The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted President Donald Trump exclusive access to the experimental weight-loss drug retatrutide on a compassionate use basis, according to three anonymous sources cited by Stat News. The approval, which is highly unusual, was personally overseen by a senior doctor at the National Institutes of Health and subsequently approved by the FDA. The applicant, who was 79 at the time of the application in April, is the only person in the country to receive such access to retatrutide.
Drug Details and Potential Uses
Retatrutide, manufactured by Eli Lilly, is an experimental drug administered via injection once a week. The company is considering it as a treatment for obesity, type 2 diabetes, knee osteoarthritis pain, moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea, chronic low back pain, cardiovascular and renal outcomes, and chronic liver disease. According to Stat News, the patient sought the drug for refractory obesity with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension.
Trump's Health and Interest in Weight-Loss Drugs
President Donald Trump recently turned 80 and has expressed an interest in weight-loss drugs. He is reportedly being seen by 22 medical specialists. Anecdotally, he has been observed falling asleep in the Oval Office and during Cabinet meetings, which would appear consistent with sleep apnea, a condition that causes daytime sleepiness, among other symptoms. Trump has also had three annual physical exams in the span of just 13 months, including an MRI during a hastily announced visit to Walter Reed last October, though he could not explain why.
White House Denial and Trump's History
When asked for comment on the possibility that Trump pulled strings to gain access to an unapproved drug, White House Deputy Press Secretary Desai Kush pointed to a social media comment calling Stat News reporter Lizzy Lawrence “an unserious gossip columnist.” Kush stated, “This application was not for the President.” Despite that denial, Trump has a history of seeking out rare medical treatments for both himself and his allies. During his first term, he was approved for experimental use of Regeneron after contracting COVID-19, also as a compassionate use case. According to Eli Lilly, compassionate use is typically reserved for individuals “with serious or life-threatening conditions, who have exhausted all available medical options and do not qualify for clinical trials.” Trump also pulled strings to get “Dilbert” cartoonist Scott Adams access to a newly approved drug to treat aggressive prostate cancer, and ordered up an exceedingly rare heart surgery for Rep. Mike Dunn (R-Fla.) after a terminal diagnosis.
