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Pharmacy chain Rite Aid has settled a critical dispute with drug supplier McKesson Corp to ensure that customers' prescriptions will continue to be filled during Rite Aid's bankruptcy, attorneys said on Tuesday. Rite Aid, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday night in New Jersey, sued McKesson the following morning, seeking to stop it from terminating a drug supply agreement that accounts for 98% of the pharmacy chain's prescription drug sales. (Knauth, 10/17)

Rite Aid’s plan to close more stores as part of its bankruptcy process could hurt access to medicine and care, particularly in some majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods and in rural areas, experts say. ... When drugstore chains shutter stores, they often target locations in lower-income, Black and Latino neighborhoods with people covered through government-funded insurance programs like Medicaid, said Dima Qato, a University of Southern California associate professor who studies pharmacy access. (Murphy, 10/17)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published preliminary data Tuesday showing that more than one-third of individuals eligible for a commonly used HIV prevention drug received a prescription, as funding for a critical HIV program grew 16-fold between fiscal years 2019-2023. But the reach of this strategy is highly inconsistent among racial groups. (Raman, 10/17)

Fox Chase Cancer Center is investing in a Minnesota-based start-up that develops drugs to diagnose and treat cancer by injecting patients with radioactive molecules that can target solid tumors with more precision than traditional methods. The investment is part of a $56 million venture capital fundraising round reported Tuesday by Nucleus RadioPharma, a developer of radiopharmaceuticals, as this class of drugs is known. (Gantz, 10/17)

Recent studies have started to illuminate the far-reaching benefits of Ozempic and other medicines in the same class, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. The drugs appear to have a protective effect on the heart, liver and kidneys in addition to helping people lose weight, which in itself reduces the risk of many ailments. There’s also reason to believe GLP-1s could help combat substance abuse or even Alzheimer’s disease. (Muller, 10/18)

A scientist being sued for defamation by Johnson & Johnson over her research linking the company's talc powder to cancer has said that a recent decision discounting her testimony in a different case does not bolster the company's claims against her, urging a judge to dismiss the lawsuit. Lawyers for Jacqueline Moline, in a filing Monday in New Jersey federal court, said the recent ruling only "shows the system working precisely as it should," with J&J free to challenge the admission of expert testimony in trials, rather than by suing experts. (Pierson, 10/17)