US Capitol Capsule: Regulatory, Legislative, Legal and Political Biopharma News

This past week in US regulatory, legislative, legal and political news affecting the biopharmaceutical industry included the death of a Supreme Court justice, which may have implications for cases affecting the biopharmaceutical industry currently pending before the court or those expected to reach it in the next year or two; the Senate majority leader's move to hold a procedural vote on Feb. 22 in the first step to clear Robert Califf as the new commissioner of the FDA; a complaint by federal health officials and lawmakers that profits appear to drive industry's interest in pursuing vaccines against infectious diseases; and the Senate Health Committee's adoption of seven bills under the panel's "innovation project," which is intended to be a "step-by-step" approach for overhauling the US biomedical enterprise; plus other Washington news.