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Hello, Morning Round readers! It’s officially June, my birthday month. Stop, stop, everyone hurry up and wish me a happy birthday!
There’s a lot to cover today, including news from our world – the pharmaceutical industry, how much future GLP-1 drugs will cost the Medicare program, and the latest on Ebola from Helen Branswell, Danielle Payne and Chelsea Siluzzo.
Trump administration proposes overhaul of subsidy granting process
The Trump administration has announced a sweeping proposal to overhaul bedrock regulations on all federal aid, seeking to codify tighter political controls over federally funded research.
STAT’s Anil Oza delves into proposed changes that would downplay the role of peer review in determining what research is funded, limit the ability of scientists to use federal funds to publish research or travel to conferences, and give political appointees more latitude to cut off grants at will.
Government officials said the changes were needed to increase transparency in government-funded science and reduce waste, fraud and abuse. Many in the scientific research community disagree, characterizing the changes as an attempt by the White House to take away the autonomy of scientists and career civil servants.
CDC says stopping the spread of Ebola is a top priority
Trump administration officials have made it clear that the priority in the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is to ensure that Americans, even those with Ebola or at risk of contracting the virus, do not set foot in the United States.
But at a press conference Friday, the CDC said otherwise.
Incident Manager Satish Pillai told reporters that a key priority for authorities was to help stop the spread of the dangerous virus at its source. Support for affected countries and neighbors at risk was second on Pillai’s list. The third priority was to strengthen U.S. preparedness in case Ebola cases reach the U.S. mainland. Pillai said the risk to Americans is “very low.”
He said 236 CDC employees are currently involved in the response, and more have expressed interest in volunteering. “People want to help,” Pillai said. As of Friday, both countries had 1,040 confirmed and suspected cases, the highest number in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and 251 people had died. — Helen Branswell
Trump administration ignores infectious disease control booklet to combat Ebola hemorrhagic fever
When President Biden leaves office in January 2025, his administration left behind an extensive plan for how federal officials should respond and work to prevent future disease outbreaks, including Ebola. But the Trump administration ignored that plan in favor of its own strategy, which officials said led to a swifter and more comprehensive response than any other country.
Changes in federal planning may have delayed the ongoing response to the Ebola outbreak at a time when speed is critical to saving lives and containing the disease, former officials said.
Here’s an example: Three Biden officials, Maj. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, Raj Panjabi, and Stephanie Psaki, noted that President Trump’s intention to isolate and treat American citizens in Kenya was a significant departure from earlier plans that focused on how to bring Americans home for treatment, as has happened in the past. Read more from Daniel and Chelsea.
CEPI offers funding for three vaccine candidates
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations announced this morning that it has allocated funding to three efforts to develop a vaccine for the Bundibugyo Ebola strain, which is behind the current outbreak. This support will support preclinical work, early clinical trials, and manufacturing of vaccine candidates.
The three groups developing vaccines are IAVI, which is designing an immunization similar to the approved vaccine for Ebola; Moderna is working on an mRNA shot. The University of Oxford has a manufacturing partnership with the Serum Institute of India. Some of the Oxford scientists working on the Ebola vaccine were also involved in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine developed with AstraZeneca.
Medicare still hasn’t revealed how much it costs to cover obesity drugs
Medicare is advertising that adults 65 and older can receive Wegovy and Zepbound for $50 a month starting in July, especially for weight loss. But the agency has yet to say how much this will cost taxpayers, who are largely responsible for the burden.
The drug will be rolled out through an 18-month program starting July 1. Temporary coverage of obesity drugs to circumvent federal law is expected to generate millions of new patients and billions of dollars in revenue for the drug’s manufacturers, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
My colleague Bob Herman has repeatedly asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services how much the agency’s actuaries and experts expect the program to cost over an 18-month period. But so far, authorities have not provided an estimate.
Where can we find diverse doctors?
For more than 20 years, the School of Medicine has strived to diversify its student body. So why isn’t there more diversity among physicians? In a column for First Opinion, Vanessa Grubbs, a nephrologist and founder of the nonprofit organization Black Dog Village, writes that the problem may lie in training programs.
A national survey of more than 1,700 residents led by Grubbs found that Black residents were significantly more likely to report negative disciplinary experiences than non-Black residents. She argues that program standards are often applied more stringently to trainees from diverse backgrounds.
Avid STAT readers will recall the excellent reporting by former STAT colleague and friend Usha Lee McFarling about how black physicians are forced out of training programs at far higher rates than white residents. Grubbs’ First Opinion is a must-read follow-up on this subject.
Concerns spread over recruitment of military doctors
A critical element of America’s military readiness is being overlooked: the supply and recruitment of military physicians. The Army, Navy, and Air Force medical units are struggling to find enough medical professionals to replace retirees. And a 2024 study found that a higher-than-expected proportion of doctors quit their jobs after fulfilling their obligations, citing pay disparity, administrative burden, and declining clinical skills as key factors.
Robert Krasner suggests reforming the system to support recruitment and retention. Remember, the Association of American Medical Colleges predicts a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036. So the military is competing for shrinking talent. Click here for details.
what we are reading
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‘Devastating impact’: Massachusetts scientists urge state to invest millions of dollars to offset federal budget cuts, The Boston Globe
- The Hidden History of the Popular MAHA Peptide BPC-157, STAT Co-Publishes with Undark
- Carbon Health approves bankruptcy plan focused on AI, Bloomberg
