Health

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks as he attends a press conference with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz to discuss health insurance reform, at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 23, 2025. Kevin Mohatt | ReutersA version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Healthy Returns newsletter, which brings the latest health-care news straight to your inbox. Subscribe here to receive future editions.Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently gutted a key government vaccine panel, saying it was necessary to eliminate what he called "persistent conflicts of interest" on the committee. But new research from the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Econ...

Shares of Viking Therapeutics fell 40% on Tuesday after the company released mid-stage trial data on its obesity pill that disappointed investors. The results could be a blow to Viking, which was once seen as a hot M&A target as pharmaceutical companies scramble to join the booming market for obesity and diabetes drugs. It could reinforce Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk's dominance in the space, especially as they develop pills for weight loss that could enter the market years ahead of the tablet formulation of Viking's drug, VK2735. Jared Holz, Mizuho health care equity strategist, said in an email Tuesday that the data "probably shutters hope for [Viking] to be a bigtime player in the oral obesity market over the near to medium term."The race to develop a more convenient obesity pill has ...

A box of Ozempic made by Novo Nordisk, at a pharmacy in London on March 8, 2024.Hollie Adams | ReutersNovo Nordisk on Monday said it now offers cash-paying U.S. patients its blockbuster diabetes treatment Ozempic for less than half its monthly list price, as drugmakers face mounting political pressure to lower prices in the country.Patients can pay $499 in cash per month for three dose sizes of Ozempic. They can get the price through platforms including the drug's official website, Novo Nordisk's patient assistance program and the company's recently launched direct-to-consumer online pharmacy, the latter of which also ships the injection directly to patients' homes. Drug savings company GoodRx will also offer Ozempic and its weight loss counterpart Wegovy for $499 per month, making the dis...

Judy Faulkner, founder and chief executive officer of Epic Systems Corp., during the Forbes Healthcare Summit in New York, Dec. 5, 2023.Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesDo not go public. Do not acquire or be acquired. Software must work.These are the first three of the 10 commandments splashed across bathrooms and breakrooms at Epic Systems' sprawling 1,670-acre campus in Verona, Wisconsin, just southwest of Madison. It's not the wackiest part of working at the health-care software giant. Once a month, most of the company's 14,000 employees pack into an underground auditorium called Deep Space for a mandatory staff meeting, which some jokingly refer to as "work church." Executives go over company news and objectives. They also lead a grammar lesson, such as whether it's OK to end se...

UnitedHealth Group Inc. signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on April 21, 2025.Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesStock Chart IconStock chart iconUnitedHealth FridayShares of UnitedHealth were down nearly 50% for 2025 through Thursday's close before Buffett's filing. The largest private health insurer has become the face of public blowback in this country against the rising costs of health care. UnitedHealth is currently facing a Justice Department investigation into its Medicare billing practices.In May, the company pulled its annual earnings outlook and CEO Andrew Witty stepped down. Last month, UnitedHealth gave a new 2025 outlook that was well short of Wall Street estimates, hitting the stock further."The move by Berkshire represents a big vote of confidence in UNH ...

Phil KnightMatthew Staver | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesNike co-founder Phil Knight is donating $2 billion to the Oregon Health and Science University's Knight Cancer Institute, the single largest donation ever to a U.S. university, college or health institution, according to the Knight Foundation.The foundation said on Thursday the gift that will be used to shift the scientific approach to cancer treatment, research and patient care outcomes.As part of the gift, the Knights will partner with cancer research pioneer Dr. Brian Druker.A decade ago, Druker and OHSU took on a challenge to raise $500 million for cancer research, and the Knights signed on to match the raise dollar-for-dollar."We are grateful for the opportunity to invest in the next stage of the Druker-led revolutionary vision of ca...

Mounjaro manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company packaging is seen in this illustration photo taken in a pharmacy in Krakow, Poland on April 9, 2024.Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesEli Lilly on Thursday said it is raising the list price of its blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro in the U.K. starting in September, as President Donald Trump pressures drugmakers to lower U.S. drug prices and hike them abroad.In a statement, Eli Lilly said it reached an agreement with the U.K. government to increase the list price of the weekly injection, while "maintaining access" for patients covered under the publicly funded health-care system, the National Health Service, or NHS. Eli Lilly told CNBC that the price hike will not affect the drug's availability under NHS, and it wants to work with the governme...

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) at Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, US, on Monday, June 9, 2025. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesApple on Thursday announced a redesigned blood oxygen feature for some Apple Watch users, following a years-long intellectual property dispute over the capability.Apple said the redesigned feature is coming to some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users on Thursday. The update was possible because of a recent U.S. Customs ruling, the company said.In 2023, the International Trade Commission found that Apple's blood oxygen sensors infringed on intellectual property from Masimo, a medical technology company. Apple paused the sale of some of its wat...

FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seen in Silver Spring, Maryland November 4, 2009. Jason Reed | ReutersThe Food and Drug Administration said Monday it has appointed former biotech executive George Tidmarsh as the agency's top drug regulator.Tidmarsh, an adjunct professor of pediatrics and neonatology at Stanford University's School of Medicine, will lead one of the biggest and most crucial divisions of the FDA, which reviews the vast majority of new drug applications.The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, or CDER, regulates over-the-counter and prescription treatments, including biologic therapies and generics. The acting head of CDER, Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, announced in June she was retiring. Tidmarsh will step in as the FDA and its ...

Wegovy injection pens arranged in Waterbury, Vermont, US, on Monday, April 28, 2025.Shelby Knowles | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFor well over a decade, Grace Hamilton, 27, experienced hair loss, heavy periods, infrequent menstrual cycles, mental health issues and difficulty losing weight without knowing why. It wasn't until 2023 when she was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, a hormonal disorder common among women of reproductive age.After she saw limited improvements from birth control, diet and exercise, Hamilton joined a trial in 2024 examining a GLP-1 drug in PCOS patients. By October, she received her first weekly dose of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's obesity injection Wegovy and diabetes shot Ozempic.She said some results were almost immediate: aft...