It has been 44 years since work toward a viable vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus began. But, after the inaugural roll-out of an RSV vaccine for older adults and a maternal vaccine to protect infants during the 2023-2024 viral season, new research and data have emerged.

A common medication used to manage and treat HIV is becoming increasingly resistant, according to a report from the World Health Organization.

Anecdotally, patients on a popular class of weight loss drugs known as glucagon-like peptide receptor agonists are reporting another potential benefit experts are optimistic about: reduced cravings for alcohol. 

Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. plans to begin manufacturing epinephrine and norepinephrine this week at its 22,000-square-foot drug facility in Dallas, Mr. Cuban confirmed to Becker's on March 5. 

Drugmakers that were selected in early February to begin price negotiations for 10 of the most expensive drugs in the U.S. as part of the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act have sent the federal government counteroffers, President Joe Biden confirmed in a March 4 update.

As hospital pharmacies try to recover from a nationwide disruption in their claims and e-prescribing technology, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists is urging HHS to take action. 

Novo Nordisk released results from a clinical trial March 5 that showed Ozempic reduced the risk of kidney disease-related events in patients with Type 2 diabetes. 

Prescriptions for Ozempic, Wegovy and other glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists are booming among patients seeking to shed pounds. 

Fourteen states prohibit medication abortion — a federally approved two-drug regimen that accounts for more than 50% of U.S. abortions — and 15 other states restrict abortion pills, according to NBC News. 

Almost eight months after the FDA approved Opill, the first over-the-counter birth control pill, it will soon be available for purchase without a prescription at pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens in weeks, according to ABC News.

A year after the FDA allowed eligible pharmacies a pathway to dispense abortion pill mifepristone, CVS and Walgreens confirmed to Becker's they gained approval and will soon offer the medication. 

Health systems are magnifying their weight loss programs as estimates place the global prevalence of obesity at 1 billion adults and children. 

Fall of 2023 was the first time a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus became available for those most at risk, but now data shows the shots may have caused a few cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, The New York Times reported March 1.

By 2030, 51% of the world's population, or 4 billion people, are expected to have obesity, according to trends tracked by the World Obesity Federation. 

Thirty-two percent of independent pharmacy owners plan to shutter their businesses by the end of 2024, according to a February survey. 

In 2022, overall prescriptions grew 1% from 2019 while mental health-related prescriptions increased 12%, USA Today reported Feb. 29. 

Almost 40% of patients prefer to self-medicate because doing so has worked for them previously, according to a survey published Feb. 27, led by market research and data analytics firm YouGov.

GLP-1s, such as Type 2 diabetes therapies Ozempic and Mounjaro and weight loss drug Wegovy, are expected to bulk up the U.S. economy as more Americans shed pounds. 

In June 2022, the Federal Trade Commission launched a probe into the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers and how they affect drug affordability and access. No PBM has fully complied with the probe, FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a recent letter obtained by Axios. 

Viking Therapeutics reported Feb. 27 strong results from a phase 2 trial of a new drug that could rival other GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy.