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G2G Bioscience Bulletin – January 23, 2026

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G2G Bioscience Bulletin – January 23, 2026

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January 26, 2026 Update

We wanted to provide a brief update on the status of FY 2026 appropriations.
Following the events of this past weekend, Senate Democrats have indicated that they will not vote in favor of the appropriations bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is part of the final six-bill funding package. The votes of at least seven Democrats are needed for the package to clear the 60-vote threshold in the chamber. Senate Republicans are unwilling to separate the DHS bill from the other five pending bills. If this situation does not resolve by this Friday, we expect to see a partial shutdown impacting agencies covered by these bills, including DoD and HHS (except FDA).
Separately, on Friday, President Trump signed into law a three-bill package (Commerce, Justice & Science, Energy & Water, and Interior)  that passed Congress earlier. This means that six of the twelve FY 2026 appropriations bills are completed, and agencies covered by these bills, such as NIST, are expected to operate as normal.

G2G Highlights

G2G Founder & CEO Liz Powell was in Birmingham, AL last week in her capacity as a leader of Women’s Health Advocates, to convene an event that brought together elected officials, medical professionals, doulas, community advocates and educators to examine the policies and systems shaping maternal health outcomes.

Updates from Washington

Congress:
  • FY 2026 Appropriations: The House has now passed all twelve appropriations bills, including the negotiated package of four bills released after the long weekend that covers funding for Defense and most HHS agencies. The Senate is expected to take up and pass these bills ahead of the January 30 deadline. The bills reduced spending on certain programs but has reject the large cuts and reorganizations proposed by the Trump Administration.
    • Defense Highlights:
      • R&D: $145.9 billion, a $4.7 billion increase
        • DARPA: $4.4 billion, a ~$400 million increase
        • CDMRP: $1.27 billion, a $620 million increase
      • Defense Health Program: $41.8 billion, $1.4 billion increase
    • HHS Highlights:
      • All of HHS: Discretionary funding level is at $114.8 billion, a $200 million cut
      • NIH: Funded at $48.7 billion, a ~$400 million increase. Agency is to ignore Administration directives on multi-year awards and indirect cost caps
      • ARPA-H: Level funded at $1.5 billion
      • CDC: Level funded at $9.2 billion
      • BARDA: Funded at $1.05 billion, a $35 million increase
  • Healthcare Reforms & Extenders: The FY 2026 HHS funding package also incorporated a negotiated agreement on several measures. Some highlights include:
    • Pharmacy & Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Reform phased in over 2-3 years:
      • PBMs must pass through 100% of rebates received from drugmakers to group healthcare plans.
      • PBMs can no longer charge fees linked to drug prices to insurers participating in the Medicare drug plan, and must replace them with a flat fee.
      • Increases transparency requirements for PBMs on compensation, incentive structures, out of pocket drug prices, and other issues
      • Medicare drug plan sponsors are required to include in network all pharmacies meeting HHS outlined standards.
    • Medicare:
      • Extension of telehealth coverage through 2027
      • Coverage multi-cancer early detection screening tests by 2029
    • FDA:
      • Reauthorizes a priority review voucher program to incentivize development of therapies targeted at rare pediatric diseases through FY 2029.
      • In three years, FDA can greenlight trials for drugs or biologics combined with other approved active ingredients to treat cancer.
      • Changes exclusivity rules for orphan drugs so that FDA cannot approve new drugs for the 'same use or indication’ as opposed to current standard of the ’same disease or condition.’
    • No action on ACA enhanced premium tax credits
  • Hearings:
    • This week, the House Budget, Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means Committees held hearings on rising healthcare costs. The latter two hearings featured insurance company executives as witnesses. Topics discussed included vertical integration and the need for more competition, executive compensation, rising drug prices, and ACA tax credits.
Administration & Agencies:
  • CDC: In an interview, the chairman of the ​Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), Dr. Kirk Milhoan, made comments suggesting the polio vaccine is no longer necessary.
  • CMS: Two mandatory innovation pilots announced last month, GUARD and GLOBE, that center on manufacturing rebates for drugs whose US prices exceed those in peer nations, are facing potential legal challenges from industry who are skeptical that HHS has the authority to implement them
  • FDA: The agency published draft guidance to allow use of Bayesian statistical methods in clinical trials, with the stated aim of reducing drug development costs and timelines.
  • NIH:
    • Research projects funded by the agency can no longer utilize fetal tissue
    • Recent reports indicate that most NIH advisory councils are staffed at less than half capacity
  • White House, Other HHS Divisions & Departments:
    • 340B Program: HHS withdrew its appeal of an injunction issued by a federal court halting implementation the rebate model pilot program
    • HHS Advisory Groups: Secretary Kennedy added new members aligned with his views to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), and removed four members of the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccinations (ACCV), without replacing them. AACV oversees a program compensates people with vaccine injuries
    • A federal lawsuit led by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), challenges HHS’ recent overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule