After targeting dyes and other chemicals allowed for use in food, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is zeroing in on the active ingredient in Roundup in his bid to root out what he calls environmental toxins that contribute to chronic disease.

Why it matters: The herbicide glyphosate is expected to feature prominently in a report due out this week from President Trump's Make America Healthy Again Commission, which was charged with identifying top contributors to America's chronic health problems.

• But some warn that clamping down on pesticides could cause major disruption of the food supply and hurt agriculture interests and consumers.

In a speech last week, White House senior health adviser Calley Means previewed the report's findings, pointing to chemical pesticides as contributors to Americans' poor health.

• "Obviously it's because of environmental toxins. We produce and ingest 25% of the world's pesticides," Means said at an event in D.C. launching a new policy center.

The big picture: While some environmentalists and wellness influencers have long decried the use of herbicides and pesticides, glyphosate is the most widely used weedkiller worldwide and the key ingredient in Bayer's Roundup.

• Bayer has said its product has been widely tested and found safe and essential.
• However, some researchers who've tested animals or done observational studies have found connections between chemicals such as glyphosate and cancer, neurodegenerative disease and autism.

Friction point: Some White House officials have raised concerns about what removing glyphosate would do to the food supply. Officials at the EPA and USDA dispute Kennedy's belief that weedkillers are harmful to health, the Wall Street Journal reported.

• Environmental groups say it's impossible to split the difference.
• Getting something as widely used as glyphosate restricted or off the market would require a regulatory action — one that would fall outside of Kennedy's jurisdiction, said Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs for the Environmental Working Group.

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Novo Nordisk is replacing its CEO as the Danish drug giant faces growing competition for its weight-loss drugs and a share price heading in the wrong direction.

State of play: Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen led Novo since 2017 and oversaw its rise to become Europe's biggest company by market capitalization. But while it was the first to market with a GLP-1 for weight loss in 2021, it's been been ceding share since Eli Lilly launched a rival drug in 2023.

• In the U.S. more prescriptions are filled today for Lilly's Zepbound than for Wegovy, a trend first observed over a year ago. (Novo's Ozempic is prescribed for diabetes.)
• The company's shares have fallen more than 50% over the past year.

What they're saying: "Considering the recent market challenges, the share price decline, and the wish from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Board and Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen have jointly concluded that initiating a CEO succession is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders," the company said in a statement on Friday.

• It added Jørgensen would stay on for a period "to support a smooth transition to new leadership."

What's next: Novo will consider external and internal candidates for the next CEO, chair Helge Lund told Bloomberg.

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After missing an April decision deadline, the FDA late Friday approved Novavax's protein-based COVID vaccine — but only for adults age 65 and older or those 12 and up with at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk of severe outcomes.

Why it matters: The conditions are narrower than those for Pfizer and Moderna's mRNA shots and also call for postmarketing studies to assess risks of inflammation of heart muscle and tissue. A handful of cases were reported in trials of the Novavax shot, CNN reported.

Catch up quick: Novavax's protein-based vaccine uses a more traditional technology that injects a version of the COVID spike protein into the body, leading to the production of antibodies and T cells.

• The FDA missed an April 1 deadline to decide on full approval of the vaccine, which has been available under a pandemic-era emergency use authorization.
• Novavax showed its vaccine was safe and effective in a 30,000-person clinical trial, and the FDA had been on track to grant full approval without restrictions, per AP.
• The agency asked for new clinical trials, on the grounds that the vaccine was a "new" product because it has been updated to target a more recent COVID strain.

What we're watching: The Trump administration is expected to drop recommendations that children, teens, and pregnant women receive COVID vaccine, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Women should be offered pain management before an intrauterine device placement and get counseling on different options for pain control, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says in new clinical practice guidelines.

Why it matters: Women's pain is often dismissed in medical settings, resulting in lack of pain relief. More patients in recent years have taken to social media, posting videos of their experience with IUD insertions and bringing attention to unmanaged pain around the procedures.

• A review of 2.4 million outpatient IUD insertions between 2017 and 2024 found that only about 5% of procedures involved pain or anxiety medication.

State of play: The new clinical guidance says local anesthetic creams and sprays may reduce pain associated with IUD insertion.

• There's an "urgent need" for patients to have more autonomy over how to manage their pain during in-office gynecological procedures like IUD insertion, per the document.

The CDC last year updated its own clinical guidelines on contraception, which suggested counseling patients on pain management options. It also said lidocaine might be useful for pain reduction.

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🧠 The FDA cleared the first blood test to detect Alzheimer's disease. (Axios)

🚨 A bomb killed one and injured four at a California fertility clinic that serves LGBT families. (NYT)

💉 A dramatic dip in baby hospitalizations for RSV is linked to vaccines and treatment. (The Guardian)