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The Trump administration on Tuesday said it will pay lower prices for 15 prescription drugs for people on Medicare, including GLP-1 medications Ozempic and Wegovy, inhaler Trelegy Ellipta and cancer drugs Xtandi, Pomalyst and Ibrance. The announcement followed the second round of negotiations with pharmaceutical manufacturers under a new system implemented by the Biden administration as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The act allows Medicare to directly negotiate with pharmaceutical companies over the price of medications it covers. (Vinall, 11/26)

For many Americans taking a weight-loss drug, Thanksgiving presents a conundrum: Take the weekly dose that staves off hunger, or push it off so they can feast? Taryn Langer is skipping her weekly dose. “My sister-in-law usually puts out pepperoni bread, deviled eggs and cheese plate. I don’t want to have to miss that, or just be satisfied with that, and not be able to eat dinner,” says Langer, of Glen Ridge, N.J., who has lost 65 pounds while taking the drug Mounjaro. (Loftus and O'Brien, 11/26)

Novo Nordisk A/S’s next-generation diabetes shot lowered patients’ blood sugar and helped them lose weight in a study that may be a positive sign for the embattled drugmaker’s future portfolio. When given as a weekly injection, the compound called amycretin helped people lose as much as 14.5% of their body weight over 36 weeks. People who took it as a once-daily oral drug shed up to 10.1% of their weight, Novo said on Tuesday. After losing its lead in the booming obesity market to US rival Eli Lilly & Co., Novo needs next-generation drugs to improve its competitive position. Amycretin is a crucial piece of that puzzle, combining two mechanisms for weight loss into a single molecule. (Kresge, 11/25)

Having a marijuana dispensary in your town will likely cut down on prescription opioid use, according to several studies published this year. The researchers designed their large data studies to help establish cause and effect from opening new dispensaries. (Hille, 11/25)

If you purchased a nasal spray from Walgreens, you might want to check the bottle. A recall has been initiated for 41,328 bottles of Walgreens Saline Nasal Spray with Xylitol due to a possible bacterial contamination. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the 1.5-ounce (45mL) bottles of the nasal spray may be contaminated with pseudomonas lactis, a bacterium that causes dairy products to spoil. Authorities didn’t say what may have caused the contamination. (Mitchell, 11/25)

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the first drug from an emerging class of medicines for patients with chronic, autoimmune kidney disease, according to a notice on the agency’s website. (Feuerstein, 11/25)

A new study of adolescents and young adults has found a commonly used antibiotic for skin infections, urinary tract infections, and acne is associated with an increased risk of respiratory failure. The study, conducted in Ontario, found that the risk of a hospital visit with acute respiratory failure was nearly three times higher in healthy 10- to 25-year-olds who received trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) than those who received either amoxicillin or cephalosporin antibiotics, though the overall risk was low. (Dall, 11/25)

The use of PA-PPIs such as omeprazole (Prilosec) or pantoprazole (Protonix) was associated with inferior survival outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, according to a retrospective meta-analysis. (Bassett, 11/25)