HEALTH CARE WARS:
JULY 2025 DASHBOARD
JULY 2025 DASHBOARD
THE IDEOLOGICAL THEATER
HHS Influencers' focus on "Big Food" and "Big Pharma" (X data)
Notable new X followings
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
- Heather R. Higgins:
Chairman of Independent Women's Forum
NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya
- ScienceGuardians:
Online community promoting transparency in academia - Dr. William Makis:
Canadian oncologist and COVID vaccine critic investigating "Turbo Cancer" (also followed by Calley Means)
Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O'Neill
- Dr. Nicholas Fabiano:
University of Ottawa psychiatry resident bridging "historical divide between physical and mental health"
Calley Means
- Dr. Nolan Williams:
Neuropsychiatry and psychedelics researcher; Director of Stanford University Brain Stimulation Laboratory - Greg Gunthorp:
Anti-"Big Ag" independent family farmer in Indiana - Meriweather Farms:
Pro-Trump, anti-"Big Ag" cattle operation in Wyoming - Zachary Levi:
Prominent actor turned MAHA influencer
New Trump Administration hires and nominees
| Hire | Background | Pharma Perspectives | Food Perspectives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Andres, Assistant Secretary for Legislation, HHS | Republican Staff Director for the House Ways and Means and House Energy and Commerce Committees | Served as Senior Executive Vice President of Public Affairs at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (2017-2018)[1] | N/A |
| Jim O'Neill, Deputy Secretary, HHS | Longevity science enthusiast who previously held senior roles at HHS (2002-2008); former Managing Director of Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital Management | Sat on the board of ADvantage Therapeutics and Oisin Biotechnologies[2] | Maintains that “government makes chronic disease worse by subsidizing unhealthy food and offering poor nutritional advice"[3] |
| Paula Stannard, Director of the Office for Civil Rights, HHS | Senior legal roles at the Montana DPHHS, as well as HHS during the Trump 45 and Bush 43 Administrations | Previously provided legal services to Pfizer and Roche Diagnostics, among other health care clients[4] | N/A |
THE COMMERCIAL THEATER
Meta Platforms ad spending by key health care trade and professional organizations (April 20–May 19)
Corporate sponsors of health care conferences and "fly-ins"
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2025 (May 30–June 3)[5]
Platinum Sponsors: Daiichi Sankyo and Novartis
Gold Sponsors: AbbVie and Bristol Myers Squibb
Silver Sponsors: Gilead Sciences | Kite and HELSINN
Bronze Sponsors: Arcus Biosciences, Boehringer Ingelheim, Exact Sciences, Exelixis, and Merck
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) Rare Disease Scientific Symposium (June 2–3)[6]
Pioneer: Takeda
Trailblazer: BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Merck, and UCB
Contributor: Acadia, BridgeBio, Chiesi, Pharming, and Regeneron
Additional Sponsors: Amicus Therapeutics, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical
NAMICon 2025 – National Alliance on Mental Illness (June 10–June 13)[7]
Advocates: Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, Neurocrine Biosciences, and Teva
Supporters: Bristol Myers Squibb, Compass Pathways, Delta Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, LivaNova, Maybelline, Myriad Genetics, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Paylocity, Stantec, Takeda, and Viatris
Ally: AbbVie, Alkermes, Axsome Therapeutics, Coalition to Empower Our Future, Intra-Cellular Therapies, Lundbeck, Neumora, Sage Therapeutics | Biogen, and Supernus Pharmaceuticals
Newsletter sponsors
Axios (Vitals)
Politico – Health Care
(Pulse and Prescription Pulse)
Politico – Food/Ag
(Weekly Agriculture)
STAT News
(D.C. Diagnosis and
Morning Rounds)
- Press release, “BIO Announces Gary Andres as the New Senior Executive Vice President of Public Affairs,” Biotechnology Innovation Organization, February 14, 2017, https://www.bio.org/press-release/bio-announces-gary-andres-new-senior-executive-vice-president-public-affairs.
- Jim O’Neill, LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-o-neill-5703138.
- Jim O’Neill [@regardthefrost], "Many Americans think we have free markets in health care...," X, November 16, 2024, https://x.com/regardthefrost/status/1857894653724602559.
- "Paula Stannard," Trump Town, ProPublica, https://projects.propublica.org/trump-town/staffers/paula-stannard.
- "Donors," 2025 Annual Meeting, American Society of Clinical Oncology, https://www.asco.org/annual-meeting/donors.
- "Sponsors," Rare Disease Scientific Symposium 2025, National Organization for Rare Disorders, https://nordscience.org/sponsors.
- "2025 Sponsors," NAMICon 2025, National Alliance on Mental Illness, https://events.nami.org/namicon/2025sponsors.
About Baron
Baron has guided clients for nearly two decades through the most challenging political terrain. Applying a methodology focused on mastering the strategic competition of interests, Baron advises some of the nation's most prominent organizations, including members of the Fortune 10, several of America's largest privately held businesses, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Baron's health care sector clients have included insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, integrated health systems, and medical device firms.
© 2025 Baron Public Affairs, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of these materials may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to photocopy, recording, or any other information storage or retrieval system known now or in the future, without the express written permission of Baron Public Affairs, LLC. The brief does not constitute advice on any particular investment or commercial issue or matter. No part of this brief constitutes investment or legal advice and is not to be relied upon as such. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal and may result in civil or criminal penalties under the U.S. Copyright Act and applicable copyright law.
