Overview

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatened to bar NIH scientists from publishing in The Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA on grounds of pharmaceutical influence.
• A Make America Healthy Again Commission report accuses drug makers of wielding corporate control over the research agenda, findings and peer-review process.
• NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary launched the Journal of the Academy of Public Health, a move that experts warn may promote misinformation by amplifying contrarian viewpoints.
• The Justice Department sent letters to prominent medical journals alleging partisan bias without citing evidence, putting pressure on editorial independence.
• Recent leadership actions at HHS and NIH have coincided with mass layoffs and staff purges, raising concerns about academic freedom and internal dissent.