RFK Jr.’s Vax Agenda Lives; Filler ‘Smuggling’ Accusations; Peptide Gray Market

Despite political warnings and legal challenges, there’s still a push to keep HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine agenda alive — but it has shifted largely out of public view. Kennedy allies are “embedding his agenda” at institutions, deciding what gets studied, who undertakes vaccine research, and how findings are translated into policy. (Washington Post)

New York health officials accused Tiger Medical Holdings of “smuggling” a popular new injectable filler into the state. It has seen a surge in demand for alloClae, its product derived from the fat of dead people. While the company said the FDA doesn’t require premarket approval for the product, New York requires permission to store and distribute human tissue, which the company allegedly does not have. (Business Insider)

Republican-controlled Indiana is trying the typically liberal tactic of placing government price controls on hospitals in a bid to control costs. (KFF Health News)

As Serena Williams returns to professional tennis, experts continue to debate whether GLP-1 medications might be performance-enhancing drugs. Williams is a paid spokesperson for Ro, a telehealth company focused on GLP-1, and says she lost 34 pounds with the help of the drugs. (The Atlantic)

Demand for peptides is fueling an online gray market, as physicians, telehealth companies, med spas, and venture capitalists race to cash in on the craze. (Wall Street Journal)

As patients grapple with the staggering price of cystic fibrosis drug Trikafta — about $346,000 for a year’s supply in the U.S. — a Bangladesh-based company is using a patent law loophole to offer a generic version at a fraction of the cost. (New York Times)

At the NIH, new security rules for genomic data are reportedly slowing research. (Science)

The FDA recently informed wearable maker Whoop that it would abandon further enforcement action over a blood pressure reading feature. Last summer, the FDA warned Whoop for releasing the feature without clearance, contending it was a medical device. Whoop countered that the feature was for wellness purposes and not to diagnose or treat a disease. (STAT)

The CDC appears to have backtracked on a plan to send its research monkeys to a Texas sanctuary. (Science)