Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Policy Aide Reportedly In Running To Lead FDA
White House policy aide Heidi Overton is among the final candidates the Trump administration is considering to lead the Food and Drug Administration, according to people familiar with the matter. No final decision has been made, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. It鈥檚 unclear whether Overton has the support of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., some of the people said. (Cohrs Zhang, 6/23)
More pharma and tech news 鈥
The FDA approved the first generic version of rifapentine (Priftin) to treat active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in adolescents and adults, as well as latent TB infection in patients as young as 2 years. (Rudd, 6/23)
The Food and Drug Administration quietly told wearable maker Whoop last week that it would not take further enforcement action over a controversial feature that gives users a reading of their blood pressure. (Aguilar, 6/23)
It wasn鈥檛 sure to be a slam dunk. By the time LivaNova launched a pivotal trial for its vagus nerve stimulator to treat heart failure in 2018, similar devices had shown mixed results. But the Food and Drug Administration had designated the device as a breakthrough, a label intended to speed promising technologies to patients with unmet needs: Maybe this would be the device to help heart failure patients when drugs weren鈥檛 enough. (Palmer, 6/24)
Tears glazed Daniel Cressy鈥檚 face as he became the first patient in the Gulf South to be functionally cured of sickle cell disease through gene editing on Monday. He said it felt like being reborn. 鈥溾奊od has given me another life, a new chapter. I was able to experience a second birthday, something that most people will never experience,鈥 he said during a celebration at Manning Family Children鈥檚, surrounded by his care team and top public officials including Gov. Jeff Landry, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter and New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno.聽(Parker, 6/23)
GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are a hot health topic. Now, critics are debating whether the medications should be banned in sports for potentially being performance-enhancing drugs. The debate comes after 23-time Grand Slam-winning superstar Serena Williams officially came back to tennis after stepping away from the game for four years. During that time, she admitted to using a GLP-1 medication to get back in shape, saying it helped her lose 34 pounds. (Sitz, 6/23)
