NBC News: Louisiana House Passes Bill To Make Abortion Pills A Controlled Dangerous Substance
The Louisiana House approved a bill Tuesday that would add two medications commonly used to induce abortions to the state’s list of controlled dangerous substances, making possession of the drugs without valid prescriptions a crime punishable by fines, jail time or both. The measure, which has drawn support from anti-abortion groups and alarm from medical professionals and reproductive rights advocates, would add the medications mifepristone and misoprostol to Schedule IV of the state’s Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law. (Silva, Parra and Obregon, 5/21)

The Hill: Kamala Harris And Others React To Louisiana House Criminalizing Abortion Pills
Hours after the Louisiana House voted Tuesday to criminalize the possession of mifepristone and misoprostol without a prescription, lawmakers reacted to the vote, some expressing anger while others celebrated the legislation. The unprecedented legislation is the first time a state has declared abortion drugs as controlled substances. Vice President Kamala Harris posted on social media platform X responding to the vote, saying it’s “absolutely unconscionable.” (Irwin, 5/21)

Donald Trump backtracks on banning birth control —

The Washington Post: Trump Backtracks After Suggesting He’s Open To States Restricting Birth Control Access 
Former president Donald Trump declared on Tuesday that he did not support a ban on birth control, despite his responses in a television interview earlier in the day that suggested he was open to states restricting access to contraceptives. “I HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTH CONTROL, or other contraceptives,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. His post was a reversal of comments he made in an interview with KDKA News in Pittsburgh when he was asked whether he supported any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception. (Wang, 5/21)

More abortion news —

Reuters: NY Top Court Rejects Church Challenge To Abortion Coverage Law 
New York's highest court on Tuesday ruled that employers' health insurance plans have to cover medically necessary abortions, rejecting a lawsuit by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany claiming that the law's exemption for religious employers was too narrow. The New York Court of Appeals found that the rule, passed in 2017 by the state's Department of Financial Services (DFS), did not violate religious employers' freedom because both the rule and its religious exemption were neutral and generally applicable to all employers. (Pierson, 5/22)

Politico: California Pushes Through Gavin Newsom’s Bill Helping Arizona Abortion-Seekers
A California bill aiming to help Arizona abortion seekers by allowing doctors from that state to operate across the border has landed on Gov. Gavin Newson’s desk, just a month after he first floated the proposal. Once signed, Senate Bill 233 would offer an expedited pathway for licensed doctors in Arizona to get their credentials in California, with a nonprofit offering to pay the fees to do so. (Bluth, 5/21)

Reuters: Kansas Abortion Providers Seek To Block Law Requiring Them To Report Patients' Reasons
Abortion providers in Kansas are asking a state court to block a new law requiring them to report patients' reasons for getting abortions to state authorities. In a motion filed late on Monday in Johnson County Civil Court, the providers said the law, passed by the state's Republican legislature in April over the veto of its Democratic governor and set to take effect in July, would violate their right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution and their patients' right to personal autonomy. (Pierson, 5/21)

The Washington Post: DOJ Sues Antiabortion Groups, Says Patients Were Blocked At Ohio Clinics 
The Justice Department on Monday filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against two antiabortion groups and seven protesters it said wrongfully blocked patients’ access to medical care by preventing them from exiting their vehicles, filling waiting rooms and surrounding Ohio abortion clinics during 2021 protests. Protesters organized by the nonprofit Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and Red Rose Rescue, an affiliated group, occupied the waiting room of the Northeast Ohio Women’s Center on June 4, 2021, according to the lawsuit. The groups allegedly encouraged patients to not have abortions, then filled the waiting room and refused to leave, drawing a police response. The next day, protesters surrounded the Bedford Heights Surgery Center, lay in front of the clinic’s entrance and stood in front of a patient’s car door to prevent them from exiting, the lawsuit alleged. (Wu, 5/21)

The 19th: Few Places Were Hit Harder By The End Of Roe Than The Rio Grande Valley
Before Roe v. Wade fell, McAllen had been home to the last abortion clinic in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley, and Becky, a lifelong Texan and young college student, knew the place by sight. It was where the other girls at school used to go whenever they needed help, just by city hall, next to a church, and a short drive from an H-E-B supermarket. (Luthra, 5/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: More Male Candidates Are Talking About Abortion Rights Than Ever
The 2024 election will be the first presidential contest waged since the fall of Roe v. Wade, and it means abortion access is suddenly being championed on a major scale by the group that still makes up a majority of lawmakers in America: men. The Democratic Party as a whole has long supported abortion rights. But since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning the constitutional right to obtain an abortion, Democratic men ... have made access to abortion one of their top issues on the campaign trail. (Stein, 5/21)

The Washington Post: Denied Emergency Health Care? Feds Pledge To Speed Patient Complaints. 
Patients who say they were denied emergency abortions and other emergency care can now file complaints directly with the federal government, officials announced Tuesday. Biden administration officials say that overhauling the process — which historically has been led by state agencies and involved a complex series of decisions — will expedite the federal government’s ability to investigate patients’ complaints and provide more transparency into emergency care access. (Diamond, 5/21)

KFF Health News: Exclusive: Senator Urges Biden Administration To Thwart Fraudulent Obamacare Enrollments
Stronger actions are needed immediately to thwart insurance brokers who fraudulently enroll or switch people in Affordable Care Act coverage, Sen. Ron Wyden, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, said Monday. “We want the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to hold these brokers criminally responsible for ripping people off this way,” he told KFF Health News. (Appleby, 5/21)

In news about veterans' health care —

Military.com: Documents Show $43.5 Million In PACT Act Bonuses Plus Pay Raises For VA Human Resources Staff 
The Department of Veterans Affairs paid $43.5 million in bonuses to more than 6,500 human resources specialists last year under allowances stipulated in the PACT Act, an amount the department's chief human capital officer described as "significant." Documents obtained by Military.com through a Freedom of Information Act request show the department paid an average of $6,598.13 in critical skills incentives, or CSIs, to 6,517 human resources specialists in the Veterans Health and Veterans Benefits Administrations through June 2023 in addition to salary increases under PACT Act provisions. (Kime, 5/21)

Military.com: Senators Demand Recoupment Of $10.8 Million, Dismissal Of VA Officials Who Authorized Executive Bonuses 
A group of Republican senators is calling for the firing of Department of Veterans Affairs officials who authorized $10.8 million in incentive bonuses to senior VA executives last year, funding that was intended to be used to retain employees in critically understaffed jobs. They specifically requested the immediate dismissal of Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal, Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs and Deputy Secretary Tanya Bradsher. (Kime, 5/21)

NBC News: Sky-High Drug Prices? Senators Blame Patent Abuse
The drug industry’s top lobbying group on Tuesday faced fierce questioning at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that explored whether abuse of the patent system is responsible for keeping prescription drug prices sky-high in the United States. The patent system is meant to reward innovation by allowing drugmakers to exclusively sell new medications on the market for a set period of time — typically 20 years. (Lovelace Jr., 5/21)

In news about the farm bill —

Newsweek: SNAP Benefits Change Backlash Shocks Republican
The chair of the House Committee on Agriculture, which oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is "shocked" at the backlash he's faced after proposing changes to the program. As committee chair, Republican Representative Glenn "GT" Thompson of Pennsylvania will lead the lower chamber's efforts in drafting a new Farm Bill, a comprehensive spending package passed every five to six years that directs U.S. food and agriculture policy. Markup of the House draft of that bill is scheduled for Thursday. (5/21)

Politico: Hemp And Marijuana Go To War 
A farm bill battle is pitting hemp against its closest cousin: marijuana. The fight centers on intoxicating hemp products, which have developed into a multi-billion-dollar industry subject to few rules and regulations. Some marijuana companies and trade groups are pushing Congress to close a loophole that allows the production and sale of intoxicating substances derived from legal hemp. The hemp industry has a very different ask for lawmakers: leave the federal definition of hemp unchanged. (Fertig, 5/21)

The Mercury News: A Day With No Covid Deaths? It Finally Happened In California
It was a regular Tuesday in spring, sunny and warm, and a little foggy at the coast. But as April 2, 2024 came to a close, a silent victory emerged: the day had passed without a single Californian dying from COVID. Over the next several weeks, as death certificates were filed and processed, it would become the first day without an official COVID death since March 18, 2020, the day before Governor Gavin Newsom announced a statewide stay-at-home order. (Blair Rowan, 5/21)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego COVID-19 Test Maker Cue Health — Once Worth $2.3B — Lays Off Entire Company And Shuts Down 
Cue Health, the once high-flying San Diego biotech supplying rapid COVID-19 test kits to the NBA and Google, is laying off all employees and shutting down on Friday. Cue’s closure comes a week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers to throw away its COVID-19 test kits because they could give false results. The San Diego firm said on Thursday it stopped selling the COVID-19 tests, its only fully FDA-approved commercial product. (Rocha, 5/21)

Minnesota Public Radio: New Research Hub At The U Of M Would Provide Data To Guide Public Health Emergencies
The University of Minnesota has launched a new center to help leaders make informed decisions the next time there's a pandemic emergency. The Midwest Analytics and Disease Modeling Center (MADMC) will work within a national network of research centers across the country, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Crann and Alvarez, 5/20)

On bird flu —

Stat: Citing H5N1 Threat, CDC Urges Peak Flu Monitoring This Summer 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked local and state health officials Tuesday to maintain flu surveillance operations at peak-season levels over the summer in a bid to remain watchful for any signs of human-to-human spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus. (Branswell, 5/21)

CIDRAP: Wastewater Testing For H5 Avian Flu Virus Could Provide Early Warning, Outbreak Insights 
In new results published yesterday, scientists from WastewaterSCAN detected significant levels of H5 influenza in three treatment plants in communities where H5N1 has been detected in cattle. (Schnirring, 5/21)

CIDRAP: Survey: States And Territories Able To Test For Highly Pathogenic H5N1 
Today JAMA published a research letter noting that public health authorities in nearly all states and territories surveyed (50 of 55) said they had the ability to monitor and test people exposed to highly pathogenic avian influenza A (HPAI) H5N1.Jurisdictions varied, however, in their capacity to monitor exposed people, in their recommendations for when to use antivirals, and in their potential use of H5N1 vaccines, if available, among first responders. (Soucheray, 5/21)

Stat: Questions And Answers About Ramping Up H5N1 Bird Flu Vaccine 
If the H5N1 bird flu virus ever acquires the ability to transmit easily to and among people — keep your fingers crossed that it doesn’t — the world is going to need serious amounts of vaccine. Like, lakes of the stuff. Some manufacturers have been working with H5N1 viruses for years, producing small batches of doses that have undergone preliminary human testing. Some millions of doses — in the low double digits — have even been stockpiled by the U.S. government. (Branswell, 5/22)

The Wall Street Journal: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital System Demanded $25 Million To Stay Out Of A Union’s Health Insurance Plan
Peter Goldberger, who leads a major union benefits fund, was on the verge of completing a new health-insurance deal with Aetna to cover its 210,000 members. Then he learned the union fund would have to pay the powerful NewYork-Presbyterian hospital system $25 million—to stay out of its plan. The 32BJ Health Fund didn’t want its insurance to include NewYork-Presbyterian, which the Service Employees International Union affiliate says has high prices. But Aetna’s contract with the hospital system required the insurer to get a signoff from NewYork-Presbyterian to omit it from a client’s plan. (Mathews, 5/21)

Modern Healthcare: Prime Healthcare To Switch 2 PA Hospitals To Nonprofit Status
Prime Healthcare plans to switch two Pennsylvania hospitals to nonprofit status. The for-profit, privately held health system wants to transfer ownership for Philadelphia-based Roxborough Memorial Hospital and Bristol, Pennsylvania-based Lower Bucks Hospital to Prime Healthcare Foundation, its nonprofit that operates 14 hospitals in six states. (Hudson, 5/21)

CBS News: 2 Chicago Howard Brown Health Clinics Closing
Two of Howard Brown Health's 10 Chicago clinics will shut down. The Diversey clinic—at 2800 N. Sheridan Rd. in East Lakeview—and the Thresholds South clinic, at 734 W. 47th St. in Canaryville—will both close in the coming months. The nonprofit said the clinics are closing due to a budget shortfall, and because of the departure of the sole providers and the end of Howard Brown Health's leases at each location. (Kaufman and Harrington, 5/21)

Fortune Well: Cyberattacks Are Soaring—Treat Them As An 'Act Of War', Health Care Exec Warns
The Change Healthcare cyberattack that disrupted nationwide health care systems earlier this year—affecting a third of Americans at a total loss of $100 million—was a major wake-up call: Such attacks in the health care industry are on the rise. And they should be treated with utmost seriousness, agreed a panel at Fortune’s Brainstorm Health conference in Dana Point, Calif., on Tuesday. “In my world, it’s almost an act of war,” said Stephen Gillett, chairman and CEO of Verily, a life sciences company. “It’s that level of aggression toward infrastructure. Those are people’s lives, their personal information. That is not something that should just be a tech issue that we’re solving for.” (Greenfield, 5/21)

KFF Health News: He Fell Ill On A Cruise. Before He Boarded The Rescue Boat, They Handed Him The Bill
Vincent Wasney and his fiancée, Sarah Eberlein, had never visited the ocean. They’d never even been on a plane. But when they bought their first home in Saginaw, Michigan, in 2018, their real estate agent gifted them tickets for a Royal Caribbean cruise. After two years of delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, they set sail in December 2022. (Sable-Smith, 5/22)

In health worker updates —

The Boston Globe: Tufts Medicine Lays Off 174 Employees
Tufts Medicine, one of the state’s largest health care systems, is laying off about 1.3 percent of its 13,000-person workforce as it continues to weather financial difficulties. The “vast majority” of the 174 employees whose jobs will be cut are “administrative and non-direct patient care roles,” according to a statement sent by a Tufts spokesperson to the Globe on Tuesday. (Gerber, 5/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Public Hospital Nurses Reach Tentative Agreement To Avert Strike
San Francisco public nurses reached a tentative agreement with the city Tuesday, potentially ending the threat of a strike authorized just days ago over staffing shortages and unsafe conditions for patients at the city’s public hospital and clinics. The union representing the nurses, SEIU Local 1021, said the nurses secured improvements in several areas, including retention and recruitment, safety, and reduction in the use of contractors. (Parker, 5/21)

The New York Times: South Carolina Bans Gender Transition Care For Minors 
South Carolina’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, signed a bill on Tuesday that bars health professionals from performing gender-transition surgeries, prescribing puberty blocking drugs and overseeing hormone treatments for patients under 18. The state now joins about two dozen others that have passed laws restricting or banning what doctors call gender-affirming care for minors. The law, which goes into effect immediately, also requires principals, teachers and other school staff members to tell parents when their children want to use a name other than their legal one, or pronouns that do not match their sex assigned at birth. (Hassan, 5/21)

More health news from Michigan, Iowa, and North Dakota —

CBS News: Gov. Whitmer Signs Bill To Expand Mental Health Insurance Coverage In Michigan
Treatment for mental health and substance use disorders can add up quickly. A new bill signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday aims to make sure insurance covers mental health treatments like physical health services. "Insurance can cover anywhere from $60 an hour to $200 an hour, so if you're thinking of something that is ongoing and maybe even weekly, that can really add up," said Duane Breijak, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers Michigan. (Meyers, 5/21)

Iowa Public Radio: Advisory Council To Develop Sexual Assault Service Plan For SE Iowa 
The Iowa City-based Domestic Violence Intervention Program is launching a council that will shape its new comprehensive sexual assault services. DVIP agreed to provide these services after the University of Iowa announced in early April that it is closing the Rape Victim Advocacy Program. RVAP’s last day of operation is Sept. 30. Between now and then, DVIP’s new advisory council will determine how it will fill the gap. (Smith, 5/20)

Fox News: North Dakota Ranked Best State For Childbirth, According To A Report
A new study revealed the top 10 best and worst states for childbirth, based on nine criteria, including the cost of health care and child care, maternal and infant mortality rates, and postpartum expenses — which were determined by data produced by the CDC and the Health Care Cost Institute, among others. The Birth Injury Lawyers Group, based in Arizona, analyzed all 50 states. Each state received a score ranging from 40 to 100, with a final composite score from 40 to 85, based on the importance of various criteria, in order to evaluate the best and worst states to give birth in 2024. (Regalbuto, 5/21)

On the gun violence epidemic —

AP: Report Says There Was 'Utter Chaos' During Search For Maine Gunman, Including Intoxicated Deputies 
The search for the gunman behind last October’s mass shooting in Maine was marked by “utter chaos,” including one group of deputies who had been drinking nearly crashing their armored vehicle and others showing up in civilian clothes who could have been mistaken for the suspect, according to an after-action report obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. (Sharp, 5/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Anti-Hate Hotline Logged 1,000-Plus Reports In First Year
California’s anti-hate hotline, launched in response to a rising number of hate incidents in the state, documented slightly more than 1,000 reports in its first year, officials announced this week. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement of the California vs. Hate network last May noted that hate crimes in recent years had reached their highest level since 2001. Hate crimes spiked 33% in 2021 from 2020, which saw the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, a historic racial justice movement and nationwide increases in hate crimes against Black and Asian Americans. (Flores, 5/21)

CBS News: California Bill Targeting Social Media Addiction In Teens Passes State Senate
In a bipartisan vote, the California State Senate approved a bill from a Bay Area lawmaker aimed at targeting social media addiction among children and teens. On Monday night, senators approved Senate Bill 976 by State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) on a 35-2 vote. The bill now goes onto the Assembly for consideration. (Fang, 5/21)

Los Angeles Times: Assembly Passes Bill To Require Farmers To Notify Before Using Pesticides Near Schools
The state Assembly on Tuesday passed legislation that would require farms within a quarter-mile of a school to notify county officials before spraying pesticides. The intent of Assembly Bill 1864, authored by Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael), is to reduce exposure to pesticides in young children, who are uniquely impacted by the carcinogens. (Sosa, 5/21)

Sacramento Bee: California To Examine Medical Staffing At State Prisons And Hospitals. Here’s Why 
California will evaluate the outsourcing of medical and mental health care services at state prisons and hospitals with an audit request suggesting it costs the state up to three times more for contracted medical staff compared to using state employees. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee’s approval of Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal’s request comes on the heels of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s release of his proposed May revisions to fill a remaining current fiscal year gap of $27.6 billion, in which Newsom called for the elimination of 10,000 unfilled state positions for a savings of $762.5 million to the state. (Jolly, 5/21)

Also —

AP: Matthew Perry's Death Under Investigation Over Ketamine Level Found In His Blood
Authorities have opened an investigation into how Matthew Perry received the supply of ketamine that killed him, police said Tuesday. Los Angeles police are working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with a probe into why the 54-year-old “Friends” star had so much of the drug in his system, LAPD Capt. Scot Williams said in an email. (5/21)

KFF Health News: California Pays Meth Users To Get Sober
Here in the rugged foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada, the streets aren’t littered with needles and dealers aren’t hustling drugs on the corner. But meth is almost as easy to come by as a hazy IPA or locally grown weed. Quinn Coburn knows the lifestyle well. He has used meth most of his adult life, and has done five stints in jail for dealing marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin. Now 56, Coburn wants to get sober for good, and he says an experimental program through Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, which covers low-income people, is helping. (Hart, 5/22)

ABC News: STIs, Including Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Increasing Globally: WHO
The number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) around the world is increasing and is a "major concern" for health officials, according to a new report published Tuesday from the World Health Organization (WHO). The report found four curable STIs -- chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and trichomoniasis -- are responsible for more than 1 million infections daily among adults between ages 15 and 49. Cases of syphilis, in particular, have been rising rapidly. (Kekatos, 5/21)

On 'forever chemicals' —

CNN: Tiny Plastic Shards Found In Human Testicles, Study Says 
Human testicles contain microplastics and nanoplastics at levels three times higher than animal testes and human placentas, a new small study found. (LaMotte, 5/21)

The Boston Globe: Woburn Startup Gradiant Has New Tech To Zap ‘Forever Chemicals’
Amid a growing awareness that drinking water is contaminated with harmful “forever chemicals,” one local startup has a new solution. Woburn-based Gradiant, an MIT spinout focused on water purification technologies, says its new process not only filters out perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, known as PFAS, but destroys the dangerous substances as well. (Pressman, 5/21)

More health and wellness news —

CBS News: Teenagers May Be Consuming Too Much Caffeine Everyday, Study Says
A team at the University of Michigan surveyed parents of children ages 13 to 18 and found that 1 in 4 says their teen consumes caffeine every day or nearly every day. Two-thirds think they know whether their teen is consuming too much caffeine, but a third of parents do not know the recommended limit. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages caffeine use at all, while other experts suggest a limit of 100 mg of caffeine a day for teens, equivalent to an 8-ounce cup of coffee. (Marshall, 5/20)

CNN: Why BORG Drinks Are Dangerous For You
If you’ve been to a party lately and haven’t seen someone drinking a BORG, you’re likely not partying with college students. And if you have no idea what that sentence even means, you’re probably not a member of Generation Z. The acronym BORG stands for “blackout rage gallon,” according to the National Capital Poison Center in Washington, DC. The term refers to a concoction often prepared in a gallon-size plastic jug that typically contains vodka or other distilled alcohol, water, a flavor enhancer and an electrolyte powder or drink. (Ward, 5/20)

CNN: Fish Oil Supplements May Cause Harm, Study Finds. ‘Is It Time To Dump Them?’ Expert Asks 
As an excellent source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, daily fish oil supplements are a popular way to keep the risk of cardiovascular disease at bay. About 20% of adults older than age 60 in the United States frequently use these products with the aim of supporting heart health. (LaMotte, 5/22)

CNN: Horrible Nightmares And ‘Daymares’ Linked To Autoimmune Disease 
Nightmares and “daymares,” dreamlike hallucinations that appear when awake, may be little-known signs of the onset of lupus and other systemic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new study published Monday in the journal eClinicalMedicine. (LaMotte, 5/21)

KFF Health News: 4 Ways Vaccine Skeptics Mislead You On Measles And More
Measles is on the rise in the United States. So far this year, the number of cases is about 17 times what it was, on average, during the same period in each of the four years before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Half of the people infected — mainly children — have been hospitalized. It’s going to get worse, largely because a growing number of parents are deciding not to get their children vaccinated against measles as well as diseases like polio and pertussis. (Maxmen and Gounder, 5/22)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute' 
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: DIY gel manicures could give you an allergic reaction and some aspiring specialist physicians are avoiding states with strict abortion laws. (5/21)

Reuters: US FDA Staff Says Guardant's Test May Fail To Detect Some Pre-Cancerous Tumors 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's staff reviewers on Tuesday raised concerns that Guardant Health's blood test for a cancer of colon or rectum may fail to detect some types of tumors that can later become cancerous. The comments come ahead of the FDA's meeting with outside advisers on Thursday. (5/21)

Stat: Liver Decline Slowed By Off-Label Use Of Nerve Pain Drug
There are three FDA-approved drugs for treating alcohol use disorder. But a different medication, one frequently used off-label for the condition, could provide greater benefit to patients with alcohol-associated liver disease, a new study suggests. (Cueto, 5/22)

Reuters: Medical Device Company To Pay $42 Million To Resolve US Lead-Testing Defect Charges 
A medical device company has agreed to pay $42 million and plead guilty to resolve U.S. charges that it concealed a malfunction in its lead-testing devices that resulted in thousands of children and other patients receiving inaccurate, low test results. Federal prosecutors in Boston in court filings on Tuesday said Magellan Diagnostics, now owned by Ohio-based Meridian Bioscience, had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve felony fraud conspiracy charges and agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanors. (Raymond, 5/21)

Stat: BIO To Announce Reorganization, Senior Leaders Expected To Depart
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization on Monday announced 30 layoffs that are part of a restructuring of the organization, according to an email announcement obtained by STAT. In the email, BIO CEO John Crowley said the changes are intended to “better align our operations with our mission and the strategic priorities.” (Wilkerson and Zhang, 5/20)

On weight loss drugs —

Bloomberg: Many Quit Weight-Loss Drugs Too Early For Benefits, Insurer Says
Nearly 60% of Americans who started taking weight-loss drugs between 2014 and 2023 didn’t continue long enough to see meaningful health benefits, according to a study of people covered by members of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association insurance trade group. About 30% of people who were prescribed the drugs stopped in the first month, according to data published in a report from the association. (Tozzi, 5/21)

CBS News: Nestle To Launch Food Products That Cater To Wegovy And Ozempic Users
Nestle is launching a new line of high-fiber, protein-packed foods directed at the growing number of Americans on Wegovy or Ozempic, and others trying to lose weight. Called Vital Pursuit foods, the products are "well-suited to support a balanced diet for anyone on a weight management journey" the Swiss food and beverage maker said Tuesday, but "are portion-aligned" for consumers taking GLP-1 medications, also known as semaglutides. (Brooks, 5/21)

ScienceDaily: A Trial HIV Vaccine Triggered Elusive And Essential Antibodies In Humans
An HIV vaccine candidate triggered low levels of an elusive type of broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies among a small group of people enrolled in a 2019 clinical trial. (Duke University Medical Center, 5/17)

ScienceDaily: Drug-Like Inhibitor Shows Promise In Preventing Flu 
Currently available flu medications only target the virus after it has already established an infection, but what if a drug could prevent infection in the first place? Now, scientists have designed drug-like molecules to do just that, by thwarting the first stage of influenza infection. (Scripps Research Institute, 5/21)

CIDRAP: Stewardship Programs Tied To Reduced Initiation, Shorter Duration Of Antibiotics In Newborns 
A review and meta-analysis found that neonatal antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are associated with reduced initiation and duration of antibiotics use in newborns, with no increase in adverse events, researchers reported today in Pediatrics. (Dall, 5/21)

CIDRAP: CARB-X To Fund Neonatal Sepsis Vaccine Candidate 
An estimated 2.5 million newborns and infants a year die within the first month of life from sepsis, with the greatest burden in low- and middle-income countries. CVD officials say they believe the vaccine, which is being developed in partnership with Auro Vaccines of Hyderabad, India, could prevent 80% to 90% of K pneumoniae neonatal sepsis infections if successful. (Dall, 5/21)

Reuters: Aktis To Collaborate With Eli Lilly On Cancer Therapies 
Aktis Oncology said on Tuesday it will collaborate with Eli Lillyto develop cancer therapies, making it eligible for milestone payments of up to $1.1 billion and royalties on sales. The Boston-based drug developer will use its proprietary technology along with Lilly's expertise in oncology drugs to develop therapies for a range of solid tumors. (5/21)

The Boston Globe: Moderna Wins A Battle In Vaccine Patent Dispute With Pfizer-BioNTech
Moderna said Friday that the European Patent Office has upheld the validity of one of its key patents, a victory in a continuing dispute with Pfizer and BioNTech over rival COVID-19 vaccines. Cambridge-based Moderna has been fighting Pfizer and BioNTech in the courts over the partners’ COVID shot, called Comirnaty. Moderna sued them in 2022 for allegedly copying its messenger RNA technology. (Saltzman, 5/17)

Miami Herald: Two Ways To Make Psychedelic Therapy Available To All In Florida
The FDA has now granted breakthrough therapy designation to several psychedelic-based therapies: two psilocybin-based therapies for the treatment of depression, LSD for anxiety, and MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD.) Florida already has begun preparing for the advent of psychedelic-based therapies, as many psychedelic drug development companies have relocated here alongside the already high concentration of entrepreneurs and investment funds advancing the psychedelic therapeutic ecosystem. (Sam Clark, 5/21)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Reforms Meant To Combat Opioids Are Now Hampering Addiction Care 
Buprenorphine, the only drug currently available at pharmacies to treat opioid use disorder (OUD), is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. It's an unfortunate side effect of a pharmacy system under pressure and, ironically, regulations that were meant to curb the opioid epidemic in the first place. (5/20)

Stat: Leveraging Data From Real-World Settings 
Thanks to new regulatory frameworks like the Food and Drug Administration’s Breakthrough Therapy designation, drugs are coming to market faster than ever. A 2024 analysis of drugs included in this program showed they had 23% shorter clinical development timelines than those that were not part of the program, with no negative effects on their safety profiles. (Jenna Phillips, 5/22)

The New York Times: The End Of Polio Is In Sight. What Have We Learned? 
The fight to eradicate polio has been long and difficult. It’s been nearly 50 years since vaccines eliminated the disease in the United States. But polio continues to this day disabling or killing children in some harder to reach parts of the world. The good news is that we are now on the cusp of eradicating this terrible disease everywhere and forever. (Richard Conniff, 5/22)

Bloomberg: Why Am I Tired? Americans Spend More Time In Bed But Feel Exhausted
The National Institutes of Health reports that 50 to 70 million people suffer sleep disorders. The most common of those is insomnia, said Renske Lok, a sleep medicine specialist at Stanford University, which is associated with stress and mental health problems. (F.D. Flam, 5/21)

The New York Times: The Victims Of U.S. Nuclear Testing Deserve More Than This 
The men and women came to Capitol Hill last week bearing surgical scars, lengthy medical histories and fading photographs of loved ones long dead. They came from across the country to walk the halls of Congress and show lawmakers the human cost of the U.S. nuclear weapons program. (W.J. Hennigan, 5/22)

Stat: Digital Health: A Case Of Mistaken Identity 
History and literature are replete with cautionary tales on the dangers of pretending to be someone — or something — you aren’t. Many digital health companies failed to heed the lesson, and the results have been predictable. (Omar Manejwala, 5/22)