G2G Bio Bulletin – March 8, 2026
Updates from Washington
Congress:
- Hearings:
- On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation’s Science Subcommittee convened a hearing on applications of AI. Witnesses were affiliated with RadAI, Siemens, Agility Robotics and the Brookings Institution. Topics discussed include:
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The use of AI in radiology, and associated data privacy concerns
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Guardrails for AI, and relevant legislation in this space
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AI’s impacts on the workforce
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The AI race with China
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On Thursday, Senate Commerce held a hearing on the nomination of Dr. Arvind Raman to lead NIST. Discussion focused on:
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Implementation of the Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan
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NIST’s equity stakes in strategic industries
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Disbursement of funds authorized under the CHIPS and Science Act
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On Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee convened a hearing on ‘Transforming Health Care with Data'. The sole witness was Dr. Thomas Keane, the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy at HHS. Topics of discussion included:
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The role of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) to facilitate secure healthcare data exchange
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Prior authorization delays for Medicare Advantage plans
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The role of AI in decision support at regulatory agencies
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The need for interoperability between publicly supported healthcare systems
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Cybersecurity threats impacting hospitals, and measures to combat this
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On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee’s, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education & Related Agencies (LHHS) Subcommittee held its Member Day, to allow Representatives to highlight their priorities for the FY2027 LHHS Appropriations Bill with leadership.
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- Drug Pricing: Six Senate Democrats, including Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member, Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to leadership of major pharmaceutical companies requesting details on their deals with the Trump Administration on reducing prices for their products.
- Drug Supply Chains: Senate Special Committee on Aging Chair Rick Scott (R-FL) and Ranking Member Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) sent a letter to leadership of three major pharmacy chains requesting updates on their actions to safeguard drug supply chains and implement country-of-origin labeling for imported drugs. This letter follows four recent hearings the Aging Committee has convened on this subject.
Administration & Agencies:
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NIH: A report indicates that the agency's disbursement of FY26 funds is still well behind typical pace, in part due to having to submit more detailed spending plans than in past years. Additionally, a bipartisan congressional letter to HHS Secretary Kennedy has expressed concern about understaffing of NIH advisory councils and has urged him to fill them.
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FDA: CBER Director Vinay Prasad will leave the agency at the end April, following criticism of his recent actions and management of the division.
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Other HHS Divisions: In response to Secretary Kennedy’s recent appointments to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) of proponents of linking vaccines to autism, a group of autism research leaders have formed the Independent Autism Coordinating Committee (I-ACC) to coordinate work among non-government autism research funders.