Simplicity is a virtue.

From Washington, DC,

• The Senate remains in session this week on Capitol Hill for Committee business and floor voting, while the House of Representatives takes a District work break this week during which we celebrate Juneteenth.

• The Hill reports,
  • “The Supreme Court is in its final sprint.
  • “President Trump’s agenda is on the line as the justices dash to hand down their remaining decisions by their self-imposed deadline of the end of June. 
  • “With 20 argued cases left, the court’s pace is exactly on par with this time last term. 
  • “But among those remaining cases are potentially seismic decisions on birthright citizenship, presidential firing power, transgender athletes, mail ballots and more. 
  • “The next opinions are expected Thursday.”

• FedScoop reports,
  • “The Trump administration is already trying to bring talent from industry into the government via its U.S. Tech Force program, but the next step could be putting federal workers on exchanges to companies, according to remarks from an Office of Personnel Management official Thursday.
  • “During a panel at a federal technology-focused conference, Kevin Hennecken, senior advisor to the director at OPM and leader of the Trump administration’s Tech Force hiring effort, mentioned the agency’s interest in such a program as a way of helping train federal workers. 
  • “Something OPM has been focused on is “creating more pathways for people to sort of experiment going to the private sector for periods of time and coming back,” Hennecken said. “I think that can also be quite helpful, just to expose them to some different ways of getting things done.”

• Per a June 11, 2026, HHS news release,
  • “The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today announced $40 million in funding opportunities for eight grant programs that will advance President Trump’s Great American Recovery Initiative by preventing addiction, strengthening the behavioral health workforce, and supporting efforts to address mental illness and prevent suicide.”

From the Food and Drug Administration front,

• Fox Business reports,
  • “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified a recall of more than 900 cases of Alfredo sauce at its highest risk level after a supplier recalled a dry milk powder ingredient used in the product due to potential salmonella contamination.
  • The FDA designated the recall as a Class I event, its most serious classification, meaning there is a reasonable probability that use of or exposure to the product could cause serious adverse health consequences or death.
  • The recall affects 913 cases of Alfredo sauce packaged in 3-pound, 7-ounce sealed poly bags and 12 bags per case, according to an FDA enforcement report.

• STAT News relates,
  • “The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved teplizumab, a type 1 diabetes drug developed by Sanofi, for children aged 8 and older with stage 3 diabetes. 
  • “The drug was selected to go through a speedy review program launched last year by former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, but the agency missed its goal date of April 21 to deliver a decision.” * * *
  • “Teplizumab, or Tzield, is a monoclonal antibody that aims to delay the progression of type 1 diabetes. The FDA first approved the drug to delay the onset of stage 3 diabetes in adults, and in children ages 8 and older with stage 2 disease. In April, the FDA expanded that approval to allow children as young as 1 year old to take the medication.
  • “The FDA cleared the drug under the accelerated approval pathway based on the surrogate endpoint of higher C-peptide levels. Sanofi will have to verify and describe clinical benefits for type 1 diabetes patients in follow-up studies.” 

From the judicial front,

• Fierce Healthcare reports,
  • “On the heels of a legal challenge from CVS, Express Scripts has also sued to challenge Tennessee’s new pharmacy benefit management law.
  • “Under the law, PBMs would be barred from also owning pharmacies in the state. In its complaint, Express Scripts says that policy would not just impact retail pharmacies but would force its parent company, Evernorth, to shutter an Accredo specialty pharmacy center based in Memphis.
  • “Closing that facility, the company said, could cost thousands of jobs. And broadly speaking, the law could lead to pharmacy deserts in rural areas, where more than a third of its residents currently live.
  • “It could also limit access to home delivery services, the PBM said. Express Scripts Pharmacy shipped more than 2 million prescriptions to people in the Volunteer State last year alone.
  • “Other services that could be impacted by the law include fertility pharmacies, through which Express Scripts affiliates supported thousands of Tennesseans, the company said.
  • “Express Scripts argues that “shortsighted law” is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced, according to an announcement.”

From the public health and medical / Rx research front,

• The Wall Street Journal reports,
  • “A relentless measles outbreak in Utah has been spreading for nearly a year, putting the U.S. on a path to losing the measles-elimination status it earned more than two decades ago. 
  • “Fueling the nearly 12-month outbreak: more parents opting not to vaccinate their children for school; infections hitting communities statewide; and lenient public-health policies on quarantining exposed students.
  • “Utah’s streak of 679 cases is the latest and longest-lasting of a series of measles outbreaks in the U.S. since early last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in the process of assessing whether any outbreaks lasted more than 12 months, which is a determinant of whether the U.S. would lose its status as a country that eliminated measles as of 2000.
  • “State health officials suspect there has been continuous spread since at least August. Utah’s outbreak has proved trickier to stop than other recent streaks of measles cases.” 

• Medscape tells us,
  • “In adults with obesity and without diabetes, using GLP-1s vs other antiobesity medications was significantly associated with a decreased risk for osteoporosis, major osteoporotic fractures, degenerative disk disorders, and osteoarthritis.” * * *
  • “GLP-1s are uniquely positioned to achieve sustained weight loss without compromising — and possibly enhancing — bone integrity. They may be particularly suitable for individuals with preexisting risk factors for osteoporosis or degenerative joint disease, in whom other obesity agents may exacerbate skeletal fragility. Incorporating bone health assessment into obesity management may aid in optimizing therapeutic selection and improving comprehensive patient care,” the authors wrote.”
    
• Healio informs us,
  • “At 2 years, crinecerfont demonstrated favorable effects on weight, body composition and insulin resistance in adults with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia, researchers reported at ENDO 2026.
  • “In addition, crinecerfont (Crenessity, Neurocrine Biosciences) was associated with stable or improved bone age progression in children and adolescents with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), according to results from another ENDO 2026 presentation.”
• and
  • “In patients with obesity, exercise as assessed by wearable-measured activity declined after they initiated GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy, according to findings presented at ENDO 2026.
  • “GLP-1 receptor agonists are now used by millions of adults for weight loss, and we know from prior work that exercise is critical for preserving lean muscle and sustaining long-term weight reduction,” Sajana Maharjan, MD, from the department of internal medicine at HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, told Healio. “What was missing was an objective answer to a basic question: Do patients actually become more active as they lose weight on these drugs? Most prior studies relied on self-reported activity. The NIH All of Us Research Program, which links electronic health records with Fitbit data, gave us a chance to answer that question with wearable-measured activity in the same patients before and after starting therapy.” * * *
  • “Exercise needs to be actively prescribed alongside GLP-1 therapy, not assumed to follow from weight loss,” Maharjan told Healio. “Practically, that means structured exercise counseling at the time of initiation, a strong emphasis on resistance training to protect lean muscle, and physical therapy or pain management referrals for patients with joint or muscle pain. Our findings also suggest that men may need more targeted support, since they showed the steepest declines. Wearables themselves can play a useful role in tracking progress and keeping activity goals in front of patients over time. GLP-1 medications reduce not only fat but also lean muscle mass, which makes maintaining physical activity even more important during treatment. Patients who lose weight without staying active risk losing strength and function alongside the fat loss they came in for.”
• and
  • “In patients being treated for hypertension, those taking a GLP-1 receptor agonist had higher rates of hypotensive events compared with those not taking one, researchers reported at ENDO 2026.
  • “I began to notice multiple patients in clinic who were started on GLP-1s (by me and others) who were complaining of lightheadedness, dizziness and fainting. They had low blood pressure on my examination,” Micah J. Eimer, MD, associate chief medical officer in the division of cardiology at Northwestern Medicine, told Healio. “Hypotension is the most dreaded potential side effect of treating hypertension and actually far more dangerous. The results were confirmatory to our clinical suspicion.” * * *
  • “Eimer told Healio that “blood pressure needs to be monitored in patients who are taking GLP-1s at the initiation of therapy and during dose escalation. Patients should also be warned about signs of low blood pressure so that they can report them. I am particularly worried about the risk to patients who obtain GLP-1s without direct and ongoing clinical supervision.”

• The Wall Street Journal point out,
  • “New research indicates the brain can truly multitask by rewiring its circuitry with practice.
  • “A study in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience showed participants’ brains could automate tasks by offloading them from the prefrontal cortex to the temporal cortex.
  • “Automation requires extensive repetition, making effortful tasks easier and less attentionally demanding, study co-authors said.”

• Per Fierce Pharma,
  • “In a plenary session at the 2026 European Hematology Association (EHA) annual meeting in Stockholm, Johnson & Johnson brought to the world stage a reminder of its status as a leading developer of multiple myeloma treatments. 
  • “The company spotlighted results from its MonumenTAL-3 phase 3 study, which added its GPRC5D bispecific antibody, Talvey, to the mainstay melanoma drug Darzalex Faspro in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who had tried at least one prior line of therapy. When used with or without Bristol Myers Squibb’s Pomalyst (pomalidomide), the regimen cut the risk of disease progression or death by up to 72% and proved a clinically meaningful reduction of up to 53% in the risk of death compared with standard Darzalex Faspro, Pomalyst and dexamethasone (DPd), J&J said in a June 13 press release. 
  • “The trial showed a progression-free survival rate of up to 81.3% for the Talvey combos after 24 months compared with the standard-of-care regimen’s 51.2%, and an overall survival rate of up to 89.2% compared with 79.1% for DPd.”

From the U.S. healthcare business,

• The Wall Street Journal reports on the future of healthcare technology.
  • “New scientific advances are poised to shift healthcare toward earlier disease prediction and prevention within the next five to 10 years.
  • “Blood tests, AI tools, and GLP-1 drugs are emerging for early detection and prevention of Alzheimer’s and heart disease.
  • “New therapies aim to regenerate damaged joints for arthritis and detect breast cancer recurrence earlier using circulating tumor DNA.”

• MedCity News relates,
  • “Rocket Pharmaceuticals sold its rare disease pediatric priority review voucher for $180 million, cash that the company will use to support a pipeline now led by a gene therapy in development for a rare, inherited disease with no FDA-approved therapies.
  • “Rocket announced the voucher sale on Friday. The Cranbury, New Jersey-based gene therapy developer did not disclose who purchased the voucher, saying only in a regulatory filing that the buyer was “a large pharmaceutical company.”
  • “The FDA awarded the voucher in March alongside the accelerated approval of Rocket’s Kresladi, the first gene therapy for leukocyte-adhesion deficiency type 1 (LAD-1), an inherited immunodeficiency that can become fatal to babies. Such vouchers may be applied to another eligible rare disease therapy, cutting the standard 10-month review down to six months. But vouchers are transferable and many recipients choose to sell them.”

• A commentator observes in MedCity News,
  • “In the Age of AI, Interoperability Isn’t Enough: Why Healthcare Needs Shared Understanding, Not Just Shared Data.”
  • ‘The industry needs a framework that can translate clinical nuance into a consistent, trusted representation across systems and use cases.” * * *
  • “Today, we rely on localized definitions of quality and accuracy shaped by providers’ current manual coding guidelines, individual workflows, and historical practices. The result is predictable: subjectivity. Agreement on accuracy across coders hovers around 50%, even among experienced and fully certified coders. In that environment, interoperability alone cannot deliver alignment.
  • “What is needed is a layer above interoperability, an objective framework for context and quality that establishes shared understanding. This framework does not eliminate variation; it normalizes it, creating a consistent and trusted output across clinical, operational, and financial use cases.
  • “Also, the framework must be uniformly administered. Acting as a compliance engine, this layer ensures that codes are not only technically correct but appropriate across use cases, clinical, financial, and analytical. When that standard is met, codes become more than billing artifacts; they become a reliable representation of patient history and a consistent entry point into the broader clinical record, regardless of where the data originated. Over time, this reduces friction across the system, including audits, denials that are ultimately reversed, and the burden of prior authorization.”