White House Bats Down Speculation that Trump Got Access to Eli Lilly Obesity Drug for ‘Compassionate Use’
White House officials say the application was not for Trump after STAT reported that one 79-year-old gained rare access to the unapproved obesity drug.
- On Tuesday, health news site STAT reported that an unidentified 79-year-old man secured 'compassionate use' access to Eli Lilly's experimental obesity drug retatrutide, prompting speculation the patient was President Donald Trump—a claim the White House aggressively denied.
- Retatrutide, a triple hormone receptor agonist currently in Phase 3 clinical trials, was requested through the Food and Drug Administration's 'compassionate use' program, which allows patients with serious, life-threatening conditions to access experimental treatments before FDA approval.
- A senior National Institutes of Health clinician requested the medication in April for a 79-year-old patient diagnosed with refractory obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, and pulmonary hypertension; the request drew interest from top officials, suggesting the recipient was well-connected.
- White House spokesperson Kush Desai lashed out at STAT reporter Lizzy Lawrence on social media, calling the speculation 'baseless' and labeling Lawrence an 'unserious gossip columnist' while insisting 'this application was not for the President.'
- Bioethics experts and clinicians told STAT that individual compassionate use access for a weight-loss drug is highly unusual, raising questions about why an undisclosed person received special treatment when obesity affects millions of Americans without such alternatives.
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37 Articles
It Sure Looks Like Trump Got Special Access To Weight-Loss Drug
We don’t know for sure that Donald Trump was the 79-year-old obese man who got special access to a weight-loss drug after a secret application from someone at the NIH. But the signs point strongly in his direction. If he is the one, the signs also suggest his health is much worse than what he and the White House want us to know. In case you missed it, Stat recently reported that drug-maker Eli Lilly and Trump’s FDA allowed just one 79-year-man t…
Eli Lilly gave extraordinary obesity drug access to a 79-year-old patient. Who was it? - The Boston Globe
Millions of Americans with obesity are eagerly awaiting a powerful new drug from Eli Lilly called retatrutide, which has demonstrated bariatric-surgery levels of weight loss.
A 79-year-old, obese, well connected man gained exclusive access to a new weight loss drug. Is it Trump?
Millions of Americans struggling from obesity and suffering from its side effects are looking to get their hands on Eli Lilly’s newest – and most powerful – weight loss drug. But so far, only one person, outside of government sanctioned experiments, is allowed to take retatrutide, with the help of the Food and Drug Administration’s expanded access program, according to STAT News. Better known as “compassionate use,” the program gives patients wi…
Senator Asks If Eli Lilly’s Mystery Patient Is Trump
“Democratic lawmakers have questions about the 79-year-old patient who received special access in April to retatrutide, Eli Lilly’s experimental obesity drug, and are pressing the Trump administration on if the person is the president or another prominent figure,” Stat reports.
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