Travere’s drug for a kidney disease doesn’t improve kidney function. The FDA approved it anyway The agency has taken heat for not showing enough flexibility. In this case, it showed too much

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/16/travere-therapeutics-kidney-disease-fda-approval/ By Adam FeuersteinApril 16, 2026 Senior Writer, Biotech

The medical AI revolution requires rethinking health care’s architecture If AI relies solely on episodic, compressed reconstructions from the clinic, its impact will plateau

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/16/medical-ai-revolution-consumer-devices-health-records/ By Freddy Abnousi and Celina YongApril 16, 2026 Abnousi is vice president of health technology at Meta, an interventional cardiologist, and an adjunct professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Yong is associate professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine and director of interventional cardiology at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.

7 key issues we’re watching as RFK Jr. faces a Congressional gauntlet Can Kennedy stay on message? And will he get combative with lawmakers? By Chelsea CirruzzoApril 16, 2026 Washington Correspondent

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/16/kennedy-congress-testimony-balance-maha-goals-trump-priorities/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9wQ-1pQJV5LCbq9DYr6-ThZypJvmGDeAyEbZS7PQ-9ashivZ0o6uNlfYeVKf6eGR2MaUaG9xbdetuTyNhsDgvWHyw6gQ&_hsmi=414032008&utm_content=414032008&utm_source=hs_email Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. heads to Capitol Hill today to testify about the fiscal 2027 budget request. He’ll sit through at least seven hearings in front of key House and Senate committees over the next week. And as STAT’s Chelsea Cirruzzo reports, how Kennedy navigates lawmakers’ questions will test whether he can stay on message before embarking on a midterms tour to shore up support for the MAHA movement and the White House’s agenda. He’s likely to boast about the administration’s “MAHA wins” over the last year, but the focus is meant to be the budget. That includes a proposed 12% cut to HHS and other proposals floated in the fiscal 2026 budget that were ultimately ignored by Congress. Read more from Chelsea on the key questions she’ll be tracking over the course of the day.

Viewpoint: Is Trump turning against RFK, Jr.’s vaccine rejectionism? Izzy Brandstetter Figueroa, Jess Steier | April 14, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/04/14/viewpoint-is-trump-turning-against-rfk-jr-s-vaccine-rejectionism/

Viewpoint: CRISPR and mRNA — under attack by technology skeptics — poised to save millions of children with rare diseases Jeff Coller | New York Times | April 15, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/04/15/viewpoint-crispr-and-mrna-under-attack-by-technology-skeptics-poised-to-save-millions-of-children-with-rare-diseases/

Public health advocates turn to influencers to fight online misinformation Wendy Glauser | Journal of Medical Internet Research | April 16, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/04/16/public-health-advocates-turn-to-influencers-to-fight-online-misinformation/

Fluoride lowers intelligence? First-ever widescale water supply study debunks Kennedy’s scare claim Erika Edwards, Kaan Ozcan | NBC News | April 16, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/04/16/fluoride-lowers-intelligence-first-ever-widescale-water-supply-study-debunks-kennedys-scare-claim/