A White House spokesman went on the record to deny a report suggesting that President Donald Trump was granted access to an experimental obesity drug not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
STAT reported the FDA and Eli Lilly allowed one individual – a 79-year-old man – to gain access to retatrutide through a “compassionate use” program typically reserved for patients with serious and immediately life-threatening medical issues, and reporter Lizzy Lawrence asked the White House whether that patient was the president.
“White House spokesperson Kush Desai directed STAT’s inquiry to the Health and Human Services Department,” Lawrence wrote. “In response to STAT’s question about whether Trump has obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension, Desai said a White House memo detailing Trump’s most recent medical evaluation ‘covers this.’ The memo makes no mention of obstructive sleep apnea or pulmonary hypertension.”
Speculation swirled on social media that Trump was the man given access to the unapproved drug, but the White House weighed in officially with a stronger denial than what was previously offered to Lawrence.
“Because this has to be spelled out for @LizzyLaw_, who has proven herself to be an unserious gossip columnist, this application was not for the President,” Desai posted on X, tagging Lawrence’s account.
The reporter followed up by asking why that unequivocal statement had not been provided before publication.
“Thank you for clarifying,” she said. “I asked you, the FDA, and HHS multiple times yesterday whether this application was for the President. No one answered my question directly.”
The White House spokesman again attacked her personally and professionally.
“We shouldn’t have to bat down baseless speculation for you to not print it,” Desai said. “Any reporter with standards would understand this. Are you going to now go ask this idiotic question to the ~4 million Americans in this age cohort and then speculate about them being the application?”
Three sources familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation, told STAT the request by National Institutes of Health senior clinician Ranganath Muniyappa drew the interest of top health officials, who suspected the person receiving the drug was well connected.
He also happens to be the same age as the president, who is overweight and has expressed interest in obesity drugs.
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