NIH di­rec­tor nom­i­nee Bertag­nol­li skirts drug pric­ing ques­tions at con­fir­ma­tion hear­ing

Af­ter Sen­ate Health Com­mit­tee Chair Bernie Sanders ini­tial­ly held up the nom­i­na­tion process for Pres­i­dent Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Na­tion­al In­sti­tutes of Health over drug pric­ing qualms, Mon­i­ca Bertag­nol­li side­stepped many of those same drug pric­ing ques­tions at her con­fir­ma­tion hear­ing on Wednes­day.

Biden an­nounced Bertag­nol­li as his pick to lead the agency back in May, but the in­de­pen­dent sen­a­tor from Ver­mont held up her nom­i­na­tion as he sought con­ces­sions from the Biden ad­min­is­tra­tion to com­mit to low­er­ing drug costs. Bertag­nol­li, a breast can­cer pa­tient her­self, cur­rent­ly leads the NIH’s Na­tion­al Can­cer In­sti­tute.

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