• District of Columbia: The American Health Care Association (AHCA) has named Clifton Porter as its next president and CEO. Currently, Porter is the association's SVP of government relations and leads its lobbying and advocacy efforts. Porter will take over the role from retiring president and CEO Mark Parkinson in the fall. "Clif brings a unique blend of front-line experience and lobbying acumen that makes him an ideal candidate to head AHCA/NCAL [National Center for Assisted Living]," said Phil Scalo, chair of the AHCA Board of Governors. "We are delighted to see him take this next step, and we are confident AHCA/NCAL, as well as the profession's future, will be bright under his leadership." (Eastabrook, Modern Healthcare, 7/15; Berklan, McKnights Long-Term Care News, 7/16)
• Indiana: Roche last week announced that its new, experimental weight-loss pill achieved positive results in an early-stage trial. Roche acquired the oral drug candidate, as well as injectable drug candidates, through its $3 billion-plus acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics. In a Phase I trial, the experimental once-daily pill, which is called CT-996, resulted in an average placebo-adjusted weight loss of 6.1% in obese patients without diabetes within four weeks. According to Manu Chakravarthy, head of metabolic drug development at Roche, the company plans to focus on advancing CT-996 to the second of three phases of human testing next year. According to the Wall Street Journal, this is the second experimental obesity drug from Roche to see positive results in an early trial. In May, the company said that an injectable drug candidate called CT-388 led to significant weight loss in healthy adults with obesity compared to a placebo in a Phase 1 trial. (Chopping/Smolak, Wall Street Journal, 7/17; Burger/Laudani, Reuters, 7/17)
• Massachusetts: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, one of the makers of the world's first CRISPR-based medicine Casgevy, has filed a lawsuit against the federal government over access to fertility support services for its patients. In the lawsuit, Vertex challenged an oral opinion by HHS' Office of the Inspector General that the company's fertility support program would violate federal anti-kickback laws. Casgevy is a treatment for patients with sickle cell disease, but it requires patients to first receive chemotherapy treatment, which can have serious side effects, including severe infections, mouth sores, and infertility. Under Vertex's program, Casgevy patients can receive financial support for a range of fertility services, including counseling, fertility drugs, genetic testing, and more. "The government's refusal to allow comprehensive fertility support for government insured patients will only further exacerbate healthcare inequalities in the sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia patient populations," said a Vertex spokesperson. "Thousands of Americans with sickle cell disease or beta thalassemia should not be forced to choose between the potential of a functional cure for their debilitating disease and the possibility of having children." (Molteni, STAT, 7/15)

New weight management drugs are changing obesity care, and their impact hinges on how healthcare leaders respond. Discover how stakeholder actions could shape three potential futures for obesity care and the strategies leaders can implement to ensure optimal outcomes.