In 2019, amid an ever-worsening drug crisis, the federal government launched a research study with an ambitious goal: to lower opioid overdoses in participating communities by 40% using evidence-based interventions like distributing naloxone and providing access to addiction medications. But communities that implemented the public health strategies...

At this year’s World Hepatitis Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, the World Hepatitis Alliance presented me with an award that recognized my leadership as the organization’s president and my advocacy efforts to “improve the lives of people living with viral hepatitis.” As the citation was read aloud, tears started to flow — not tears of joy and pride but of...

First Opinion is STAT’s platform for interesting, illuminating, and maybe even provocative articles about the life sciences writ large, written by biotech insiders, health care workers, researchers, and others. To encourage robust, good-faith discussion about issues raised in First Opinion essays, STAT publishes selected Letters to the Editor received...

WASHINGTON — Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen will testify before the Senate after Sen. Bernie Sanders threatened to subpoena the company over its pricing of the popular diabetes drug Ozempic and the obesity drug Wegovy, the Senate health committee announced Friday. The agreement is a finale to a farcical public back-and-forth over apparent...

A blockbuster arthritis drug from Novartis may face a limit on what Colorado health plans pay for the medicine after a state board determined the injectable treatment is “unaffordable” for patients. The Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board voted Friday to grant the designation to Cosentyx, which is used to treat conditions such as plaque...

While the best parts of biomedical innovation are represented by ringing the bell at a cancer hospital after the final round of chemotherapy, the worst are reminiscent of Frankenstein’s monster. As investigators continue to gain insight into the early days of Covid-19, the origins of the pandemic may be still up for debate. In addition, congressional...