The U.S. foreign aid cuts and freezes that are taking place under President Donald Trump are putting at risk the global public health gains that have been made against diseases such as malaria, HIV and tuberculosis over the past two decades, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a March 17 media briefing, as he called on other countries to step up and fill the gap.

The unrelenting pressure on medical practice in the U.S. has sparked some innovations, but a legislative innovation is now in the works that would fundamentally shift how at least some drugs are prescribed. The Healthy Technology Act of 2025 (H.R. 238) would allow AI and machine learning algorithms to write prescriptions for pharmaceuticals, although the lack of co-sponsors for H.R. 238 suggests that this bill is not ready for prime time just yet.

U.S. law allows whistleblowers to file suit for violations the False Claims Act, but the legality of these qui tam relators under the Appointments Clause is under intense scrutiny thanks to a case heard in Florida district court.

Three former officials with Magellan Diagnostics Inc., have entered guilty pleas in connection with faulty tests for lead poisoning that were widely used across the U.S. between 2013 and 2017. While former CEO Amy Winslow and two others will not be sentenced until later this year, all three face possible prison terms of three years or more and fines of as much as $250,000, highlighting the hazards of a lack of scruples with regard to compliance with U.S. FDA regulations.

With its Altix AI.i launch, GE Healthcare Technologies Inc. aims to upgrade the user experience and efficiency of its catheterization lab and electrophysiology procedures. The new capabilities apply to the Cardiolab, Mac-Lab and Combolab products. The Alitx Ai.i software upgrades received U.S. FDA clearance in December. CE mark is pending.

The latest continuing resolution (CR) for the U.S. budget funds government operations through the end of the fiscal year, which in modern times may come across as an achievement. However, Medicare telehealth also won in the CR, which extends some temporary measures for telehealth as Congress continues to mull over the question of a permanent expansion of Medicare telehealth benefits.

Cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s nominee for administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), faced the U.S. Senate’s finance committee on March 14, suggesting the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and the reduction of drug prices would be among his top priorities, if confirmed.

With an at least $60 billion total addressable market, the liquid biopsy sector offers abundant opportunity for multiple companies to swim to the top. The six largest companies in the pool have just dipped their toes in the water, with a total penetration of only 10%, a white paper from RBC indicates.

Samsung Life Science Fund made its first strategic investment of the year into C2N Diagnostics LLC, underscoring the rising potential of blood-based diagnostics in detecting and monitoring the risk of Alzheimer’s disease for the masses.

As expected, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted March 13 to send the nominations of Jay Bhattacharya as NIH director and Martin Makary as FDA commissioner to the Senate floor for confirmation. Bhattacharya received a narrow 12-11 party-line vote, but Makary picked up some Democratic support to secure a 14-9 vote.