research focus to include more cats and bell ringing. 🐈‍⬛

NIH, FDA plan to reduce animal testing draws mixed reactions among scientists As the Trump administration reshapes biomedicine, it wants to change how scientists test drug safety: animal research.

FDA and NIH are moving away from animal testing. Scientists are split on whether that's a good idea, @marissa-russo.bsky.social and I report for @statnews.com after talking with 10+ researchers across academia and biotech.
www.statnews.com/2025/07/25/n...

Thank you!

The crisis over Sarepta’s Duchenne therapy is a mess. But the lesson is clear The crisis over Sarepta Therapeutics' Duchenne therapy offers a valuable lesson: Listening to critics, and responding with data, is the surest path forward.

The crisis over Sarepta’s Duchenne therapy is a mess. But the lesson is clear: This is no way to do drug development.

www.statnews.com/2025/07/21/s...

The FDA commissioner is a gifted talker — but the job is about more than that FDA Commissioner Marty Makary's vision for the agency risks the best of an agency that mostly has functioned well for the sake of an uncertain payoff.

ICYMI: Great piece by @matthewherper.bsky.social in @statnews.com on how the new FDA Commissioner too often hypes and misleads about his plans for FDA that on further scrutiny are not much or not possible. Hoping for less PR and more substance moving forward. www.statnews.com/2025/07/14/f... #MedSky

He actually mentions RCTS, and just doesn't give them primacy!

What's really amazing to me is he felt the need to say this when he later mentions RCTs on food dyes which do provide some data indicating they may exacerbate ADHD symptoms.

So why insist on anecdote as data?

Ex-Pfizer Doctor Tells Congress He Didn’t Delay Covid Shot Data A former Pfizer Inc. scientist denied an allegation made by House Republicans that he conspired to delay the release of Covid shot data to hurt Donald Trump’s 2020 election prospects, the latest twist...

A former Pfizer scientist denied an allegation made by House Republicans that he conspired to delay the release of Covid shot data to hurt Trump’s 2020 election prospects

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The FDA commissioner is a gifted talker — but the job is about more than that FDA Commissioner Marty Makary's vision for the agency risks the best of an agency that mostly has functioned well for the sake of an uncertain payoff.

Smart piece by @matthewherper.bsky.social: FDA Commissioner Marty Makary’s ideas are ambitious on first blush, but merit more scrutiny. www.statnews.com/2025/07/14/f...

"Makary often seems to bring ideas to the table that seem sensical on the surface but less impressive upon closer inspection... he proposed moving Narcan, which is used to treat opioid overdoses, over the counter. That was a wonderful idea — except that the FDA had done it in 2023."

A red state reckons with Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' Louisiana voted for Trump. But it also relies heavily on Medicaid benefits, which are set to face steep cuts under the president's new One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

A red state reckons with Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'

Louisiana voted for Trump. But it also relies heavily on Medicaid benefits, which are set to face steep cuts under the president's new One Big Beautiful Bill Ac www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

The FDA commissioner is a gifted talker — but the job is about more than that FDA Commissioner Marty Makary's vision for the agency risks the best of an agency that mostly has functioned well for the sake of an uncertain payoff.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary impressed me with his the promise to post FDA rejection letters.

But linking his new, two-month vouchers to cuts in drug prices? That idea doesn't hold up to basic economics.

On why the top FDA job is not just about talking.

www.statnews.com/2025/07/14/f...

California stem cell agency shutting down unique human tissue biobank The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and its partners are selling thousands of stem cell samples before many of them are discarded.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine owns a stem cell biobank that was once the largest of its kind in the world. But it's now racing to sell off thousands of samples before many of them are discarded. To understand why, see my latest for @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/07/11/s...

How the U.S. health care system fails cancer patients like former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis Ananda Lewis should still be alive. She had access. She had options. What she didn’t have was trust in the system that could have saved her, writes an oncologist.

"[Paatients are] driven not by ignorance but by fear, confusion, and a deep sense that no one in the system is really looking out for them.

That’s not just a personal choice. It’s a systemic failure. And it’s costing lives."

www.statnews.com/2025/07/07/a... via @statnews.com

This Life cover, from 1914, imagines how people would dress in 1950.

They were only off by 75 years!!! This couple wouldn’t get a second glance in Williamsburg.

Except people also wear the 1914 outfits.

RFK Jr. Is Scaring Parents Into Asking Doctors for Early Shots Pediatricians weigh the risks of vaccinating ahead of schedule with threat of shot shortages looming.

Kennedy's HHS is scaring parents into asking if kids can receive vaccines early

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

HHS backtracks on pledge to disclose new vaccine advisers’ conflicts of interest RFK Jr. has pledged radical transparency, but his vaccine advisers' financial disclosures aren't public.

HHS backtracks on pledge to disclose new vaccine advisers’ conflicts of interest www.statnews.com/2025/07/09/k...

Gilead to provide HIV prevention drug to 2 million people in lower income countries at cost Gilead announced a deal to get its groundbreaking HIV prevention drug to lower income countries. Notably, the deal does not include PEPFAR.

Gilead to provide HIV prevention drug to 2 million people in lower income countries at cost

Agreement with Global Fund does not include PEPFAR, reflecting Trump’s cuts to foreign aid

www.statnews.com/pharmalot/20...

Defenders of Medicaid cuts are misunderstanding a study I worked on Defenders of Medicaid cuts point to the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment to argue that the cuts won’t harm people’s health. But they misunderstand the results, writes one of the study’s authors.

MIT's Amy Finkelstein says defenders of Medicaid cuts are misunderstood her work. www.statnews.com/2025/07/03/o...

Big Food’s snack binge unravels as Americans ditch sweet treats Companies spent billions buying snack brands to boost growth — but now sales are falling

“The use of GLP-1 medications has already caused US grocery volume losses of between 1.2 per cent and 2.9 per cent, estimates Big Chalk Analytics, a consumer goods industry consultancy.” on.ft.com/40EAC7Y

NEW: Federal prosecutors say among the reasons why Elizabeth Holmes should not be let out of prison is that she is "ripe for recidivism," citing her partner's blood-testing startup "that bears eerie similarities to Theranos," which is a story that I first broke

RFK Jr. says he has a team working on changes to the vaccine injury compensation program RFK Jr. wants to change federal programs that helps people injured by vaccines, though he may need Congress to do so.

RFK Jr. says he has a team working on changes to the vaccine injury compensation program

www.statnews.com/2025/07/01/r...

RFK Jr. says medical journals are ‘corrupt.’ As former NEJM editors, we know he’s wrong RFK Jr.’s plan to circumvent established medical journals smacks more of retaliation than reform, write three former NEJM editors.

One of @SecKennedy's talking points around medical journals is a quote from Marcia Angell, former editor of NEJM.

Today in STAT, Angell says she never said it- and that Kennedy's actions will worsen pharmaceutical company influence in medicine.

Read it here:
www.statnews.com/2025/06/30/r...

Eric Green was the first institute director forced out of NIH. He still hasn’t been told why Eric Green said the process leading to his ouster as a NIH institute director by the Trump administration remains "shrouded in mystery"

Eric Green was the first institute director forced out of NIH. He still hasn’t been told why www.statnews.com/2025/06/26/n... via @statnews.com

Put these changes in a figure for a presentation today.

Might help explain why more Republicans seem to be talking about Medicaid this year than in 2017, even though it's about provider taxes and hospital solvency, not the policies that more directly affect enrollment.