Trump’s anonymous friend

When Lizzy Lawrence was reporting on the sole mystery man granted “compassionate use” of Eli Lilly’s experimental obesity drug, she contacted the White House, the FDA, and HHS multiple times to ask whether it was President Trump. No one answered her question directly.

After the story ran, White House spokesperson Kush Desai posted this xeet: “Because this has to be spelled out for @LizzyLaw_, who has proven herself to be an unserious gossip columnist, this application was not for the President.”

During an appearance Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Trump spoke, as he often has, about his “extremely fat, sloppy” and “brilliant” friend who has been taking a GLP-1 for weight loss to no effect. As a reminder, the man who got access to Lilly’s experimental drug had lost little weight on a previous GLP-1. Trump used to routinely use aliases when speaking to reporters.

Whoever may be the man getting compassionate use of Lilly’s drug, he has pulmonary hypertension, which can be life-threatening.

If you missed it, here’s Lizzy’s story.

drug costs

GLP-1s are a spending category unto themselves

A bit more than 1 in 10 dollars spent on retail prescription drugs was for a GLP-1.

That’s one of the many interesting findings in the 2025 national health expenditures data. Bob Herman has the story.

Overall, health care is taking up a bigger share of the economy, leaving less to spend on everything else. The country spent $5.7 trillion on health care in 2025, up 7.3% from the previous year.

Spending on GLP-1s will surely grow. Medicare is one week away from launching a pilot program that will make the drugs available to seniors for the first time for weight loss.

Read more about why we’re spending so much on health care.

biotech industry

Lawmakers are not done with China

It took two years for Congress to pass the Biosecure Act, which restricts how U.S. pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies do business with Chinese firms.

Now political leaders are laying the groundwork for additional restrictions. Meanwhile, the industry is trying to get Congress to provide incentives to companies to locate research and manufacturing in the U.S.

As with Biosecure, it could take years for ideas to become law. Read more on what lawmakers are considering.

addictions

Easing restrictions on methadone

Two senators reintroduced updated legislation to expand access to methadone treatment for opioid addiction, Lev Facher reports.

Currently, patients must visit clinics in person to receive methadone. The bill by Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would let patients pick the drug up at pharmacies, and it would allow more types of providers to prescribe methadone.

What we’re reading

Clinical trial set to test two drugs for fast-growing Ebola outbreak, STAT
Facing a brutal run, battered vaccine makers still see cause for hope, STAT
Medicare’s AI push snarls patients and doctors in errors and delays, KFF Health News
AI wades into a vexing medical mystery: What causes sudden cardiac death? STAT
Stephen Miller said to drive DOJ memo eroding disability rights, Bloomberg Law

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