As a physician who has spent decades caring for patients and later had the privilege of serving as Secretary of Health and Human Services, I have seen firsthand how fragile medical progress can be. Breakthrough therapies and medical devices don’t happen by accident. They require years of research, substantial investment, and a regulatory environment grounded in sound science. When that foundation is weakened, patients ultimately pay the price.

Across the healthcare landscape, there is increasing concern that novel litigation strategies and tactics are being used to influence health and science policy through the courts rather than through evidence-based regulatory channels. One of the most concerning examples is the growing reliance on so-called “junk science” in civil litigation, especially in cases involving medical innovators.

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A recently released report from the American Tort Reform Association sheds light on how this dynamic operates. But the larger issue extends well beyond any single study or lawsuit. What we are seeing is the emergence of a litigation ecosystem that can substitute advocacy-driven claims for scientific consensus, weaponizing uncertainty to pressure companies into settlements and, in the........

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