Author: Staff

President Biden is awarding $2.8 billion in Energy Department grants from his bipartisan infrastructure law to 20 manufacturing and processing companies in 12 states. The White House said that the Biden Administration is also launching the “American Battery Materials Initiative,” described as a new effort to mobilize government to help industry create a reliable and sustainable supply of critical minerals for EV’s and electric power. These efforts are part of a strategic Biden administration plan to make half of all new vehicles sold in the United States in 2030 electric.

The White House said in a statement: “Together, these actions will improve America’s energy independence, strengthen national security, support good-paying jobs across battery supply chains, and lower costs for working families. This market transformation is expected to increase demand for critical minerals such as lithium and graphite used in EV batteries. Today’s announcements demonstrate how the United States is poised to meet this challenge while growing our economy and creating high-quality union jobs in the battery supply chain.” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm added: “Producing advanced batteries and components here at home will accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels to meet the strong demand for electric vehicles, creating more good-paying jobs across the country.” 

The White House touted that President Biden’s economic agenda efforts have already “ignited a domestic manufacturing boom with companies announcing over $100 billion in EV, battery and EV charging investments here in the United States.” According to the White House, EV sales have tripled since Biden has been in office.

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On Wednesday, advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended taking Makena, a drug for preventing premature births, off the market due to doubts about the drug’s effectiveness. Makena was fast-tracked 11 years ago to cut the risk of preterm birth, a leading cause of infant mortality.

The 14-1 vote by the FDA’s Obstetrics, Reproductive and Urologic Drugs Advisory Committee was taken after a hearing to determine  whether the drug was effective, whether trial data support its approval and whether the drug should remain available on the market.  Peter Stein, the director of the FDA’s Office of New Drugs at the Center For Drug Evaluation and Research said in closing remarks at the hearing: “Hope is a reason to keep looking for options that are effective, whether we find them here or elsewhere … Hope is not a reason to take a drug that is not shown to be effective, or keep it on the market.”

A 2003 study cited by CovisPharma, the maker of Makena, showed Black newborns are more than twice as likely to die as White newborns when born before 37 weeks. Covis argued that pulling the drug from the market would hurt Black women. In a statement earlier this year about the drug, Covis Pharma said it wanted to work with the FDA to do more research on Makena.

Formally taking Makena off the market will be left to the FDA, which could make its decision within a few months. If FDA follows the advisory committee’s advice, it would be the first time in a decade that a fast-tracked drug would be pulled from the market.

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