Pfizer’s Lyme disease vaccine shows 70% efficacy; Texas man sentenced to 12.5 years in $61.5M Medicare telemarketing fraud scheme; Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy subscription model – Morning Medical Update

Pfizer’s Lyme vaccine shows 70% efficacy

The shot missed its statistical threshold for success.

Pfizer and Valneva say their experimental Lyme disease vaccine reduced tick-borne infections by more than 70% in a late-stage trial of 9,400 people ages 5 and up, and the companies plan to submit the data to regulators despite the trial narrowly missing its statistical threshold for success, largely because Lyme disease cases were fewer than expected among participants. If approved, it would be the only Lyme vaccine on the market; the last one, LYMErix, was approved in 1998 with 76% efficacy but withdrawn four years later after public concerns about adverse events, even though regulators found no causal link. The trial results have not yet been published or peer reviewed. The Washington Post has more.

Texas man sentenced to 12.5 years in $61.5M Medicare telemarketing fraud scheme

Robert Smith fled before sentencing and was on the run for more than a month before U.S. Marshals caught up with him.

A Texas man who absconded before his sentencing has been apprehended and sentenced to 150 months in prison for organizing a $61.5 million Medicare fraud conspiracy that used deceptive telemarketing — including an offshore call center in the Philippines — to push medically unnecessary orthotic braces, foot baths and genetic tests on Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.

Robert "Bobby" Leon Smith III, 50, of Archer City, owned and operated seven durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies across Florida, Texas and Maryland, and paid kickbacks to telemedicine companies for doctors' orders, some of which prosecutors say contained forged physician signatures.

Audio recordings played at trial captured Smith pressuring beneficiaries to accept products they said they did not want, and complaining about unsellable orders as "trash" and "junk." Smith pleaded guilty in March 2025 but failed to appear for sentencing and remained at large for more than a month before U.S. Marshals apprehended him. In addition to his prison term, he was ordered to pay more than $30 million in restitution and forfeit over $9.2 million, along with Texas real estate.

Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy subscription program

The program, available through select telehealth providers, is aimed at self-pay patients who need predictable pricing to stay on treatment.

Novo Nordisk has introduced a multi-month subscription program for Wegovy (semaglutide) that offers eligible self-pay patients lower, fixed monthly pricing through select telehealth platforms including Ro, WeightWatchers and LifeMD, with Hims & Hers and others to follow. Patients can choose 3-, 6- or 12-month subscriptions, with the injection priced at $329, $299 or $249 per month, respectively, equating to savings of up to $1,200 per year compared to standard pricing. The oral pill version starts at $289 per month for a three-month subscription, dropping to $249 for a 12-month commitment.

The program is designed for patients without insurance coverage for the drug, a sizable population given that coverage for obesity medications remains inconsistent. Those with commercial insurance can still access Wegovy for as low as $25 per month through existing savings programs, and the drug is available at more than 70,000 U.S. pharmacies.