Updated

Updated · Forbes · Jun 25

Democrats Press White House on 79-Year-Old's Experimental Weight-Loss Drug Access

Updated

Updated · Forbes · Jun 25

Democrats Press White House on 79-Year-Old's Experimental Weight-Loss Drug Access

Q: What unique medical crisis justified giving one person an experimental drug that millions of others need?

The stated medical justification was not ordinary obesity alone, but a combination of **refractory obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, and pulmonary hypertension** in a 79-year-old man, according to the reporting cited by Senator Maggie Hassan. That matters because the FDA’s expanded-access, or “compassionate use,” pathway is generally meant for patients with a **serious or immediately life-threatening condition** who lack satisfactory alternatives. In this case, the key condition appears to have been **pulmonary hypertension**, which can be life-threatening, alongside severe obesity that reportedly had not responded adequately to other treatment. Additional reporting said the patient had already spent about a year on tirzepatide and was not considered a good candidate for bariatric surgery because of age and other health risks. Even so, the case remains controversial because **retatrutide is not approved for obesity**, and millions of other patients with severe obesity do not have access to it. Hassan’s question is essentially whether this patient’s mix of conditions truly met the high bar for compassionate use, or whether special access was granted in a way not available to others. So, the unique crisis cited was **severe treatment-resistant obesity complicated by sleep apnea and especially pulmonary hypertension**, rather than weight loss need alone. Whether that justification was sufficient under FDA standards is the issue now under scrutiny.

3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jun 25

Sen. Maggie Hassan demanded answers from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after reports that a 79-year-old may have received Eli Lilly's unapproved weight-loss drug through the FDA's compassionate-use program.
STAT News said the April request came from NIH clinician Ranganath Muniyappa for a patient with refractory obesity, sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension, a potentially life-threatening condition that can qualify for special access.
The White House denied that Trump was the patient, with communications director Steven Cheung attacking the report and Rep. Ted Lieu after Democrats suggested the recipient could be the president or someone close to him.
The questions land amid scrutiny of Trump's health: he weighed 238 pounds in his latest physical, up 14 pounds from April 2025, and has recently shown bruised hands, swollen ankles and chronic venous insufficiency.