G2G Bio Bulletin – August 31, 2026

Congress: Both chambers are in recess, with the House returning tomorrow.

• The House is expected to vote on the continuing resolution (CR) passed by the Senate to fund the government through December 11 that would avert a government shutdown on October 1, sometime this week. The CR is on the House suspension calendar which means it requires a two-thirds majority to pass.
• A group led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has written to HHS Secretary Kennedy seeking clarity on his disclosures to the Office of Government Ethics, with the underlying allegation that he has not fully divested his financial stakes from lawsuits against Merck filed by his former law firm.
• A separate letter led by Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya is urging him to reverse cuts to a major clinical trial supported by the Pediatric Trials Network (PTN), and end delays in releasing corresponding notices of funding opportunities.

Administration & Agencies:

• NIH
  • The agency will be be accepting comments on the reorganization of priorities at the Division of Clinical Research (DCR) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The comment period will be only open for one work week, September 14-18, and no further details have been provided.
• FDA:
  • In a major development, the agency approved daraxonrasib for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, with clinical data indicating that use of the drug doubled patient survival time.
• CDC:
  • The agency has confirmed over 2700 measles cases, which is the highest incidence in 35 years. Amid this news, the agency and HHS Secretary Kennedy are in a dispute with Pennsylvania, over two recent deaths the state determined to be linked to measles.
• White House, Other HHS Agencies & Departments:
  • Drug Pricing: This coming week, the Administration intends to announce drug pricing deals with biotechnology companies, that would require them to provide drugs at discounts aligned to most-favored-nation (MFN) prices to Medicaid programs. The participating companies will be exempt from other Medicare drug discount pilot programs, and may also receive tariff relief, as was the case with deals the Administration struck with pharmaceutical companies.
  • Autism: The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) convened on Thursday, for only the second time during the Trump Administration, to approve a new three year strategic plan. The plan, whose comment period closed last week, has been criticized by stakeholders for the lack of public input into its development, and its aim to deemphasize the role of research on genetic drivers of autism.
  • Title X: A coalition of Democratic states has filed a lawsuit against directives requiring that Title X family planning program grantees show alignment with Administration’s positions, or risk termination of funds.
  • Federal Funding Overhaul: Dozens of posted public comments on the proposed Uniform Guidance on federal funding, that would clear the way for political appointees to make grant decisions, were removed and marked as ‘withdrawn’. Analysis indicates that several of the impacted comments referenced that OMB Director Russell Vought’s daughter has benefited from federally funded research on cystic fibrosis.