Pharma executives sentenced in $92M black-market HIV drug scheme; Trump reveals Rep. Neal Dunn’s serious heart diagnosis; AI model improves accuracy of cardiac ultrasound diagnoses – Morning Medical Update

Pharma executives sentenced in $92M black-market HIV drug scheme

Two owners of a Maryland-based pharmaceutical wholesaler have been sentenced to a combined 38 years in prison for orchestrating a nationwide scheme that distributed more than $92 million worth of black-market HIV medications through the U.S. drug supply chain.

Prosecutors said the executives — brothers Patrick Boyd, 47, and Charles Boyd, 43, both of Easton, Maryland — sourced drugs through illegal patient “buyback” schemes, repackaged and resold them with falsified documentation, despite complaints from pharmacies about tampered bottles and incorrect medications. In some cases, patients received the wrong drugs, including one who lost consciousness after ingesting an antipsychotic medication mislabeled as HIV treatment.

Authorities said the scheme not only defrauded federal health programs but also endangered vulnerable patients and undermined the integrity of the pharmaceutical supply chain. The brothers were convicted on a number of charges at trial. Charles, the CEO, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Patrick, managing partner of the organization’s sales division, was sentenced to 18 years. The defendants were also ordered to forfeit over $21.8 million, and a third defendant, Adam Brosius, was sentenced to 97 months in prison in connection with his role in the scheme.

Trump reveals Rep. Neal Dunn’s serious heart diagnosis

President Donald Trump disclosed that Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Florida) had been given a terminal heart diagnosis — saying the congressman would have been “dead by June” — before White House doctors intervened with emergency treatment, prompting visible discomfort from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who awkwardly responded, “Okay, that wasn’t public.”

According to Trump and Johnson, 73-year-old Dunn underwent a lengthy procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, including multiple stent placements, and has since recovered significantly, though his office has not confirmed the details. Dunn’s potential early departure had raised concerns about Republicans’ thin House majority and its impact on advancing the president’s agenda.

AI model improves accuracy of cardiac ultrasound diagnoses

Researchers at UC San Francisco (UCSF) have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) approach that significantly improves the accuracy of echocardiograms by analyzing multiple imaging views of the heart simultaneously. Published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, the study shows that this “multiview” deep neural network outperforms traditional AI models that rely on a single 2D view, enabling better detection of conditions such as ventricular abnormalities, diastolic dysfunction and valvular disease. By integrating data from different angles, the model more effectively captures the heart’s complex 3D structure, potentially enhancing diagnostic precision and clinical decision-making.