In this week’s edition of InnovationRx, we look at the trend in fatal drug overdoses, 23andMe’s bankruptcy, the new CDC nominee, and more. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here.
Narcan nasal spray for sale in a Washington, D.C. vending machine
AFP via Getty ImagesFatal drug overdoses, including from fentanyl, are falling.
The latest preliminary estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a 25% decline in overdose deaths for the 12 months ended in October 2024 versus the same period in 2023. That’s a huge drop— with decreases in the number of fatalities from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids leading the way.
Some 82,000 overdose deaths were reported for that period, which is still significantly higher than a decade ago. And some cities still have a major problem: In San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie, who took office in January, has made fighting the city’s fentanyl crisis a priority with a recent Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance seeking to unlock resources to get drugs off the streets.
Still, the decline is a small piece of good news at the national level. Researchers don’t fully understand why the decline has happened, but suspect changes in policies and drug use are at least part of the reason, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Biden Administration last year launched an initiative to increase training and access to naloxone, often sold under the brand name Narcan. The FDA approved an over-the-counter Narcan spray in March 2023 and a first non-prescription spray in July, allowing anyone who needed it to buy it, no questions asked.
Last week, the Trump Administration extended through mid-June an emergency declaration on the opioid crisis that was set to expire on March 21. President Trump has justified tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico by claiming a “national emergency” in fentanyl smuggling, despite overdoses declining without tariffs, while simultaneously slashing funding for public health agencies.
Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid, which paid for about 39% of non-fatal emergency department overdoses, could reverse the downward trend of opioid deaths. As Drug Policy Alliance executive director Kassandra Frederique said in a recent statement: “By slashing Medicaid and public health grant programs, Trump’s cuts will directly hinder access to treatment, naloxone, and vital health services.”
23andMe Files For Bankruptcy Protection, Plans To Sell Assets
23andMe Cofounder Anne Wojcicki
Christian Peacock for ForbesStruggling genetic testing company 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said that it would look to sell “substantially all of its assets” through a court-approved reorganization plan. Anne Wojcicki, who cofounded 23andMe nearly two decades ago, stepped down as CEO, but will remain on the company board. Wojcicki had been trying to take the company private, and said in a statement on X that she still intends to be a bidder.
In 2021, when SPAC deals were all the rage, 23andMe went public in such a deal with Sir Richard Branson. Its market cap peaked at $6 billion soon after, making Wojcicki a billionaire for a time. It’s been all downhill since. The company’s shares have plummeted more than 99% to a recent 65 cents as 23andMe failed to turn a profit.
Worse, the company has faced privacy concerns, especially from a 2023 data breach, and there are open questions about what might happen to users’ data during a bankruptcy and sale. The company said in a statement that “any buyer will be required to comply with applicable law” regarding customer data. But the risks led California Attorney General Rob Bonta to issue a consumer alert in advance of the bankruptcy filing urging consumers to delete their accounts and direct 23andMe “to delete their data and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company.”
BIOTECH AND PHARMA
The FDA has approved GSK’s new drug Blujepa, an antibiotic for the treatment of urinary tract infections in women over the age of 12. Around 16 million women get UTIs every year, but this is the first new class of antibiotic against them to receive approval since the 1990s. The new drug works by preventing DNA in the bacteria that cause these infections from replicating. In clinical trials, the drug outperformed nitrofurantoin, the most commonly prescribed antibiotic for UTIs.
Plus: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals received FDA approval for its treatment for a progressive heart condition, setting it up to compete against BridgeBio and Pfizer.
DIGITAL HEALTH AND AI
Scientists are using machine learning to repurpose old drugs, according to an in-depth report from The New York Times. New techniques developed at different universities are helping doctors find new ways to use existing medications to treat patients with rare or complex diseases that don’t have any approved treatments. Of course, the idea of repurposing drugs is decades old, but advances in AI now allow researchers to uncover new possibilities in a faster, more systematic way–particularly for cases where it wouldn’t be cost-effective to develop a brand new treatment.
PUBLIC HEALTH AND HOSPITALS
Donald Trump nominated Susan Monarez to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Currently the agency’s acting director, she would be the CDC’s first non-physician chief in more than 50 years if confirmed. Monarez’s nomination followed Trump’s abrupt withdrawal of his previous nominee, Dave Weldon, a former Florida congressman with a long history of supporting anti-vaccine theories, just hours before his confirmation hearing. Monarez is a biosecurity expert who was previously deputy director of the health research organization ARPA-H. She’s likely to face questions about her views on vaccinations at her confirmation hearing, the date for which has not been set yet. The CDC, which has a budget of around $9 billion, is currently dealing with the Texas measles outbreak and the ongoing spread of avian flu.
Plus: The Senate has confirmed Marty Makary to lead the FDA and Jay Bhattacharya to head NIH. And the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-13 to advance Mehmet Oz’s nomination as director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to a full Senate vote.
DEAL OF THE WEEK
Character Biosciences, which is developing drugs for age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases, announced that it has raised a $93 million series B round, co-led by Luma Group and aMoon. The company will use the new cash, which brings total funding to $117 million, to bring its two lead drug candidates into clinical trials.
WHAT WE’RE READING
In one tiny town in the Alps, more than a dozen people were diagnosed with ALS, an impossibly high number. Was a mushroom to blame?
HHS hires a long-discredited researcher who has promoted false claims about the connection between vaccines and autism to conduct a critical study of possible links between the two, according to the Washington Post.
Medicaid work requirements could cut coverage for 5.2 million people next year, according to a new report. Another report found that proposed cuts to Medicaid could result in nearly half a million healthcare jobs being lost.
Johnson & Johnson will increase its U.S. investment in manufacturing and R&D to more than $55 billion over the next four years.
The measles outbreak continues to grow, with 370 cases in Texas and New Mexico, as parents resist vaccination for the highly contagious diseases. Cases have been reported in 16 other states, including Kansas, which has now seen 10 cases across three counties. (Should you get a booster for your measles vaccine? Here’s what to know.)
The Trump Administration’s crackdown on DEI could exacerbate a steep drop in diversity among medical school students, ultimately harming patient care.
Trump’s cuts to NIH hit an HIV prevention program for teens and young adults, who account for about 19% of new infections each year.