NIH Lab Exposure; Another NIAID Official Out; How Diamantas Won Over FDA

An employee for Rocky Mountain Laboratories, a remote NIH biomedical research campus in Hamilton, Montana, was exposed to Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in November following “an accidental breach of personal protective equipment,” according to NIH officials. Yet “at no time was there any risk to the public or to other staff,” they said. (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

Jeffery Taubenberger, MD, PhD, who was named acting director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has left his position following an overhaul of other agency leaders. Some experts, including Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, who leads the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island, warned that the nation is now attempting to respond to multiple outbreaks — from Ebola to measles to hantavirus — “without a permanent general in the war room.” (Science)

Many factors led to the ouster of former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH, including his views of fruit-flavored vapes. But another key reason was the influence of biotech executives who lobbied the Trump administration directly, claiming Makary was an ineffective and unpredictable leader. (Endpoint News)

Kyle Diamantas, an unknown Florida attorney, became acting FDA commissioner after Makary’s departure. Despite having no experience in science, medicine, or public health, Diamantas has won over key stakeholders and career staff by preparing for meetings, and listening to all sides before making decisions. “The guy radiates normal,” one biotech executive told STAT.

A current of anxiety ran through this year’s American Psychiatric Association meeting, held just 10 days after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced efforts to encourage the deprescribing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Many psychiatrists are worried their patients may avoid the medications, but some have been cautiously engaging with these efforts. (New York Times)

Emily Waldorf, a physical therapist in Arkansas, faced an “inevitable miscarriage” at 17 weeks of pregnancy. A ProPublica investigation said the state’s abortion ban tied her doctors’ hands, preventing them from inducing labor while her baby’s heartbeat was still detectable, despite knowing such delays heightened the risk of maternal infection.

On April 30, the tobacco company Reynolds American donated $5 million to a super PAC affiliated with President Donald Trump. Just 2 days later, an executive and lobbyists for the company met Trump for lunch, with the president calling HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to complain about FDA regulation. Within a week, the FDA issued new tobacco-industry-friendly guidance that may help American e-cigarette companies dominate their competition. (New York Times)

Autism clinics are squeezing Medicaid dollars out of preschool children, according to interviews with current and former clinic staff. “The science is beautiful, but the industry is very ugly,” said Marquisha Richards, an ex-employee for two private-equity-backed autism clinic chains in Texas. (New York Times)

U.S. scientists have been hamstrung by recent restrictions prohibiting publication with foreign co-authors. The changes have stirred confusion among grantees at the NIH and NASA. (Science)

TriWest Healthcare Alliance, a contractor that oversees military healthcare benefits for over 4 million people, issued a public apology after enrollees were denied coverage as a result of errors in their patient portals. “We are not going to rest until we are convinced that we have smoothed this process as much as we can,” wrote CEO David McIntyre Jr. (NBC News)