| | | |   | Hello, D.C. Diagnosis readers. It’s only Tuesday and it’s already been quite a week in Washington for Biden’s science agenda. There's Lander's resignation. Robert Califf’s nomination for FDA commissioner is floundering. And the best Jeff Zients, the White House Covid-19 coordinator, can come up with to argue health secretary Xavier Becerra is playing a role in the pandemic response is :checks notes: "he has the ability to communicate, and I think he values that communication.” Got the scoop on the next implosion? I’m at nicholas.florko@statnews.com. | | | Eric Lander resigns as science adviser White House science adviser Eric Lander’s stunning resignation last night could imperil the Biden administration’s already-shaky scientific agenda, my colleague Lev Facher writes. Lander, the first science adviser from a life sciences background, was central to a number of the White House’s signature initiatives, like the creation of ARPA-H and the newly revamped “Cancer Moonshot.” In conversations with STAT, though, administration aides and outside research experts were split on what his resignation will mean for those major initiatives, as well as the ongoing search for a new NIH director and the administration’s $65 billion proposal to revamp U.S. pandemic preparedness. Now, over a year after Biden’s inauguration, the search is on for a new figure capable of “reinvigorating” American science, as Biden asked Lander to do. Read more from Lev here. | Why is an “advocacy news” organization flooding Medicare with anti-Aduhelm screeds? More Perfect Union, a video-based “advocacy news” organization founded by a former campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders, isn’t known for weighing into Medicare decisions. Their most popular videos on Youtube are titled: “Frito-Lay Worker Electrocuted, Denied Medical Care & Surveilled by Company Agents” and “Will Sinema Choose Conspiracy Or Democracy?” But the group has funneled at least 1,700 comments to Medicare officials urging them not to cover Biogen’s controversial Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm. So why exactly is an “advocacy news” organization running a massive write-in campaign about Medicare coverage of Alzheimer’s drugs? The group’s founder Faiz Shakir tells me it’s mostly about trying to drown out Biogen’s own influence campaign. For more on the campaign – and another major comment-writing campaign targeted at Medicare officials – check out my new story in STAT here. | CVS Health: Building healthier communities Throughout the pandemic, in communities across the country, CVS Health has been there. We’ve opened more than 4,800 COVID-19 test sites, administered 41 million tests and given 50 million vaccines. We’ve expanded access to prenatal and postpartum care via telemedicine, increased remote access to mental health services and invested in affordable housing to help build healthier communities. We’ve been on the frontlines, making health care easier to access and afford. Learn more. | Advocates are trying to save Califf’s floundering FDA nomination The secret’s out: Rob Califf’s nomination to lead the FDA is in serious trouble. STAT reported last week that nearly a dozen Democrats were still undecided on his nomination, and Califf is stuck making pledges to help shore up Democrats’ support. In a new story for STAT, Rachel and I outline the rare pressure campaign being mounted by Califf’s allies, including public health groups, former colleagues and even celebrity doctors. As one patient advocate told me: “It’s … the ‘break glass in case of emergency’ moment.” But, as we report, Califf’s opponents are mounting a major campaign, too. The Susan B. Anthony List, which has spearheaded opposition to Califf because of his past actions on abortion, has organized more than 1,000 calls into Senate offices urging lawmakers to vote against his nomination. Check out more from Rachel and I here. | | | Thanks for reading! More next week,  | | | |
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