FDA approves Eli Lilly’s weight-loss pill; Judge revokes citizenship over stolen medical secrets for China; new COVID-19 ‘Cicada’ variant spreads to 25 states – Morning Medical Update

FDA approves Lilly’s weight-loss pill

The once-daily oral drug, orforglipron, will be available for $149 a month starting April 6 — on par with Novo Nordisk's oral Wegovy.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Eli Lilly's once-daily weight-loss pill, orforglipron, to be sold as Foundayo, making it the second oral GLP-1 drug on the market after Novo Nordisk's oral Wegovy.

The drug works by mimicking the appetite-suppressing GLP-1 hormone, the same mechanism behind Lilly's injectable tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss. Foundayo carries a practical edge over Novo's pill: it can be taken at any time of day without food or drink restrictions, while oral Wegovy must be taken first thing in the morning, 30 minutes before eating or drinking. Lilly said the drug will be available through its LillyDirect program beginning April 6 at $149 per month for the lowest dose for self-pay patients, with retail pharmacy and telehealth access to follow.

Analysts estimate oral weight-loss drugs could capture roughly 20% of the GLP-1 market by 2030. Reuters has more.

Judge strips citizenship from couple who stole medical trade secrets for China

Li Chen and Yu Zhou had already served prison sentences for the theft.

A federal judge has revoked the naturalized U.S. citizenship of Li Chen and Yu Zhou, a married couple who previously pleaded guilty to stealing medical trade secrets from Nationwide Children's Hospital and sharing them with China. Judge James E. Simmons Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California found that the couple had illegally procured their naturalization, having committed crimes involving moral turpitude that disqualified them from citizenship.

Chen and Zhou worked as research scientists at the Columbus, Ohio, hospital, where they stole trade secrets related to exosome isolation, established their own company using the stolen intellectual property, and received funding from China's State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs. Together they received nearly $1.5 million from transactions involving the stolen research. Chen was previously sentenced to 30 months in prison and Zhou to 33 months, with more than $2.6 million in restitution ordered between them. Chen had naturalized in 2016 and Zhou in 2017.

New ‘Cicada’ COVID-19 variant spreads to 25 states

BA.3.2, nicknamed ‘Cicada,’ has spread to at least 23 countries and 25 U.S. states, though it has not yet triggered a rise in severe illness.

Health officials are monitoring a new COVID-19 variant nicknamed "Cicada" — formally BA.3.2 — that has been detected in at least 23 countries and 25 U.S. states since it was first identified in November 2024. The variant is a highly mutated member of the Omicron family, carrying 70 to 75 mutations, and a recent study in The Lancet found current COVID vaccines are less effective against it than against dominant strains, though they still offer some protection.

So far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is not reporting a nationwide increase in severe disease, and case rates, emergency visits and hospitalizations are trending downward overall. CBS News has more.