White House denies Trump received experimental obesity drug

The White House has denied that President Donald Trump received special access to an experimental weight-loss drug, following a report that a 79-year-old man was granted such access. The denial came after a public and contentious exchange between a White House spokesperson and the reporter who broke the story.

On Tuesday, June 23, the health and science outlet STAT reported that the Food and Drug Administration and drugmaker Eli Lilly had allowed a single person to access the unapproved drug retatrutide through a "compassionate use" program. The program is designed for patients with serious or immediately life-threatening conditions who have no other treatment options. According to the report, the patient was a 79-year-old man being treated for refractory obesity with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension. The request was made in April by National Institutes of Health senior clinician Ranganath Muniyappa.

The report, citing three anonymous sources, noted that the application drew interest from top health officials, suggesting the patient was "well connected." Given that President Trump turned 80 years old earlier in June, is overweight, and has publicly expressed...