Medicare Advantage plan cuts loom for 2027 as insurers trim offerings
New CMS data shows major insurers slashing Medicare Advantage plans and raising costs for 2027, despite overall plan counts looking stable.
Medicine & Biotech
Clinical AI, drug discovery, devices, and regulatory approvals.
Human Brain Organoids Integrate Into Mice Lacking Cortex
A new Nature study shows that transplanted human stem cell-derived cortical organoids can integrate into the nervous systems of mice engineered without a cerebral cortex.
Endocrinology Roundup: Thyroid Recall, GLP-1 Data, T1D Guidelines
A weekly roundup covers a Class I thyroid drug recall, new GLP-1 findings, and updated type 1 diabetes guidelines.
At MAHA Summit, Grassroots Health Movement Takes Corporate Turn
The Make America Healthy Again movement's latest summit featured insurers and pharma executives promoting their work, signaling a shift from its anti-corporate roots.
FDA Nominee Heidi Overton Draws Qualified Endorsement
A former Senate staffer argues Overton's commitment to law and process could make her a viable FDA commissioner despite an impossible political environment.
Former USPSTF Chair Says Administration Blocked Prevention Recommendations
A former task force chair says political interference has halted all USPSTF recommendations since July 2025, leaving clinicians with outdated prevention guidance.
Lawmakers push Trump to reverse rule curbing imported prescription drugs
A new U.S. customs rule taking effect Oct. 22 would add fees and paperwork to personal medicine imports, prompting a growing number of lawmakers to urge the administration to reconsider.
Clancy Lawyer Now Argues Insufficient Evidence in Children's Deaths
The defense in Lindsay Clancy's case has shifted from a postpartum psychosis argument to challenging whether the evidence proves she killed her children, after a hung jury.
AstraZeneca invests $2B in Summit for ivonescimab combinations
A $2 billion equity investment gives AstraZeneca a role in testing Summit Therapeutics’ experimental PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody with its own oncology pipeline.
UniQure’s Huntington gene therapy shows slower progression at four years
Four-year data show AMT-130 slowed Huntington’s progression by 44%, but the effect was smaller than a year earlier and not statistically significant.
Alzheimer's-linked immune cells may be activated in lymph nodes
A mouse study suggests that immune cells driving Alzheimer's brain damage are primed in lymph nodes outside the brain before entering the nervous system.
Unite Us and Instacart Partner to Scale Food-as-Medicine Programs
The partnership aims to make food-as-medicine programs easier for healthcare organizations to launch and operate at scale by linking care coordination with grocery benefits.
AbbVie Wins FDA Approval for Parkinson's Pill
The approval adds a new oral treatment for Parkinson's, while other biotech news includes a positive Phase 3 trial, a Merck licensing deal, and Novo's consumer-focused GLP-1 marketing.
Novo Nordisk rebrands GLP-1 drugs as lifestyle products for customers
The company's marketing now frames Wegovy as a weight-loss drug for 'customers' rather than an obesity treatment for 'patients.'
Hearing Aids Linked to Cognitive Improvement in Mild Cognitive Impairment Trial
A randomized trial found hearing aids did not significantly reduce dementia conversion but were associated with a nearly sixfold higher rate of cognitive improvement in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
Commercial Insurance Hurdles Block Greener Asthma Inhalers
A new study finds that lower-emission asthma and COPD inhalers face worse coverage and more red tape than conventional metered-dose inhalers.
Merck Acquires SciBrunch KRAS G12D Inhibitor in $400M Deal
The acquisition gives Merck a global foothold in the race to develop therapies for KRAS G12D-mutant cancers.
Merck Pulls Last-Resort Antibiotic Recarbrio From U.S. Market
The discontinuation of a key antibiotic raises fresh questions about drugmakers' commitment to fighting antimicrobial resistance.