Popping An Aspirin Regularly Might Lower Colorectal Cancer Risk: Study

CNN: Regular Aspirin Use May Help Lower Risk Of Colorectal Cancer, Study Finds, Especially For Those With Unhealthy Lifestyles 
Regular aspirin use may keep the oncologist away, at least when it comes to colorectal cancer, according to a new study, and people with unhealthy lifestyles seemed to see the greatest benefit. (Christensen, 8/1)

Stat: Cutting-Edge Immunotherapy Wins FDA Approval In Rare Sarcomas
U.S. regulators have authorized a cutting-edge treatment relying on T cells for a rare cancer that arises in the body’s soft tissues, extending the power of immunotherapies to difficult-to-reach sarcomas. (Joseph, 8/2)

Stat: Blood Culture Bottle Shortage: What We Know And Don't Know
In July, federal health officials warned hospitals that there would be a critical shortage of blood culture bottles that will stretch into September. Blood culture bottles are key in diagnosing sepsis, a deadly infection of the bloodstream caused by a number of different bacteria. (Trang, 8/2)

On weight loss drugs —

Reuters: Lilly CEO Says Weight-Loss Drug Shortage To End 'Very Soon', Bloomberg News Reports 
U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly expects its blockbuster weight-loss drug to officially come out of shortage in the United States in coming days, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing an interview with the company's CEO, David Ricks. Lilly's drug, tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight management, will cease to be in shortage "very soon," CEO David Ricks said in an interview with Bloomberg in Paris. (8/1)

Bloomberg: WeightWatchers (WW) To Cut Jobs, Spending As Business Declines
WW International Inc., better known as WeightWatchers, is laying off employees and cutting costs as blockbuster obesity drugs have decimated its business. The New York company is now “investigating” selling compounded versions of weight-loss drugs made by Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S, Chief Executive Officer Sima Sistani said on a conference call with analysts Thursday. The company previously said it was “wholeheartedly against this path” on its website earlier this week. (Garde, 8/1)

Also —

Stat: Jim Wilson, Gene Therapy Pioneer, Departs Penn To Set Up New Companies
Jim Wilson, a leading gene therapy researcher who has persisted through the field’s ups and downs, is leaving his longtime academic home at the University of Pennsylvania to found two new companies. (Joseph, 8/1)

The Boston Globe: Larynx Transplant Update: Mass. Man With New Voice Box Comes Home
On Thursday morning, Marty Kedian did something that was beyond his abilities for years: He sat at a table with his wife and friends and had a conversation. Diagnosed with larynx cancer a decade ago, Kedian had suffered through his voice being reduced to a whisper. ... But in February, Kedian, 59, had his larynx removed and received a donor organ in its place. For almost six months, he recovered and relearned to speak, eat, and breathe near the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. (Laughlin, 8/1)

The Washington Post: Robin Warren, Pathologist Who Rewrote The Science On Ulcers, Dies At 87
Robin Warren, an Australian pathologist who shared a Nobel Prize for rewriting medical views on gut health with research that included his partner drinking a bacteria-laced brew to show how microbes can cause ulcers, died July 23 in Perth, Australia. He was 87. The death was announced by the University of Western Australia, where Dr. Warren was a professor emeritus. The statement gave no other details. The discoveries by Dr. Warren and Barry Marshall at Royal Perth Hospital completely upended long-standing medical assumptions that the stomach’s gastric fluids would kill any invasive bacteria. Yet, for more than a decade, the two researchers confronted a medical community slow to accept their theories and acknowledge their findings. (Murphy, 7/31)