Shortages of weight-loss drugs are driving pharmaceutical companies to scramble to shore up supplies.
Why it matters: Booming demand for anti-obesity drugs, known as GLP-1s, has led to a windfall of revenue for pharma giants like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
Abortion advocates say Latinas and other women of color are disproportionately affected by bans and restrictions, but when it comes to lawsuits and news coverage, their stories are less likely to get attention.
Why it matters: The reality underscores the limited resources that Hispanic women have in accessing abortion care, especially since the fall of Roe v. Wade, which has prompted nearly half of all U.S. states to enact more restrictions or bans.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is planning to hold a field hearing on China biotech competition next week in Boston, Axios has learned.
The big picture: Chinese genomics companies are becoming a national security concern in some quarters of Congress, where there's bipartisan support for cutting off some firms from taxpayer funding.
While the active ingredient in magic mushrooms is gaining acceptance as a behavioral health treatment, law enforcement seizures of the substance increased nearly 3.5 times from the beginning of 2017 through 2022, according to a new National Institutes of Health-funded study.
Why it matters: The increase underscores the fast-changing legal landscape around psychedelics and suggests availability of the tightly regulated substances may be increasing.
A major purge of Tennessee's Medicaid rolls almost 20 years ago led to a big increase in evictions, according to a new Health Affairs study that may hold lessons for the ongoing "unwinding" of pandemic-era coverage protections.
Why it matters: More than 16.4 million Americans have been disenrolled from Medicaid since April, when the end of the COVID-19 emergency meant states were no longer barred from terminating coverage.
Pharmacy retail chains staking their future on expanding the health care services they offer are running into a big problem: It's getting harder to draw the next generation of pharmacists amid turmoil in the industry.
Why it matters: The pharmacies' ambitions to become go-to providers for vaccinations, patient monitoring and even prescribing are being threatened by workforce shortages and burnout, as well as a flagging talent pipeline from the nation's pharmacy schools.
Novo Holdings, the parent company of Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk, agreed to buy New Jersey-based contract manufacturer Catalent for around $16.5 billion in cash.
Why it matters: This deal is about boosting production of Wegovy, the anti-obesity drug whose demand has far outpaced supply.
Public health authorities are seeing signs of a second wave of increased flu activity, particularly in the Midwest and parts of the South, after a post-holiday lull of respiratory illness.
Why it matters: More than half of Americans haven't had a flu shot, per the Centers for Disease Control, increasing the odds for sustained high levels of disease spread through February and posing challenges for some stressed medical systems.
Florida is suing the Biden administration over a new policy limiting when states can remove children from public health insurance programs.
Why it matters: Thelawsuit challenges the implementation of a law requiring states to let kids remain eligible for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program for 12 straight months before reviewing their status, regardless of life changes that mean they may no longer qualify.
