Free Republic

The left always cares more about narrative than the truth. A split-second image can fuel outrage, define a story, and reshape public perception before facts even arrive. What happened in the Oval Office this week proves how easily that machine spins and how rare it is for decency to make the headline. Yet behind the noise lay a moment that said more about leadership than any carefully crafted address could. That moment came during a White House event on Thursday focused on expanding access to obesity treatments. In the middle of the ceremony, a guest suddenly collapsed in the Oval...

President Donald Trump this week cut deals with the drug-makers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to increase access to obesity drugs in a major benefit to American public health.

President Trump made an announcement today in the oval office highlighting two Rx companies, Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk, to dramatically reduce the prices Americans pay for some of the world’s most popular drugs. [Fact Sheet Here] Following the drug company announcement President Trump took questions from the media. The press Q&A is below and the full video including the announcement is below the fold. WATCH:

An attendee at President Donald Trump's drug pricing event on Thursday collapsed. A man identified as Novo Nordisk executive Gordon Findlay fainted just feet away from the president, who was seated at the Resolute Desk. The health scare led to the event being postponed, with White House aides quickly telling reporters that they needed to leave the Oval Office. Dr. Mehmet Oz, who serves as Trump's Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, jumped into action, guiding Findlay to the floor and then offering him medical attention. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn't identify Findlay by name...

A Thursday Oval Office event, where President Donald Trump announced price reductions for weight-loss drugs, was interrupted by a health emergency. One of the attendees, Novo Nordisk executive Gordon Findlay, appeared to faint live on air during the event.

A woman has filed a lawsuit against Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of the popular diabetes drugs marketed under the the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, claiming that the drug’s labeling doesn’t adequently warn about the potential side effects. One of those side effects, Juanita Gantt claimed on CBS Mornings, impacted her colon, which she asserts had to be removed as a result of the medication. Novo Nordisk has responded to the claims, saying the suit is "without merit." Gantt says she was first prescribed Wegovy, and then Ozempic, because her doctor thought she was at risk of developing diabetes. As...

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have identified a new drug target for weight loss that curbs appetite, boosts energy use, and enhances insulin sensitivity without causing nausea or muscle loss. This discovery may pave the way for effective treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Millions worldwide benefit from weight loss drugs derived from the incretin hormone GLP-1. These medications not only aid in weight management but also enhance kidney function, lower the risk of fatal cardiac events, and show potential in protecting against neurodegeneration. However, many individuals discontinue these medications due to common side effects such as nausea...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, struggling to convince Americans that he's improved their lives as he runs for reelection, hailed his administration's Tuesday announcement that several drugs would be targeted for Medicare's first-ever price negotiations. The drugs include the blood thinner Eliquis, diabetes treatment Jardiance and eight other medications. The negotiation process was authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed last year, capping decades of debate over whether the federal government should be allowed to haggle with pharmaceutical companies. Any lower prices won't take effect for three years, and the path forward could be further complicated by...

A weight-loss drug has been proven to also reduce the risk of a stroke or heart attack, according to a new trial. The makers of Wegovy, Novo Nordisk, say its latest study shows it cuts risk of a cardiovascular event in overweight people with heart disease by a fifth. The firm hailed it a "landmark trial", saying it would change the way obesity is regarded and treated. While the findings still have to be fully reviewed, experts agreed the results were potentially significant. The injection is popular in places like the US, and was approved for weight loss in the...

Big Pharma did not like Donald Trump, but they certainly like Joe Biden – especially now. In an ongoing frenzy to undo everything Trump did over the last four years, Joe Biden froze a December rule aimed at lowering prescription drug prices for insulin and epinephrine. On Thursday, Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services announced the new rule would be put on hold, along with several other Trump-era orders pending a 60 day review, The Federalist reports. Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain directed federal agencies on Wednesday to pause orders that had been signed and published by Trump’s...

Per-person spending on insulin doubled in a recent five-year period, according to a report released Tuesday. Individuals with type 1 diabetes spent an average of $5,705 on insulin in 2016, compared to $2,864 in 2012, according to a study from the Health Care Cost Institute. The dollar amount represents the combined amount paid by a patient and their insurer, and doesn't include discounts given later. The spending jump is largely driven by price increases, the authors wrote, and not because more people are using insulin. Between that period, average daily insulin rose a modest 3 percent, the report says. For...

Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk has agreed to pay a $9 million fine for giving kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's government through the United Nations oil-for-food program. The Justice Department says Novo admits that it paid $1.4 million to the Iraqi government between 2001 and 2003 to get contracts to provide insulin and other medicines. As part of the scheme outlined in a filing Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, Novo covered the costs by inflating the price of the contracts by 10 percent before submitting them to the United Nations. Novo then falsely recorded the kickback payments as "commissions"...

Note: The following text is a quote: Novo Nordisk Agrees to Pay $9 Million Fine in Connection with Payment of $1.4 Million in Kickbacks Through the United Nations Oil-for-food Program Novo Nordisk A/S (Novo), a Danish corporation based in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, has agreed to pay a $9 million penalty for illegal kickbacks paid to the former Iraqi government. Novo agreed to pay the fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department. The matter is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into the U.N. Oil-for-Food program. A criminal information was filed today against Novo in U.S. District...

Mayaguez, Puerto Rico--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--May 16, 2007--Most people don’t stop bad habits until they have had a serious health scare. Such was the case for presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, when he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2002. After his personal success at shedding 100-plus pounds, he has found a platform to share his secrets to creating better health habits in Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork. Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care, today announced the availability of 35,000 Spanish-translated copies of this best-selling book, which can be ordered free...

Dubai _ Muslim governments, clerics and parliamentarians are raising their voices in protest against the Danish government for not acting against cartoons published in a Danish newspaper portraying Islam's Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist. The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the world's largest Islamic political group made up of 57 member states, on Saturday called on Muslims to stick to peaceful protests and said Denmark should ''categorically condemn'' the cartoons published last September in Jyllands-Posten, in which the Prophet is shown wearing a turban shaped as a bomb. Islam does not allow the depiction of Prophet Mohammed, even if...

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark warned its citizens on Monday to avoid Saudi Arabia, and gunmen in Gaza said any Scandinavians there risked attack, as Muslim fury mounted over newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. ADVERTISEMENT Denmark has defended the newspaper Jyllands-Posten's right to publish the satirical drawings that seemed to portray the Prophet as a terrorist and which a Norwegian paper has run too. Some Muslims, who deem images of prophets disrespectful and caricatures blasphemous, have threatened Danes and demanded an apology. Saudi Arabia has recalled its envoy from Denmark and its religious leaders called for a boycott of Danish...

Hemophilia Drug Sharply Lowers Risk of Death or Severe Disability, Study Indicates A Therapysharply cuts the chances that victims of the most devastating type of stroke will die or be severely disabled, providing the first possible treatment for brain hemorrhages, researchers reported yesterday. An international study involving 400 patients found that a single infusion of the drug, a synthetic version of a naturally occurring protein, given within three hours after onset cut by about one-third the risk of death or severe disability among patients in the midst of a bleeding stroke. This type of stroke hits about 80,000 Americans each...