Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
People Taking GLP-1s Might Be Forced To Delay Certain Medical Procedures
Patients on GLP-1 or GLP-1/GIP agonists had significant residual gastric volume (RGV) if the medication wasn't held prior to upper endoscopy unless they were on a clear liquid diet the day before, the OCULUS randomized trial showed. (Monaco, 3/16)
For patients with obesity and atrial fibrillation (Afib), GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs may be the weight loss approach that better addresses their arrhythmia, observational data suggested. (Lou, 3/16)
Cyndy Dowling struggled with her weight for decades until she found what she thought was a lifelong solution: a monthly injection of one of the popular new weight-loss drugs. The 69-year-old easily lost 60 pounds in the span of a year and a half. But in early 2025, something changed. (Reddy, 3/16)
Structure Therapeutics said Monday that its daily obesity pill led patients to lose about 16% of their body weight relative to placebo after 44 weeks. (Mast, 3/16)
Mayor Michelle Wu鈥檚 administration said Monday it is seeking to limit coverage of GLP-1 weight loss medications for city employees amid what it called skyrocketing health insurance costs, warning that without changes, the city and its workers will face 鈥渕assive and immediate鈥� consequences. The city raised the alarm bell as it stares down an already tightening budget, for which Wu has told department heads to prepare for potential cuts. (Griswold, 3/16)
In other pharmaceutical news 鈥�
It鈥檚 long been known that antibiotics can disrupt the balance of bacteria in the gut, typically causing short-term symptoms like diarrhea. Some research suggests the disruption can last for several months. But a new study led by researchers in Sweden indicates certain antibiotics may have a far longer impact on the gut microbiome. (Dall, 3/16)
Sleeping sickness is a notorious disease 鈥� immortalized in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. A single bite from a tsetse fly carrying the parasite is all it takes to infect someone. Without treatment one form of the illness can progress from mild symptoms to death in a matter of weeks. Now, a new drug holds the promise of helping the World Health Organization meet its goal of eliminating the disease by 2030. A committee of the European Medicines Agency has given an important green light to the first single-dose treatment 鈥� a medication called acoziborole, which could be in use by early next year. (Kritz, 3/16)
A flood of recent social media posts described hormonal birth control pills as cancer causing. 鈥淭he WHO has just released a statement labeling birth control pills as a Group 1 cancer-causing agent,鈥� one conservative commentator聽wrote March 8聽on X. His post was viewed more than 2.2 million times.聽(Czopek, 3/16)