STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about rescinded FDA firings, Trump tariff warnings, and more
The Trump administration has started quietly rehiring some of the FDA employees it fired last week
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was refreshing and reassuring. After all, that oh-so familiar routine of phone calls, online meetings, and lengthening to-do lists has returned with a vengeance. Such are the signs of progress, we hope. And so, we are also indulging in yet another part of our routine — the ritual cup of stimulation. Our choice today is salted caramel. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits. We hope your day is meaningful and productive. And do keep in touch. Your tips and insights are always welcome. Operators are standing by. …
The Trump administration has started quietly rehiring some of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration employees it fired last week, according to nine agency sources, shortly after letting them go in a process that insiders described as abrupt and haphazard, STAT writes. The total number of employees rehired is unclear, but in at least some cases the reinstatements appeared to be broad. All 12 of the people who worked in the office reviewing surgical and infection control devices were reinstated, an agency source said. Two of three people in the FDA’s digital health office who had been let go were rehired, as were a handful of employees reviewing AI-enabled imaging devices, diabetes devices, and cardiovascular devices, according to four other agency sources.
President Trump warned drugmakers in a private meeting that tariffs are coming and said companies should hustle to move overseas manufacturing to the U.S., according to Bloomberg News. Trump also did not commit to pushing Congress to water down a drug pricing program enacted under President Biden that the pharmaceutical industry has been seeking relief from. Trump’s tone suggests the pharmaceutical industry’s bid to win an ally in the White House might be more difficult than executives had hoped. Despite his pro-business leanings, Trump had a rocky relationship with drug companies in his first term, at one point accusing them of “getting away with murder” on the price of medicines. Trump met at the White House on Thursday with several pharmaceutical executives, who had hoped to convince him to support scaling back a law that allows the federal government to negotiate certain drug prices, as well as support policies to rein in the middlemen that the industry blames for rising out-of-pocket costs.
