Why did the dairy cow cross state lines?

RICH PEDRONCELLI/AP

After weeks of concern that the U.S. Department of Agriculture wasn't doing enough to quell the spread of H5N1 bird flu, the agency announced Wednesday that it's going to require testing for dairy cattle crossing state lines, my colleague Helen Branswell reports.

Labs and veterinarians will also be required to report H5N1 cases. The move is a step toward more mandatory measures, as officials confirmed that they have faced some resistance from farmers in their efforts to test cattle and farm workers.

The news follows a public announcement that the FDA has found genetic evidence of the virus in commercial milk samples. So far, public health officials are maintaining that there's no reason to believe pasteurized milk is unsafe.

drug pricing

Bernie vs. Ozempic

Senate health committee chair Bernie Sanders is testing the limits of his bully pulpit by targeting Novo Nordisk with an investigation over its pricing practices for its diabetes and weight-loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, his office announced Wednesday.

His main complaint in a letter to Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen is that the company charges more in the United States than in other countries. Sanders asked the company whether it would lower its list price, and requested documents about the drug's pricing. Sanders hasn't dinged Eli Lilly yet for its pricing of its weight-loss medication Zepbound, which is less expensive than Wegovy.

PhRMA, which has largely stayed out of the fray over coverage for weight-loss drugs, said the investigation was a way of "attacking an innovative company to advance a personal political agenda instead of addressing the real cause of patients' affordability challenges." Spokesperson Alex Schriver said Sanders should focus on insurers' reticence to cover the drugs instead.

influence

Bye, bye, BIO: fourth edition

BIO lost yet another major member, my colleague John Wilkerson scooped yesterday.

Takeda's departure in March adds to the club of defectors from the organization including Pfizer, UCB, and WuXi AppTec, who have all left since December.

BIO's lobbying spend decreased 27% in the first quarter of this year compared with 2023, and the group fired its top lobbyist this month.

reproductive health

Supreme Court grapples with emergency care

My co-author Sarah Owermohle was in the courtroom as Supreme Court justices debated whether Idaho's abortion ban violates requirements that doctors do everything they can to stabilize a patient in emergency situations, including performing an abortion if necessary.

The Biden administration argued that Idaho's law causes doctors to be fearful of retribution for care they deem to be lifesaving, and several patients have been airlifted to other states to avoid that situation, according to court documents.

Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor focused some of their questions on the implications for care for pregnant patients. Conservative justices on the court, including Amy Coney Barrett, seemed skeptical about the existence of a conflict at all. And, Sarah writes, the case could reach much farther than Idaho.

capitol hill

An insulin loophole that leaves patients on the hook

Lawmakers in Congress have seemed placated by insulin manufacturers' steps to lower list prices for some of their insulin products, so they haven't placed protections on what patients can pay for the medications. But those voluntary actions are just that — voluntary, STAT's Elaine Chen reports.

Novo Nordisk is pulling its insulin Levemir off the market, after cutting its price to great fanfare. Levemir cost $161.77 for a pack of pens, while Novo's longer-lasting basal insulin costs $508.43.

"These commitments, these pledges and promises that come from companies, they're just that. They're pledges and promises," said Reshma Ramachandran, a family doctor and assistant professor of medicine at Yale. "The company on a whim can just change their mind, and that's what they did with Levemir." More from Elaine.

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