A new study finds that popular GLP-1 drugs used to treat diabetes and obesity show new promise in fighting multiple substance use disorders. An analysis of electronic health records of more than 600,000 U.S. veterans with diabetes found that users of drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro were less likely to develop addictions to substances like alcohol, nicotine, cocaine and opioids than those treated with another class of drugs. And they prevented serious harms like overdose and deaths. Researchers say the results must be confirmed in future randomized controlled trials.

The Biden administration says Medicare recipients will save about $1.5 billion dollars on medications to for diabetes, heart disease, types of arthritis and other ailments under new prices negotiated with drug companies that will take effect in 2026. The savings range from 79% for Januvia, a drug to treat diabetes to 38% for Imbruvica, which is used to treat blood cancers. That is the medication’s cost before any discounts or rebates are applied, but not what the price people actually pay when filling their prescriptions.