May 12, 2025
(New York Times) – CVS Caremark decided to stop offering Zepbound in favor of Wegovy for weight loss. It’s the latest example of limits imposed by insurance that disrupt treatments for patients. Tens of thousands of Americans will soon be … Read More
May 8, 2025
(Wired) – High-ranking OpenAI employees have met with the FDA multiple times in recent weeks to discuss AI and a project called cderGPT. The Food and Drug Administration has been meeting with OpenAI to discuss the agency’s use of AI, … Read More
May 7, 2025
(Medical Xpress) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has chosen Dr. Vinay Prasad, a professor at the University of California-San Francisco, to lead its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. The division oversees vaccines and biologic medicines, including … Read More
May 7, 2025
(Axios) – WeightWatchers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday, saying it plans to slash debt and stay in business. Why it matters: The company has been grappling with sinking sales amid the surge of weight-loss drugs and changing health … Read More
May 6, 2025
(CBS News) – The Food and Drug Administration’s top official overseeing drug and food safety inspections told staff on Monday he has decided to leave the agency, and multiple federal health officials told CBS News it comes amid frustration from … Read More
May 6, 2025
(KFF Health News) – Eight states — New York, Maine, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington — have passed laws since 2022 to protect doctors who mail abortion pills out of state, and thereby block or “shield” them … Read More
May 6, 2025
(NPR) – More American adults with mental health needs have been getting talk therapy in recent years, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The study also found that the number of people using only … Read More
May 5, 2025
(New York Times) – The Trump administration on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to sharply restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone — taking the same position as the Biden administration in a closely … Read More
May 2, 2025
(Undark) – When I was at medical school, we students loved to characterize bacteria as villains, the better to revel in how to thrash them with antibiotics. Lately, though, C. Diff has become a virtuoso at resisting treatment. As our pharmacological prowess has … Read More
April 30, 2025
(Discover) – An earlier survey of 10,836 ayahuasca ceremony participants found that over half reported adverse mental states after ayahuasca use. Many experienced visual distortions, hallucinations, “feeling down, depressed, or hopeless,” “feeling disconnected or alone,” and “feeling energetically attacked,” according to … Read More
April 30, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – The pharmaceutical industry translated a wonky policy topic into a talking point repeated by a range of groups Drugmakers spent a record $31 million to lobby in Washington last year, and about $13 million in the … Read More
April 29, 2025
(New York Post via MSN) – Nearly 11% of women who have taken a chemical abortion pill in recent years have experienced a serious adverse health event — such as infection, hemorrhage or sepsis — according to a report from … Read More
April 28, 2025
(New York Times) – For a limited group of cancer patients who have solid tumors in the stomach, rectum, esophagus and other organs, an immunotherapy trial offered stunning results. In 49 of the patients, who had rectal cancer, the tumors … Read More
April 25, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – Federal regulators are asking Novavax to complete an additional randomized clinical trial on its Covid-19 vaccine after previously delaying approval, people familiar with the matter said, a request that could be so prohibitively expensive the company … Read More
April 25, 2025
(The Atlantic) – I’ve spent recent weeks speaking with scientists and executives at universities, major companies, and research institutions—including Pfizer, Moderna, and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center—in an attempt to understand what the technology can (and cannot) do to … Read More
April 24, 2025
(Associated Press) – America’s two largest retailers want to deliver prescriptions to your doorstep in as little as a few hours. Amazon and Walmart are undergoing national expansions in same-day prescription deliveries. They’re joining a trend that has gained momentum … Read More
April 24, 2025
(Axios) – Food and Drug Administration databases that physicians and public health experts rely on for key drug safety and manufacturing information have been neglected due to DOGE-directed layoffs, leaving health professionals flying blind on basic questions about certain drugs … Read More
April 24, 2025
(Slate) – The drug could keep your pet around for longer—but some vets and ethicists worry that we might be barking up the wrong tree. Jessica Pierce, a bioethicist who focuses on the ethical implications of biomedical sciences in human-animal … Read More
April 23, 2025
(ProPublica) – China’s vast security apparatus shrouds itself in shadows, but the outside world has caught periodic glimpses of it behind the faded gray walls of Shijiazhuang prison in the northern province of Hebei. Chinese media reports have shown inmates … Read More
April 23, 2025
(Wired) – Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly alleges the companies are selling illegal off-brand versions of its best-selling diabetes and weight-loss drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound. On Wednesday, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly sued four prominent telehealth companies that offer more affordable, off-brand … Read More
April 23, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – Hims, Keeps and other companies advertise topical finasteride with limited disclosures of side effects The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday posted a warning about generic forms of a popular hair-loss medication often sold by major … Read More
April 23, 2025
(NBC News) – Antibiotic use in children may contribute to bacteria in the gut that produce the chemical. A gut toxin that’s been linked to colorectal cancers for more than two decades may be contributing to the sharp rise of … Read More
April 23, 2025
(ABC News) – Novavax’s closely watched COVID-19 vaccine is on track for full approval after additional discussions with the Food and Drug Administration, the company said Wednesday. The news sent company shares soaring more than 21% in morning trading and … Read More
April 23, 2025
(The Atlantic) – As of 2021, about one in five patients struggling with opioid-use disorder is taking this or other medications for treating addiction. One of the most effective tools for defusing a crisis that in recent years has killed … Read More
April 22, 2025
(New York Times) – Neuroscientists have learned that estrogen is vital to healthy brain development but that it also contributes to conditions including multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s. Changes in estrogen levels — either from the menstrual cycle or external sources … Read More
