Trump's Medicaid freeze, Ozempic for kidney disease, and 23andMe for sale: Pharma news roundup
President Donald Trump's move to freeze federal funding for a massive number of government programs impacted Medicaid payment systems across the country, briefly locking 72 million Americans out of their health insurance Tuesday. Novo Nordisk said this week that its diabetes drug Ozempic was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first GLP-1 treatment for chronic kidney disease. 23andMe (ME), the company that popularized consumer genetic testing, announced this week that it is once again exploring 'strategic alternatives,' which could include a potential sale of the company.
Check out those stories and more pharmaceutical news highlights from this week.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said on Wednesday that it would seek 'greater transparency' in drug price negotiations under President Donald Trump's administration. The statement follows criticism from the pharmaceutical industry regarding the program. 'As the second cycle begins under the Trump Administration, CMS is committed to incorporating lessons learned to date from the program and to considering opportunities to bring greater transparency in the Negotiation Program,' the agency said in a statement.
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23andMe, the company that popularized consumer genetic testing, announced Tuesday that it is once again exploring 'strategic alternatives,' which could include a potential sale of the company or a restructuring. In a press release on Tuesday, the company said it needs additional liquidity to fund its operations and that 'management has determined that there is substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.'
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Novo Nordisk (NVO) announced today that its blockbuster drug Ozempic was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first GLP-1 treatment for chronic kidney disease among people with type 2 diabetes. The popular diabetes drug can now be used to reduce the risk of kidney disease worsening, kidney failure, and death due to heart disease in adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
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President Donald Trump's move to freeze federal funding for a massive number of government programs seems to have impacted Medicaid payment systems across the country, potentially locking 72 million Americans out of their health insurance. Several lawmakers took to social media on Tuesday afternoon to confirm that their state's Medicaid payment systems have been shut off. 'The White House is aware of the Medicaid website portal outage. We have confirmed no payments have been affected — they are still being processed and sent,' White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for health secretary, reportedly expressed openness to seizing drug patents of high-priced drugs as a way to lower prices. Politico reports that Kennedy indicated during a closed-door meeting with Senate Finance Committee staffers that he would consider adopting a proposal championed by progressive lawmakers like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. The outlet cited three unnamed sources familiar with the exchange.
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The millennial-targeted telehealth company Hims & Hers (HIMS) is spending big bucks on its first-ever Super Bowl commercial to hawk its affordable weight-loss treatments. With Super Bowl ads reportedly costing about $7 million for a 30-second spot this year, Hims & Hers likely spent about $14 million for its one-minute commercial.
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Pharmaceutical companies have already raised the price of over 800 brand-name prescription drugs this year. The increases apply to list prices before accounting for insurance, rebates to pharmacy benefit managers, or other discounts. This year's increases reflect a significant increase from Dec. 29 of last year, when drugmakers had shared plans to raise prices on just over 140 brands. More price hikes are also expected to be announced through the end of January, historically the busiest month for drugmakers to make increases.
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LinkedIn (MSFT) co-founder and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman on Monday launched an AI startup aimed at discovering new treatments for cancer. Manas AI will use a proprietary AI-driven platform to help speed up the drug discovery process, from identifying potential drug candidates with 'paradigm-shifting speed and accuracy' all the way to clinical trials, Hoffman said in a press release. The company is initially focusing on treatments for breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lymphoma. Eventually, it intends to target other autoimmune diseases and rare conditions.
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The cheap fat jabs sending big pharma into a frenzy
For many Americans who tuned in to watch the Super Bowl earlier this year, it was a surprise to find themselves fat-shamed during the ad break. 'Obesity is America's deadliest epidemic,' a voiceover said, as images of wobbling bellies, greasy burgers and giant apple pies flashed across TV screens. The Super Bowl's 127m-strong audience, who were tucking into an estimated 1.5bn chicken wings during the event, were warned that 'obesity leads to half a million deaths each year'. But Hims and Hers, the US online medicines company behind the ad, said people should not blame themselves. Instead, its advert claimed that 'the system' was keeping them 'sick and stuck', adding that 'there are medications that work, but they're priced for profits, not patients'. To the relief of viewers, Hims and Hers offered a 'life-changing' solution. 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Online medicines firms, also known as telehealth businesses, are now racing to find a way to continue getting cheaper, personalised replica drugs out to patients. Noom, a rival to Hims and Hers, has suggested it will still be able to sell compounded weight-loss drugs to patients under an exception set aside for 'personalised' medicines. Hims and Hers, meanwhile, has already struck a new deal with Novo to offer its branded obesity drug to patients. The US firm also said this month it was exploring expansion in the UK, after acquiring European rival Zava. Andrew Dudum, the Hims and Hers chief, suggested there could be 'expansive options in obesity that include that type of personalisation, or similar types', telling the Financial Times that it could sell replica obesity medicines in the UK and Europe. David Meinertz, the boss of Zava, agrees that there are opportunities for the business to grow outside of America. 'There's clearly the experience and expertise that Hims and Hers have built up in the US,' he says. 'But then we have things like the regulatory knowledge here in Zava, and this is where we combine our experiences and spearhead this effort.' Still, the situation in the UK is very different to the US. Here, the compounding pharmacy market is much smaller, with pharmacies able to prepare personalised medicines for patients if it is prescribed by a doctor. Elizabeth Philp, the co-founder of compounding pharmacy Roseway Labs, says there could be a role for more personalisation of medicines. 'The NHS will say wasted medication is one of their top issues – people who try medication, put it in their bathroom cupboard and never use it again because it didn't suit them,' she says. 'We can really help with that.' However, drug insiders argue it would be a 'very bad idea' if the UK started to think about bringing in cheaper compound medicines for weight loss. 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