Nearly half of all deaths from cancer are caused by known modifiable risk factors, with smoking, alcohol consumption, and high body mass index (BMI) among the top three, notes the Union for International Cancer Control. The promise of breakthrough drugs to help people lose weight must not be used as an excuse to avoid tackling the root causes of obesity.

The pharma industry and its Republican allies in Congress are openly signaling their plans obstruct at every turn as the Biden administration looks to begin implementing a recently passed law allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in its history. They’re using an argument debunked many times before money buys politicians.

(CBS News)Employers are using a new strategy to deal with the high cost of drugs prescribed to treat conditions such as arthritis, psoriasis, cancer, and hemophilia. They are tapping into dollars provided through programs they have previously criticized: patient financial assistance initiatives set up by drugmakers, which some benefit managers have complained encourage patients to stay on expensive brand-name drugs when less expensive options might be available. Patients are, of course, caught in the middle.