G2G Bio Bulletin – May 8, 2026

• Congressional Democrats have sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kennedy, demanding answers surrounding the decision of acting CDC head Jay Bhattacharya in preventing the publication of a major study on the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on reducing hospitalizations.
• A bipartisan group of Senate appropriators, including Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) are urging Secretary of State Rubio to release $600 M in funds for Gavi, to support global immunization efforts.
• Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions (HELP) Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) convened a field hearing in his home state on healthcare affordability. He unveiled the Money and Value for Patients (MVP) agenda that centers on providing money directly to patients, price transparency, and healthy eating.
• A bipartisan coalition of physician-members in the House are reportedly working on a major healthcare reform package via the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). These measures may be included in an end-of-year healthcare package. Separately, there is renewed interest on the Hill in addressing CPT billing codes.

Administration & Agencies: 

• FDA:
  • President Trump intends to dismiss Commissioner Makary, reportedly due to the latter's initial reluctance to approve flavored vapes and amid significant leadership challenges at the agency.
  • The agency has proposed a rule that would replace all references to ‘gender’ in agency directives with ’sex’.
  • The agency has announced a pilot to complete inspections of ‘lower risk' manufacturing facilities in a day.
  • CDER Director Høeg has opposed a decision by career staff to approve a diabetes drug, echoing a similar action by former CBER Director Prasad earlier this year on mRNA flu vaccines that eventually was reversed. Separately, CBER has come to an agreement to reconsider a rare cancer drug after it was rejected during Dr. Prasad’s tenure.
• CMS
  • The agency has announced that the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program will charge beneficiaries $50 per month to receive anti-obesity medications.
• White House, Other HHS Divisions & Departments:
  • Mental Health: On Monday, Secretary Kennedy announced an action plan to reduce overprescription of psychiatric medications. HHS agency officials are expected to provide resources to providers and the public to achieve this aim. One circular from HHS directed at providers has been released. This comes amid recent HHS guidance preventing use of federal funds for certain harm-reduction tools.