STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about Medicare and Alzheimer’s drugs, estrogen patch shortages, and more

STAT PlusNewsletterPharmalot Pharmalittle: We’re reading about Medicare and Alzheimer’s drugs, estrogen patch shortages, and more Further Supreme Court action is expected today in the case on mail order mifepristone Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Ed SilvermanMay 11, 2026 Pharmalot Columnist, Senior Writer Ed Silverman[email protected]Ed Silverman, a senior writer and Pharmalot columnist at STAT, has been covering the pharmaceutical industry for nearly three decades. He is also the author of the morning Pharmalittle newsletter and the afternoon Pharmalot newsletter. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week.

We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating, because that oh-so familiar routine of deadlines, online meetings, and phone calls has predictably returned. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, continues to spin.

So to give it a nudge in a better direction, we are brewing another cuppa stimulation. Our choice today is Earl Grey, an old standby. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest to start you on your journey, which we hope is meaningful and productive.

Best of luck, and do keep in touch. … People on Medicare are not getting the recently approved Alzheimer’s medications nearly as much as federal officials anticipated, STAT reports. Uptake for the drugs, Leqembi and Kisunla, has been so muted that Medicare is not forecasting significant spending on them in 2026 or 2027, which is a dramatic shift from two years ago, when the agency projected it would spend billions of dollars annually on Leqembi alone.

The lower-than-expected spending lines up with the challenges that the Alzheimer’s drugs have faced since their approvals. The intravenous medications are not easy to administer and require a lot of imaging; the population of eligible patients is limited; and the drugs continue to have little meaningful benefits while carrying a risk of severe side effects like brain bleeding.Advertisement While doctors and patients report difficulties getting certain doses of estrogen patches, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet included any on its list of drug shortages, NBC News tells us.

The agency removed the black box warning from hormone replacement therapies late last year, and recently, the most insured type, the estrogen patch, has been in short supply amid a boom in the therapy’s popularity. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, a professional organization for pharmacists, includes 14 brands or dosages of estrogen patches in its most current list of drugs in shortage. The group first started including estrogen patches on the list in January.

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Subscribe Log In pharmalittle, STAT+ Submit a correction requestReprints Ed Silverman Pharmalot Columnist, Senior Writer Ed Silverman, a senior writer and Pharmalot columnist at STAT, has been covering the pharmaceutical industry for nearly three decades. He is also the author of the morning Pharmalittle newsletter and the afternoon Pharmalot newsletter. Newsletter Understand how science, health policy, and medicine shape the world every day Recommended Pharmalot May 8, 2026 STAT Plus: Capricor Therapeutics accuses Nippon Shinyaku of slow-walking plans on Duchenne drug Pharmalot May 8, 2026 STAT Plus: Up and down the ladder: The latest comings and goings Advertisement Pharmalot May 8, 2026 STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about an FDA gender rule change, its program for one-day inspections, and more Pharmalot May 7, 2026 STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about Sanofi and an FDA voucher, FDA rethinking a rejection, and more Pharmalot May 6, 2026 STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about a PhRMA ad campaign aimed at 340B, sales of Novo’s obesity pill, and more Subscriber Picks