The trend: Consumers who take weight loss drugs are eating less and consuming healthier foods when they’re on the medication. Our take: This behavior change is driving a slew of food sellers and CPG brands to develop product lines and reformulate items with GLP-1 users in mind.
The news: US pharma imports returned to normal in April after a March stockpiling of drugs and medical products spurred by tariff threats from the Trump administration. The takeaway: Fluctuating tariff threats from the Trump administration means ongoing uncertainty for drugmakers. If the indecision lags for more than a few months, expect some pharma product stockpiling to return.
The trend: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lagged on delivering clear and coordinated messaging in recent weeks, creating confusion among consumers, physicians, and drugmakers. Our take: Inconsistency in messaging could result in patients, doctors, and healthcare entities not knowing where to turn for guidance and recommendations. Pharma companies should consider boosting consumer health messaging and offer healthcare providers’ science-based materials.
The trend: From insight generation and content creation to media placement and regulatory reviews, generative AI (genAI) is becoming more connected to every part of pharma marketing. Our take: The tech is helping pharma marketers and ad agencies create more personalized ads and better predict ad performance—but overall, genAI usage is still pretty nascent in the industry.
The news: Moderna has agreed to conduct a true placebo-controlled trial of its new COVID-19 vaccine, according to a post on X this week from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Our take: It’s difficult for vaccine makers to keep up with shifting requirements for getting shots approved, and for which groups of people. Companies may soon have to weigh pouring billions more into vaccine R&D against expanding or growing product offerings to other drug markets.
The news: Medical AI startup OpenEvidence inked a multi-year agreement with JAMA Network that gives the company access to full-text content from the American Medical Association’s 13 medical journals. Our take: OpenEvidence is competing with Wolters Kluwer’s UptoDate medical information tool, which is used by a few million clinicians worldwide and has recently integrated its own AI search capabilities. One big difference between the products is that OpenEvidence is free for doctors and generates revenue through advertising. Meanwhile, UptoDate does not provide advertising opportunities. We think that OpenEvidence’s internal AI prowess could give it the leg up as long as its in-platform advertising doesn’t turn off doctors too much.
The news: Newsweek is buying healthcare-focused ad platform Adprime to boost its offerings for pharma and healthcare marketers. Our take: Healthcare and pharma marketers looking for targeted, data-driven ad solutions could find valuable niche audiences tuning into Newsweek’s expanding content and events. We’re not convinced Newsweek’s adtech strategy is a slam dunk competing against much larger players, but we do think doubling down on the resilient healthcare and pharma digital ad industry makes sense.
Hims & Hers expands in Europe via telehealth acquisition: Hims purchased a company with a similar business model overseas. We believe it’s a sign that Hims is losing its competitive advantage in the US weight loss drug space.
FarmboxRx acquired by wellness company Pyx Health: Food-as-medicine companies are projected to prosper under an administration that touts lifestyle changes over prescription drugs—but Medicaid cuts could thwart growth.
Bristol Myers Squibb partners with BioNTech on new cancer drug: It’s the latest in a new class of cancer treatment drawing billions in dealmaking, which promises hope for cancer patients—but also likely higher drug prices.
Amazon Pharmacy expands medication services for caregivers and Medicare users: Healthcare service providers and pharmacies can earn customer loyalty by appealing to often overlooked caregivers with services that make their roles easier.
Best Buy’s health business suffers a major setback: It may be tough for Best Buy to justify its investments in home healthcare without more Trump admin support to reimburse for hospital-at-home initiatives.
Gilead promises HIV prevention drugs to low-income countries: The Trump administration has frozen HIV prevention aid around the world, and steeper cuts are on the horizon—leaving drugmakers, international organizations, and state health agencies to pick up the slack.
CVS, Cigna sue Arkansas to stop PBM-owned pharmacies ban: Owning both PBMs and pharmacies give them a lopsided advantage over independent pharmacies. It may be tough to push against the specter of more rural “pharmacy deserts.”
Google’s AI Overviews lead to fewer clicks on healthcare search results: An industry that heavily relies on search must optimize for visibility in AI Overviews while closely monitoring how AI changes consumer search behaviors.
Potential tariffs, drug pricing order may not be too disruptive to pharma: However, the administration’s executive orders, proposals, and threats can’t be taken lightly. Drug companies must stay nimble with plans in place for different outcomes.
Healthcare costs for Americans who have employer-sponsored health insurance spike 7% annually: Employers will need to be more restrictive with their plan offerings, creating an opportunity for D2C healthcare brands to reel in new customers.
Senate leader questions pharma advertising oversight amid growing calls for more regulation: The threats of new legislation and regulations indicate the seriousness of both the Trump administration and Congress to move against pharma ads.
Trump administration drops Moderna mRNA pandemic flu research: This adds to increasing doubt around the validity of mRNA vaccines, and will likely cause uncertainty for drugmakers looking to federal agencies for vaccine guidance.
General Medicine debuts as a platform where consumers can shop for medical care: While the healthcare marketplace concept isn’t new, the startup could have an upper hand by allowing people to see prices for medical care based on their unique health insurance details.