Top U.S. Health Official Backed a Medication Policy Shift That Benefited a Company She Has Stock In

Alicia Jackson, director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, speaks at an event earlier this year. Photo illustration by ProPublica. Photo by Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images. Last November, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the elimination of “black box” warnings on hormone replacement therapies, aiming to reverse nearly two decades of stigma surrounding a key treatment for menopause symptoms. Among the officials at a press conference about the decision was Alicia Jackson, director of a federal health agency that invests taxpayer money in medical technology and research.