A top advisor to former President Donald Trump urged his pandemic response team in February 2020 to respond swiftly to the spread of COVID-19, but told Trump that his recommendations had been largely ignored. Then-assistant to the president Peter Navarro wrote an impassioned memo to Trump on March 1, 2020, recommending that the federal government boost […]
Donald Trump
Pandemic Emergency Manufacturing Act would supplement DPA
A rewritten pandemic manufacturing bill was introduced to both houses of Congress yesterday to enable the federal government to manufacture or contract with existing manufacturers to make products to fight COVID-19. The bill, introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), builds off the COVID-19 Emergency Manufacturing Act, introduced in 2020 to […]
What’s next for the FDA and for Stephen Hahn?
Outgoing FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn says he needs some time to reflect on his future after leading the FDA for a little over a year. It’s hard to blame him. Hahn’s brief tenure at FA has been rocky, to say the least. Get the full story on our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.
Medtech takes a stand on D.C. rioting
The medtech industry has joined other business and industry groups in condemning Tuesday’s siege of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. by supporters of President Donald Trump. The National Manufacturers Association called for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office. The Business Roundtable tweeted a call for an end […]
Biden to bolster COVID-19 vaccine production with Defense Production Act
Joe Biden is reportedly planning on invoking the Defense Production Act to shore up the production of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. While FDA has authorized the distribution of vaccines from Moderna Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and its partner BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX), distribution has been patchy thus far. Get the full story at our sister site, Pharmaceutical […]
Guess who the pharma industry is supporting for president
The pharma industry has put its weight behind Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, reversing a longstanding fundraising trend that has favored the GOP. Republican candidates have received 64% of pharma industry contributions since 1990, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets. But the industry is shifting its support to Democrats in 2020. So far, donors with links […]
FDA defies Trump on vaccine approval timeline
The FDA today told COVID-19 vaccine developers that it needs two months’ worth of safety data before it will consider emergency approvals. The agency’s move cast further doubt on a vaccine against SARS-COV-2 being ready by election day, November 3 — a notion mentioned repeatedly by President Trump in attempts to pressure the agency to […]
Feds shipping 100M of Abbott’s rapid COVID-19 tests to states
The U.S. federal government has started shipping 100 million of the Abbott (NYSE:ABT) rapid COVID-19 tests to states to support school reopenings and more. “For example, the support my administration is providing would allow every state to, on a very regular basis, test every teacher who needs it. This continues our critical effort to use testing […]
Report: AstraZeneca Phase III COVID-19 vaccine remains on hold in U.S.
AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) is reportedly keeping its COVID-19 vaccine trial in the U.S. on hold as questions remain over patient safety. U.S. Health and Human Services Dept. Secretary Alex Azar told CNBC yesterday that federal investigators are looking for “answers to important questions,” regarding the safety of patients involved in the trial operated by the United Kingdom-based company in […]
Ambu, Boston Sci execs see domination for single-use scopes
Hospital closures connected to COVID-19 have cut into the sales of many medical device companies, but executives at rival makers of single-use scopes say pandemic has only heightened existing concerns about contamination, exposure and cost. In interviews in this week’s DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast, executives from Ambu A/S and Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) said improved technology make […]
The top 5 MassDevice stories of the week — September 11, 2020
From the Theranos case to wearable medical devices, it’s been another busy news week for the medical device industry. Want to hear more about the week’s top news? Executive editor Chris Newmarker and Tom Salemi will discuss the week’s “Newmarker’s Newsmakers” during our DeviceTalks Weekly podcast. Without further ado, here’s this week’s MassDevice Top Five: […]
