Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Tech Industry Is Just Fine With Repeal Of Biden's AI Regulating Order
The health tech industry is breathing a little sigh of relief after President Donald Trump revoked former President Joe Biden鈥檚 executive order on artificial intelligence Monday. The repeal isn鈥檛 likely to have a big impact. But some in the health industry had been worried about future implications of Biden鈥檚 2023 executive order, which, among other things, required companies with models trained using enormous computing power to regularly send detailed reports to federal regulators, regardless of the company鈥檚 size. (Reader, Paun, Payne and Schumaker, 1/21)
More reaction from the health care and pharma industries 鈥
"The medical and humanitarian consequences of curbing access to asylum are real. We have treated refugees and asylum seekers with horrific injuries from torture and abuse. We also see the severe mental health impacts on people living under constant threat of persecution," said Avril Benoit, chief executive officer of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) USA. (1/21)
With President Donald Trump back in the White House, many of America鈥檚 doctors are welcoming the new administration鈥檚 greater focus on health and wellness. The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative 鈥 led by incoming Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 鈥 aims to improve nutrition, eliminate toxins, preserve natural habitats and fight the chronic disease epidemic, according to its website. (Rudy, 1/21)
鈥淭he new administration will bring radical change,鈥 said Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer. 鈥淭here are several people that think for our industry, the risks outweigh the opportunities. There are other people 鈥 among them, myself 鈥 who think that the opportunities outweigh the risks.鈥 Here鈥檚 what other executives had to say. (Garde, Muller, Kresge, Smith and Langreth, 1/21)
Moves by the incoming Trump Administration may be a boon to drugmakers, Novartis AG Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan said, while concerns over vaccine policies and public health funding are 鈥渙verblown.鈥 Novartis wants to work to reverse some of the previous administration鈥檚 policies which had a 鈥渃hilling effect on innovation,鈥 Narasimhan said in an interview. He cited former US President Joe Biden鈥檚 Inflation Reduction Act, which permitted the government to negotiate drug prices. (Kresge, 1/21)
Also 鈥
Promises of a TikTok ban have loomed over the popular video app for months, and a brief pause in operations this weekend gave millions a taste of what a full ban would entail. Several popular physician content creators who post videos on multiple social media sites, including TikTok, told MedPage Today why they're staunchly opposed to a TikTok ban, noting that it would result in the loss of an outlet for sharing information and dispelling rampant misinformation. (Robertson, 1/21)