Most pharmaceutical companies are developing their own GLP-1s or they’re developing weight-loss drugs which work even better than existing GLPs. Eli Lilly has a new drug called retatrutide which is supposedly the final boss of weight-loss drugs. Retatrutide is still going through FDA testing and trials, but one person has gained early-access to the drug. Eli Lilly isn’t revealing the name of the person, but they identified some key characteristics: this person is a man, and he gained access to the drug when he was 79 years old, in April, and the man is “well-connected.” What a blind item.

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. Some aren’t even waiting for approval from the Food and Drug Administration, instead racing to acquire it through sketchy means.

But STAT has learned that Eli Lilly and the FDA have allowed one person to gain access to the drug through the FDA’s “compassionate use” program, a pathway that gives patients with serious and immediately life-threatening medical issues access to experimental treatments.

This person was a 79-year-old man at the time the request was made in April, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Those sources, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals, said it drew the interest of top health officials, suggesting the person receiving this drug was well connected.

A senior clinician at the National Institutes of Health named Ranganath Muniyappa requested the drug to treat the patient for refractory obesity with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension, a severe version of the disease. Pulmonary hypertension is high blood pressure in the lungs, which can be life-threatening.

STAT does not know who the patient is. But given the patient demographics and the unusual nature of the application, STAT asked the White House whether the patient was President Trump, who turned 80 a week ago, is overweight, and has expressed interest in obesity drugs.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai directed STAT’s inquiry to the Health and Human Services Department. In response to STAT’s question about whether Trump has obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension, Desai said a White House memo detailing Trump’s most recent medical evaluation “covers this.” The memo makes no mention of obstructive sleep apnea or pulmonary hypertension.

According to STAT’s sources, the patient had been previously treated for a year with tirzepatide, an FDA-approved Lilly obesity drug, but experienced only moderate weight loss. Muniyappa, who studies endocrine disorders and runs the diabetes services at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, recommended against bariatric surgery because of the patient’s age and comorbidities. It’s not clear why the patient couldn’t enroll in Lilly’s ongoing clinical trials of the drug. Muniyappa did not respond to requests for comment.

It would not be unprecedented for a prominent individual to be the first person provided access to an experimental drug through the FDA’s compassionate use pathway. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Trump was notably one of the first people administered an antibody treatment from Regeneron after he contracted the virus.

[From Stat]

“…Refractory obesity with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension, a severe version of the disease. Pulmonary hypertension is high blood pressure in the lungs, which can be life-threatening…” Oh. Interesting. It would explain the monthly visits to Walter Reed, his random disappearances around the start of every month and his general vibe. I also believe Trump has been experimenting with GLPs previously but they weren’t really working, which is what this blind item says. Can I say something else? This new drug doesn’t seem to be working either. If he’s been on it since April… no noticeable weight loss, and his mental acuity – which has been rapidly declining for the past decade – has dropped off significantly in just a short time.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.