Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has named Dr. John Gaitanis, a pediatric neurologist who co-founded a telehealth company built around helping autistic children obtain leucovorin, as chair of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. The committee helps the federal government decide how to allocate roughly $2 billion in autism research, STAT reported on Tuesday. HHS said the appointment took effect September 18.
The appointment puts a leading advocate of a disputed autism treatment at the head of a panel that helps shape federal research priorities. For families of autistic children, the practical question is whether leucovorin could receive more federal attention and funding even though the FDA has said the evidence does not support its use for autism.
A Commercial Tie at the Top of the Committee
Gaitanis co-founded Meadow Biosciences, a telehealth startup centered on helping autistic children access leucovorin, according to STAT. Reuters reported that in April he co-founded, and served as chief medical officer of, a company offering telehealth for families of autistic children seeking leucovorin care. Public reports have not said whether he still holds a financial stake in the company or what ethics agreement, if any, governs his federal role.
HHS confirmed the change. "Dr. John Gaitanis, Director of the NICHD, has been appointed chair of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee effective today," HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard told Reuters. She said the committee determined that "having a federal representative serve as chair will strengthen its focus on implementing the IACC Strategic Plan and coordinating efforts across federal agencies."
HHS's statement did not address the company connection, and Gaitanis has not publicly commented on it in reports reviewed by MedicalDaily.
He replaces Dr. Sylvia Fogel, a Harvard Medical School instructor and parent of an adult autistic child, who had chaired the committee since January and will remain a member. Under Fogel, the committee adopted a new strategic plan focused on medical care, housing, aging, and other needs of autistic people and their families. It also recommended that the government adopt the term profound autism for people with high support needs and recommended nearly doubling federal autism spending, Reuters reported.
Accounts of the plan's research focus differ. STAT said it shifts away from genetic research toward environmental causes, including vaccines, while Reuters said the plan did not mention vaccines or studying a link to autism. Large studies have not found that vaccines cause autism.
Reuters also reported that Gaitanis, a former director of child neurology at Brown University, has repeatedly served as a paid medical expert in vaccine-injury cases, including several involving the MMR vaccine, and that he met NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya in August 2025 to discuss leucovorin research. MedicalDaily previously reported on his selection to run the federal child health institute, which directs about $1.7 billion a year.
Leucovorin Evidence Has Narrowed
Leucovorin is a prescription form of folinic acid long used to reduce the toxic effects of certain cancer drugs, such as methotrexate. On March 10, the FDA approved it for cerebral folate deficiency in patients with a confirmed variant in the folate receptor 1 gene and said there is insufficient evidence to support its use for autism, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"Right now, we don't have sufficient data to say that we can establish efficacy for autism more broadly," a senior FDA official told CNN at the time. FDA officials also noted that the largest randomized, placebo-controlled trial of leucovorin in children with autism had recently been retracted after errors were found in its data.
Interest in the drug has remained high. In the weeks after a September 2025 White House briefing that promoted leucovorin, new prescriptions doubled, according to a study in The Lancet cited by CNN.
Dr. I. David Goldman, who has studied the rare genetic form of folate deficiency, told CNN after the FDA decision that it was helpful to clarify where the evidence stands. "But, you know, the damage is done, because parents with autistic kids are desperate," he said.
Families Weighing Leucovorin Face Practical Questions
The committee does not directly award grants. It provides nonbinding guidance and helps coordinate federal autism research priorities that agencies such as NIH consider, which makes its chair influential over what gets studied.
That matters most for families of autistic children, especially those with high support needs, who are looking for help with speech, behavior, and daily care. It also affects families weighing whether to try leucovorin through telehealth services, often without testing for cerebral folate deficiency.
Parents considering leucovorin should talk with a pediatrician or pediatric neurologist rather than relying only on an online prescriber. Questions worth asking include whether testing for cerebral folate deficiency or folate receptor antibodies is appropriate, what evidence-based therapies the child is already receiving, and how any benefit or side effect would be tracked. Leucovorin should not replace speech, occupational, or behavioral therapies, the supports that current pediatric guidance continues to recommend.
Families facing costs can ask whether insurance covers a prescription for an unapproved use, since many plans limit off-label coverage. Early intervention programs and school-based services remain available regardless of what the committee decides.
The committee's upcoming meetings will show whether research priorities shift toward leucovorin or other treatments. MedicalDaily will report any HHS ethics disclosures, comments from Gaitanis, and changes in autism research funding.
Key Questions Answered
Who is the new autism committee chair? Dr. John Gaitanis, a pediatric neurologist who directs NIH's Child Health Institute. HHS said his appointment took effect September 18.
What is his connection to leucovorin? He co-founded Meadow Biosciences, a telehealth startup centered on helping autistic children access leucovorin, according to STAT.
Is leucovorin approved for autism? No. The FDA approved it for a rare genetic form of cerebral folate deficiency and said evidence is insufficient for autism.
Does the committee fund research directly? No. It provides nonbinding guidance and helps coordinate federal autism research priorities that funding agencies consider.
Has HHS addressed the financial tie? Not in its statement to Reuters. Public reports have not said whether Gaitanis retains a stake in the company.
What should parents considering leucovorin do? Talk with a pediatrician or pediatric neurologist about testing and evidence, and keep established therapies in place.
Published by Medicaldaily.com
