Walgreens and CVS, two of the largest U.S. pharmacy chains, plan to start offering abortion pills, following the Food and Drug Administration's Tuesday announcement that it will allow retail pharmacies to offer the drug, the companies told Axios.
The big picture: Under the FDA's regulatory change, pharmacies can apply to become certified to dispense mifepristone, which is used in first-trimester abortions.
The Biden administration on Wednesday gave states more leeway to cover services addressing health-related social needs under their Medicaid programs.
Why it matters: Addressing "social determinants" like housing, transportation and food security could reduce hospital admissions and overall health spending. But researchers have questioned whether the cost of such interventions may eclipse the potential savings.
The South Carolina state Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state's six-week abortion ban, asserting that such a law violates the state's constitution.
Driving the news: The law had been blocked since 2021, but took effect shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Following this decicion, abortion remains legal in South Carolina up until 22 weeks of pregnancy — making it one of the only Southern states where the procedure is legal up until that point.
Everyone agrees that the world needs new antibiotics, as the number of drug-resistant infections continues to soar. But there's little agreement on how to finance their development, and the situation is deteriorating.
What to know: Antibiotics are a bad business, at least based on a current pharma model that's predicated on volume sales.
Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday filed IPO registration papers for its consumer health products business, which is being spun out under the name Kenvue.
Why it matters: This could be the largest U.S. IPO since Rivian went public in late 2021, with Renaissance Capital estimating that Kenvue could raise up to $5 billion. It also encompasses a slew of household brands, including Tylenol, Band-Aid, Johnson's Baby Powder, Listerine, Neutrogena and Nicorette.
Respiratory viruses may come and go, but one constant for frustrated parents this season has been the shortage of children's Tylenol and Motrin.
Driving the news: How did some of the most common pediatric fever and pain remedies become as scarce as Taylor Swift tickets? Unlike last year's baby formula shortage, it's not because of a broken supply chain, but the result of unexpectedly high consumer demand.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted a conditional license for a vaccine that helps protect honeybees from a deadly bacterial disease, U.S. biotech firm Dalan Animal Health announced Wednesday.
Why it matters:Dalan has developed the world's first vaccine for honeybees in an effort to stop the spread of American foulbrood disease, caused by Paenibacillus larvae bacterium, which can weaken and destroy hives, per the Guardian.
First Lady Jill Biden will undergo surgery to remove a small lesion found above her right eye after a routine eye cancer screening, the White House said Wednesday.
The big picture: The procedure, recommended in an abundance of caution, is scheduled for next Wednesday at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. "We will offer an update after the procedure is completed and we have more information," Kevin O'Connor, physician to the president, wrote in a memo.
Medicare and its enrollees were unable to realize millions in savings because of gaps in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' oversight of the Part B program, according to a federal watchdog report released Tuesday.
Driving the news: The federal health department's Office of the Inspector General looked at oversight of manufacturer-reported data on average sales prices (ASP). When that data is inaccurate, Medicare may make inappropriate payments, the report said.
The Food and Drug Administration yesterday added a new twist to the escalating fight over medication abortion by allowing pharmacies to offer the pills — even as anti-abortion groups mount a unique legal challenge to the approved use of the drugs.
The big picture: The developments underscore how much access to mifepristone, which is used in first-trimester abortions, has become a focal point in the reproductive health wars since the Supreme Court struck down precedents that established a federal right to abortion.
This article originally appeared in Axios Finish Line, our nightly newsletter on life, leadership and wellness.Sign up here.
Drink up! How well you hydrate may be linked to how quickly you age and your risk level for chronic diseases.
The big picture: A new study from the National Institutes of Health, which tracked 11,000 older American adults over 25 years, found that poor hydration was associated with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and even risk of premature death.
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday made a regulatory change that will make it possible for retail pharmacies to offer abortion pills in the U.S., Axios has confirmed.
The big picture: Under the regulatory change, pharmacies that become certified may dispense mifepristone — which is used with misoprostol in first-trimester abortions — directly to patients after receiving a prescription from a certified health provider, according to a statement from Danco Laboratories, one of the makers of the pill.
