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Last month, the Biden administration issued a proposal that could be very damaging to American innovation. The plan would empower the government to seize patent rights for products that the government believes in its judgment are too expensive. (Lamar Smith, 1/8)

Few medications have captured the national attention like Wegovy — and for good reason. In a country with a well-documented obesity epidemic, Wegovy and other members of a new type of weight-loss drug are highly effective: In clinical trials, people on Wegovy typically lose 15% of body weight, and a similar medication, retatrutide, has shown up to 24% weight loss. There is now evidence that they confer benefit beyond weight loss, including a recent large clinical trial demonstrating protection against cardiovascular disease. (Daniel Weiner, 1/8)

And now a new type of drug is pushing overdose deaths higher: fake or counterfeit pills. Not the kind of illicit drug you buy from a dealer on a dark street corner. These are marketed as real prescription drugs for patients being treated for ailments like cancer, diabetes or depression. But they are largely unregulated and sold online, through social media, or in foreign pharmacies at a cheaper price than at your neighborhood pharmacy. (Cindy Abrams, 1/9)

Fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, has created a major public health crisis in the United States. One of the most pressing questions our leaders face is: How can government at the federal and state level deter the flow of illicit fentanyl? By developing a multipronged supply chain strategy that controls the demand and stamps out the supply. (Christopher Tang and Thomas Choi, 1/9)