Plus: NIH begins review of delayed research proposals, funding 135 on first day

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Jeff Pinette for STAT The top medical advances of 2025 New drugs reshaped care for HIV, obesity, lung cancer, and more in 2025. Prepare to hear more about drugs such as Yeztugo, Nuzolvence, Tagrisso and Enhertu. By Matthew Herper NIH begins review of thousands of delayed research proposals, funding 135 on first day Hundreds of delayed research proposals earn a review on their merits, but still must survive NIH review for alignment with Trump priorities By Anil Oza Opinion: The most-read First Opinion essays of 2025 In 2025, STAT readers devoured op-eds on vaccines, MAHA, AI, health insurance, and other crucial topics. By Torie Bosch

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What Stranger Things Can Teach Marketers About Staying Relevant

Even in the Upside Down, good marketing wins.

Marketing Solutions As you start thinking about your resolutions for the new year, here's one for you: tell your friends and colleagues about this newsletter. Each month, we dig into marketing's biggest topics to help you think differently before your next strategy meeting or campaign planning session. Thank you for subscribing — we're glad you're here and look forward to connecting more in the year ahead. Before we dive in, let's warm up with a little trivia: Nereid, Naiad, and Thalassa are the second, third, and fourth largest moons of what planet? trending One Big Thing Over the past two months, it's been nearly impossible to escape it. And no, not the flood of "let's circle back next year" messages — but the final season of Netflix's hit Stranger Things. From its segmented holiday episode drop schedule to a wave of brand partnerships, fan theories, and speculation about the fate of fan-favorite characters (fingers crossed for Steve Harrington), the show has dominated the cultural conversation. It's hard to believe these kids from Hawkins have been part of our lives for nearly a decade, but the show's influence on TV, streaming, and audience expectations is undeniable. Even as viewing habits continue to evolve, Stranger Things has created a lasting impact — something marketers are constantly striving to replicate. what caught our eye What Caught Our Eye With the event calendar slowing down as we head into the new year, we thought this was the perfect time to revisit some of our favorite marketing moments and stories from 2025. After all, it's easy to forget just how much can happen in a single year. Case in point: the Coldplay–Astronomer "affair" fiasco. While many probably wish they could forget it, the episode is a reminder of a familiar rule — never waste a good crisis. Astronomer's cheeky response, featuring Gwyneth Paltrow (ex-wife of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin), quickly went viral. Merriam-Webster hit us with a tough truth this month — and let's just say, we're still recovering. A behind the scenes look at how a seemingly random May day is the Super Bowl for these social media pros.  According to a Bain survey, about 80% of consumers rely on these "zero-click" results in at least 40% of their searches. Zohran Mamdani's upstart campaign for NYC mayor turned heads across the country. There are plenty of marketing lessons to be learned from how a relative unknown became a national name. One unexpected standout? The campaign's logo. Rarely does a day go by that this writer hasn't thought about Season 2 of Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal. Devouring all six episodes of The Rehearsal made me think plenty about how I go about my day, be a marketer and storyteller. We also enjoyed the conversation Mina Kimes and Pablo Torre had about the show on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast.  And the answer is...Neptune.   If you think someone else you know may like this newsletter, share this link with them to join.  Thanks for reading! Talk soon - The STAT Marketing Solutions Team Enjoying Stand Up? Tell us about your experience STAT, 1 Exchange Place, Boston, MA ©2025, All Rights Reserved. I no longer wish to receive STAT emails Update Newsletter Preferences • Contact Us • Advertise with Us

Cost control is king as hospitals navigate 2026

Hospitals faced significant financial pressures in 2025, driven largely by rising labor costs, revenue cycle challenges and increasing supply expenses, according to new data from Kaufman Hall. Health systems are responding with staffing optimization, outsourcing non-core services and tighter cost controls.

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Top Story Cost Control Takes Center Stage as Hospitals Prepare to Navigate 2026 Hospitals faced significant financial pressures in 2025, driven largely by rising labor costs, revenue cycle challenges and increasing supply expenses, according to new data from Kaufman Hall. Health systems are responding with staffing optimization, outsourcing non-core services and tighter cost controls. Sponsored Boise's Leading Sedation Dentistry Practices: A Comprehensive Guide Presented by Boise Family Dental Care Boise Family Dental Care is perfect for patients who struggle receiving proper dental work due to an extreme fear of dentists, needle phobia, low pain threshold or strong gag reflexes. Learn more

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MedCity FemFwd: The Importance of Virtual Maternal-Fetal Medicine In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Blake Porter, chief of maternal-fetal medicine with Access TeleCare. He discusses the need to expand access to virtual maternal-fetal medicine care. Tackling the ASC Trifecta: Volume, Cost and Efficiency in Modern Eye Care As surgical volumes and costs continue to escalate, more efficient coordination is the key to keeping patients and profits flowing smoothly through your ASC. Turning Operational Efficiency Into Brand Equity Providers like to think they built their brand in the exam room, in the skill of surgeons or the bedside manner of nurses. And that's definitely part of it. But your brand is also being built (or destroyed) in the billing office, on the prior-auth line, and the moment patients open their statements. The Quiet Monopolies Driving Up Healthcare Costs Monopolistic practices often fly under the radar, but they take a steep toll in many areas of healthcare. Here are four types of hidden costs we need to consider.

Video   How Oura is moving beyond wellness Oura is no longer just a sleep-focused wellness startup. It's getting deeper into chronic disease management and healthcare integration, said its chief medical officer, Ricky Bloomfield.

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MedCity News Pivot Podcast: How Emergency Departments Are Using Real-Time Data to Improve Outcomes How can AI benefit and improve patient outcome in the emergency department? Watch the latest episode to find out. View Now

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