The end-of-year lobbying scramble

Sure, there was a spending frenzy (and lobby threats) ahead of August's legislative package that opened the doors to federal negotiation on drug prices. But funding didn't slow in the wake of PhRMA's big defeat. Drugmakers, hospital groups and device lobbies rallied in the fourth quarter to pour money into Congress as lawmakers hammered out the omnibus bill, user fee agreements and payments for federal health programs

A few highlights:

The American Hospital Association eclipsed other lobbies, spending nearly $7 million in the last quarter
PhRMA was close behind, spending $6.6 million after the August upset of drug pricing reform. Still, the lobby ended its contract with Jeff Ricchetti, brother of top Biden aide Steve Ricchetti, late in the year, as my colleague Rachel Cohrs first reported.
AbbVie, which split from PhRMA and biotech lobby BIO in December, spent a modest $970,000 in the last three months of the year, down from more than $2 million in the third quarter.
Device lobby AdvaMed, which lost out on including testing reform in the omnibus, spent $750,000.
And Grail spent more than $1 million last quarter lobbying Congress, underscoring the urgency of the company's bid to secure Medicare coverage for its pricey blood-based cancer screening test, my colleague Jonathan Wosen reports

RESEARCH

NIH sets up for sharp pathogen debate

Federal advisers are meeting Friday on a topic that has ignited political ire, misinformation, and calls for reform — studying and altering infectious diseases.

Last Friday, a board of NIH advisers recommended more top-level surveillance and a broader understanding of what can become a pandemic-level pathogen, seemingly echoing a government watchdog report calling for the same. But the government isn't required to take on their advice.

Top scientists including now-retired NIAID Director Anthony Fauci have adamantly denied that government funded research could enhance transmissibility of viruses like Covid-19. In the months after the coronavirus pandemic began, former President Trump ordered the NIH to sever ties with a group, the EcoHealth Alliance, that was studying the origin of coronaviruses like Covid-19.

"This [report] is the right move for transparency," said a source familiar with discussions. "It's the only way we can build back public confidence."

CORONAVIRUS

Put the Covid shot on the calendar

It's official: Scientists at the FDA propose an annual Covid-19 vaccine. Biden officials have signaled for months that the government would head in this direction, but documents posted Monday clear the way for a regular shot, as my colleague Matthew Herper reports.

There are caveats: Older and immunocompromised people should get the shot twice a year, according to the FDA proposal, which heads to an advisory committee for vote later this week.

There could be tension in that vote: Six members of the committee — which makes recommendations that the agency generally follows, but doesn't need to — have publicly expressed frustration about the lack of data around some vaccines.

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