Retatrutide, a powerful but still unapproved 'triple‑agonist' weight loss drug in Phase 3 trials and not available to the general public, has ignited a political row in Washington after it emerged that a 79‑year‑old man was granted rare compassionate access through a specialised Food and Drug Administration programme.
The controversy erupted on Tuesday, June 23, after health news outlet STAT reported that the patient had received Retatrutide via the FDA's Expanded Access scheme. The programme is intended as a potential pathway for patients with serious or immediately life‑threatening conditions to obtain investigational medical products when no satisfactory alternatives exist. According to the report, an NIH clinician requested the drug in April for a patient with refractory obesity, obstructive sleep apnoea and pulmonary hypertension.
