Finalists for FDA Commissioner Sent to White House for Review

Three candidates have been named finalists for FDA commissioner and their names sent to the White House for final review, @statnews reported. The list includes White House adviser Heidi Overton, oncologist and health system executive Jeffrey Vacirca, and Defense Department health affairs official Stephen Ferrara. The agency is currently led on an acting basis by top food regulator Kyle Diamantas.

It regulates nearly a fifth of the nation’s economy and previously operated under commissioner Marty Makary. Matt Wilsey has spent about $70 million over a decade developing a gene therapy for NGLY1 deficiency. Ten children, including his daughter Grace, have received the treatment.

A Mass General Brigham study published Wednesday in eClinicalMedicine found professional football players nearly four times more likely to die from neurodegenerative disease than the average American. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 20,000 former NFL players. Federal authorities are compiling a list of injuries tied to Covid-19 vaccines to facilitate compensation through a federal program.

Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the voluntary “Make Hospital Food Healthier” initiative on Wednesday, inviting hospitals to serve nutritious, minimally processed meals. Earlier this year the Department of Health and Human Services sent notices to hospitals urging adoption of revamped dietary guidelines to maintain Medicare and Medicaid eligibility.