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Novo Nordisk A/S’s obesity shot Wegovy helped people with alcoholism reduce their drinking, in the first controlled study of patients who sought help with their addiction. Volunteers on Wegovy reported drinking heavily for five days in a 30-day period after six months of treatment, 12 fewer days than before they started. The improvement showed in other measures of addiction, such as total alcohol consumption and bloodwork. (Kresge, 4/30)

Retailers’ efforts to infiltrate the complex world of healthcare services haven’t been as successful as planned. Now they see promise in weight-loss drugs. Several retailers, including Amazon and Walmart, have launched weight management programs to improve access to glucagon-like peptide-1 drugs and wraparound resources to support lifestyle changes. They are weaving the services into existing pharmacy and primary care offerings to tap into the demand for GLP-1s and capture market share with a less cost-intensive strategy. (Hudson, 4/30)

New weight-loss drugs are making people eat less food, but chew more gum. Hershey Co. Chief Executive Officer Kirk Tanner said GLP-1 drugs are helping to boost sales of mints and gum, including the company’s Ice Breakers. Retail sales of the line, now its third largest confection brand, grew 8% last quarter, the CEO said Thursday. “We’ve also seen strong demand for gum and mint products as the category benefits from functional snacking tailwinds, including GLP-1 adoption,” Tanner said in prepared remarks. (Peterson, 4/30)

As Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sets out to rein in the use of psychiatric medications, a group of prominent psychiatrists are developing guidance for helping patients to stop taking them, noting that providers sometimes “park” patients on medications that are no longer necessary or effective. The experts, whose first recommendations appeared in JAMA Network Open and the British Journal of Psychiatry, identify structural problems that may lead to overprescribing: There are few clinical trials showing when it is advisable to stop a medication; many providers do not regularly review whether a prescription is still needed; and psychiatry residents receive more training in starting drug prescriptions than stopping them. (Barry, 5/1)

A novel strategy for switching breast cancer therapy intrigued members of an FDA advisory committee but failed to sway the panel to recommend approval of the strategy. (Bankhead, 4/30)

Julia Vitarello, whose daughter Mila eight years ago received a bespoke medicine designed for her particular disease-causing mutation, said this week that she is in the process of starting a new company to try to create these individualized therapies at scale. (Joseph, 5/1)

Lisa Harding’s first seven patients are already getting high by 8 a.m. With a few spritzes, Johnson & Johnson’s ketamine-derived nasal spray Spravato is rewiring their brains. Their reactions vary: Some patients sob uncontrollably; others close their eyes and drift off. A few reach for J&J-designed coloring books. By 10 a.m., those patients are out the door. Fifteen minutes later, seven more take their seats at the Milford, Connecticut, clinic. (Muller and Gorrivan, 4/30)

Women online are sharing an unusual over-the-counter treatment for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) symptom relief: doubling up on antihistamines. ... Zachary Rubin, MD, a pediatric allergist who practices near Chicago, has reacted on social media to a few videos of women praising the antihistamine hack. He explained that "estrogen and progesterone interact with cells of your immune system, like mast cells, which contain histamine." Histamine is the chemical that causes many allergy symptoms, but it also does other things, like regulating mood, hunger, and sleep. (Robertson, 4/30)