Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FTC Fines GoodRx Over Sharing User Health Data With Big Tech
The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday accused GoodRx, the prescription drug discount platform, of sharing sensitive personal information about its users鈥 prescriptions and health conditions with big tech companies. (Ravindranath, 2/1)
On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission made history by enforcing, for the first time, its power to go after companies that don鈥檛 notify consumers about health data breaches. The agency said it will fine GoodRx $1.5 million for sharing its users鈥 private health information with data brokers and advertising platforms such as Facebook and Google. To one of the commissioners, though, that鈥檚 chump change. (Trang, 2/1)
In other pharmaceutical developments 鈥
A new warning from the Food and Drug Administration urges consumers to beware of marketers attempting to sell illegal and unproven mpox "medication" and "cures" in order to swindle scared, vulnerable people and bilk them out of their money. The agency also shared a series of pictures of the alleged illegal products for sale. (Pezenik, 2/2)
The maker of the popular weight loss drug Wegovy said Wednesday that it is ramping up production of the drug, which has been in short supply in pharmacies across the United States. The drug faced widespread shortages last year due to its increasing popularity, executives for drugmaker Novo Nordisk, said on a call with investors Wednesday. (Lovelace Jr., 2/1)
Starting March 1, Bayer and EMD will only offer 340B drug discounts to hospitals and their affiliates registered as 340B-covered entities, the companies said in letters to customers. The decisions make Bayer and EMD two of around 20聽companies that restrict 340B discounts distributed through outside pharmacies. (Kacik, 2/1)
Inferior vena cava filters are supposed to save lives. The spider-like devices catch blood clots before they can travel up to the lung and cause deadly pulmonary embolisms. But for over a decade, these devices have been dogged by questions about how well they work and the serious complications they can cause for patients. (Lawrence, 2/2)
Heather Klebon was weeding in her garden at her Delaware beach house when she felt a painful lump in her left breast on a summer afternoon in 2019.She would soon learn she had breast cancer. 鈥淢y whole world stopped,鈥 Klebon recalled. (Ruderman, 2/1)
