Why It Matters
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. has hired Todd Strategy Group as its outside lobbying firm, filing a new client registration signed Oct. 25 to cover Health Issues (HCR). The move comes roughly two years after Inovio terminated its in-house lobbying program, effective June 30, 2024. Three principals are listed on the filing: Eric Bergren, Paul Edattel, and Nick Uehlecke, all carrying prior government experience.
By the Numbers
A third-quarter filing follows the registration in the amount of $60,000.
Inovio lobbied in-house before: a second-quarter 2024 termination reported $10,000 and was effective June 30, 2024, a first-quarter 2024 report reported $20,000, and its first report, for the fourth quarter of 2023, reported $0.
Edattel was Chief Counsel, Health, on the House Energy and Commerce Committee in June 2018, Uehlecke was a Ways and Means Committee professional staff member in January 2019, and Bergren's record lists Rep. Ron Lewis (R-KY-2).
Broader Context
On Dec. 29, 2025, Inovio announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted its biologics license application for INO-3107, a proposed treatment for adults with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, and set an Oct. 30 target action date; FDA also raised a preliminary concern about whether the application qualified for the accelerated-approval pathway, according to an Inovio press release. In January 2025, FDA issued draft guidance interpreting authority Congress added in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, on when a confirmatory trial is considered "underway" for accelerated-approval purposes, according to the FDA guidance document.
Competitive Landscape
Todd Strategy Group also signed Healthcare Trust Institute as a new client on Oct. 25 to lobby on Health Issues (HCR). It signed MRO Corp. the same day, also for Health Issues (HCR). Cardiac PET Alliance registered Brachman, Marshall Aaron on Oct. 24 to lobby on Health Issues (HCR), per its filing.
The Bottom Line
Inovio's return to federal lobbying through an outside firm, after a roughly two-year absence, puts the company formally on record in Washington on health issues as INO-3107 faces a pending FDA decision.
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