Medicare GUARD pilot faces biotech push to spare rare disease drugs as Moderna begins first-in-human Ebola vaccine trial

The Medicare Part D GUARD pilot, designed to lower retail drug prices, is under scrutiny because excluding rare disease medicines would erase most of the projected savings, according to STAT.

Biotech companies are lobbying the administration to keep rare disease drugs out of the pilot, arguing that the policy would hurt patients who rely on high‑cost specialty treatments.

Meanwhile, Moderna announced it has entered first‑in‑human testing of an mRNA vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, marking a new application of its platform beyond COVID‑19.

These developments highlight ongoing tensions between cost‑containment efforts in Medicare and the need to support innovative therapies for rare and emerging diseases.