No Supreme PBM Smackdown, Peak GLP-1, Industrial Inflammation

Hey all,

Happy Tuesday! I’ve been tracking the rise of GLP-1s for the past six years—starting with a respected endocrinologist insisting Ozempic was strictly for diabetes, to now seeing it name-dropped in celebrity gossip columns. Are we at peak GLP-1 yet? Maybe…enjoy the rundown!

Jacob Brody (Co-Founder & CEO, ZorroRX)

(BenefitsPro) Supreme Court Declines PBM Case, Preserving ERISA Preemption 

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Mulready v. PCMA, effectively upholding a lower court decision that blocks Oklahoma from applying state regulations to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) servicing self-funded employer health plans. This move reinforces the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)'s preemption of state laws, making it harder for states to control PBM practices tied to large, multistate employer plans—an issue drawing increasing scrutiny over transparency and cost control. With states now limited in their regulatory reach, any overhaul of PBM oversight for ERISA plans will likely need to come from Congress—or from bold employers finally demanding that PBMs act like fiduciaries instead of vending machines with rebate buttons. Full Article

(Endpoint News) Unrealistic Obesity Drug Market Forecasts 

Sales forecasts for obesity treatments like GLP-1 drugs have soared to as high as $150 billion by 2035, raising questions about whether such expectations are realistic or inflated. While market leaders Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly continue to dominate, concerns around patient adherence, side effects, reimbursement access, and competitive saturation suggest the path to these figures is complex and far from guaranteed. Whether the market becomes a bubble or a transformative new drug class will depend on factors like improved tolerability, expanded access, and innovation beyond GLP-1s. Full Article

(STAT) New Study on Inflammaging Challenges Universality of Chronic Disease Links

A new study published in Nature Aging finds that people in non-industrialized societies show minimal age-related chronic inflammation—known as inflammaging—despite high baseline inflammation from infections, challenging the belief that chronic inflammation universally drives age-related diseases. This finding suggests that the link between aging, inflammation, and chronic illness may be heavily influenced by environmental and lifestyle factors, not just age itself, prompting a reevaluation of global health strategies and assumptions drawn from industrialized populations. Apparently, our bodies are just confused because they’re trying to fight off ultra-processed food, air pollution, and emails all at once. Full Article