People with high blood pressure that is uncontrolled or poorly treated with most medications may benefit from a new drug that is showing promise in clinical trial results, according to a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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The study found that lorundostat, the drug made by Pennsylvania-based Mineralys Therapeutics, averaged a 15-point average decrease in participants’ systolic blood pressure, a finding that was a little more than double the reduction observed in patients who received placebo treatment. Conducted in 285 patients nationwide, including some living in San Diego County, the study’s findings are similar to those observed in a phase three trial of lorundostat conducted in 1,083 patients, for which preliminary results were released in March.
Systolic blood pressure is the higher of the two figures that patients are commonly quoted during regular medical checkups. It represents the force exerted on blood vessels when the heart beats.
Dr. Michael Wilkinson, the local principal investigator for the San Diego arm of the phase two study and a cardiologist at UC San Diego Health, said that the drug, which blocks the action of the hormone aldosterone, is particularly promising because of its ability to lower systolic blood pressure while also causing minimal complications. Aldosterone is known to cause water and sodium retention in the kidneys, increasing total blood volume and thus pressure which can damage blood vessels and other critical tissue in the body.
“The key to understanding the significance of the reduction in systolic blood pressure is that these are patients we see in our clinic who have uncontrolled hypertension, despite the use of two to five anti-hypertensive medications,” Wilkinson said. “These patients need new and additional options to treat their high blood pressure.”
Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is said to affect more than 120 million Americans.
Being able to reduce pressure by 15 points, he said, could be clinically significant, especially for those on the more extreme side of the scale.
“We would expect that being able to help these patients achieve safer blood pressure levels will make a significant difference in helping them to avoid heart attacks and strokes,” Wilkinson said.
UC San Diego, and several other smaller local clinical trial centers, are among 104 nationwide that participated in the phase two trials that enrolled patients with blood pressure measurements of at least 140/90 mm Hg. The randomized and placebo-controlled trial is open only to those taking, but not significantly benefiting from, between two and five anti-hypertension medications.
Participants were required to stop their existing medication regimens and adopt a standardized course of treatment before taking the drug, which was assessed either at a 50 milligram daily dose or in an escalating dose to 100 milligrams over the study’s 12-week course.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — As pressure grows to get artificial colors out of the U.S. food supply, the shift may well start at Abby Tampow’s laboratory desk.
On an April afternoon, the scientist hovered over tiny dishes of red dye, each a slightly different ruby hue. Her task? To match the synthetic shade used for years in a commercial bottled raspberry vinaigrette — but by using only natural ingredients.
“With this red, it needs a little more orange,” Tampow said, mixing a slurry of purplish black carrot juice with a bit of beta-carotene, an orange-red color made from algae.
Tampow is part of the team at Sensient Technologies Corp., one of the world’s largest dyemakers, that is rushing to help the salad dressing manufacturer — along with thousands of other American businesses — meet demands to overhaul colors used to brighten products from cereals to sports drinks.
“Most of our customers have decided that this is finally the time when they’re going to make that switch to a natural color,” said Dave Gebhardt, Sensient’s senior technical director. He joined a recent tour of the Sensient Colors factory in a north St. Louis neighborhood.
Last week, U.S. health officials announced plans to persuade food companies to voluntarily eliminate petroleum-based artificial dyes by the end of 2026.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called them “poisonous compounds” that endanger children’s health and development, citing limited evidence of potential health risks.
The federal push follows a flurry of state laws and a January decision to ban the artificial dye known as Red 3 — found in cakes, candies and some medications — because of cancer risks in lab animals. Social media influencers and ordinary consumers have ramped up calls for artificial colors to be removed from foods.
Senior Application Scientist Nicole Carey works in a lab to match food coloring at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Beet juice is seen on a mixing tank used in the making of coloring at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Abby Tampow works in a Sensient Colors laboratory in St. Louis on April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)
Liquid color samples are stored in bottles in a room at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Caleb Whorl pours a container of caramel coloring into a vat to be mixed before packaging at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Applications Scientist Anuj Bag watches candy spin inside a drum while being coated with yellow coloring as he demonstrates the process of developing new food colors at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Natural food coloring is held in a jar in a lab at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
The results of various synthetic and natural food coloring are displayed inside a lab at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Candy using food coloring are displayed in a lab at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Technician Heather Browning pours a liquid color sample into a smaller container to be shipped to a customer at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Technician Heather Browning packages a color sample made of beet powder for a customer at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Sensient Technologies CEO Paul Manning speaks during an interview at a production facility for the color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Bottles containing a variety of colored liquids sit on a shelf in a lab at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Containers of material wait in a warehouse for certification by the Food and Drug Administration at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
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Senior Application Scientist Nicole Carey works in a lab to match food coloring at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, in St. Louis, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
The Food and Drug Administration allows about three dozen color additives, including eight remaining synthetic dyes. But making the change from the petroleum-based dyes to colors derived from vegetables, fruits, flowers and even insects won’t be easy, fast or cheap, said Monica Giusti, an Ohio State University food color expert.
“Study after study has shown that if all companies were to remove synthetic colors from their formulations, the supply of the natural alternatives would not be enough,” Giusti said. “We are not really ready.”
It can take six months to a year to convert a single product from a synthetic dye to a natural one. And it could require three to four years to build up the supply of botanical products necessary for an industrywide shift, Sensient officials said.
“It’s not like there’s 150 million pounds of beet juice sitting around waiting on the off chance the whole market may convert,” said Paul Manning, the company’s chief executive. “Tens of millions of pounds of these products need to be grown, pulled out of the ground, extracted.”
To make natural dyes, Sensient works with farmers and producers around the world to harvest the raw materials, which typically arrive at the plant as bulk concentrates. They’re processed and blended into liquids, granules or powders and then sent to food companies to be added to final products.
Natural dyes are harder to make and use than artificial colors. They are less consistent in color, less stable and subject to changes related to acidity, heat and light, Manning said. Blue is especially difficult. There aren’t many natural sources of the color and those that exist can be hard to maintain during processing.
Also, a natural color costs about 10 times more to make than the synthetic version, Manning estimated.
“How do you get that same vividness, that same performance, that same level of safety in that product as you would in a synthetic product?” he said. “There’s a lot of complexity associated with that.”
The insects that could make ‘Barbie pink’ naturally
Companies have long used the Red 3 synthetic dye to create what Sensient officials describe as “the Barbie pink.”
To create that color with a natural source might require the use of cochineal, an insect about the size of a peppercorn.
The female insects release a vibrant red pigment, carminic acid, in their bodies and eggs. The bugs live only on prickly pear cactuses in Peru and elsewhere. About 70,000 cochineal insects are needed to produce 1 kilogram, about 2.2 pounds, of dye.
“It’s interesting how the most exotic colors are found in the most exotic places,” said Norb Nobrega, who travels the world scouting new hues for Sensient.
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Artificial dyes are used widely in U.S. foods. About 1 in 5 food products in the U.S. contains added colors, whether natural or synthetic, Manning estimated. Many contain multiple colors.
FDA requires a sample of each batch of synthetic colors to be submitted for testing and certification. Color additives derived from plant, animal or mineral sources are exempt, but have been evaluated by the agency.
Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing mixed studies indicating they can cause neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention issues, in some children.
The FDA says that the approved dyes are safe when used according to regulations and that “most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives.”
But critics note that added colors are a key component of ultraprocessed foods, which account for more than 70% of the U.S. diet and have been associated with a host of chronic health problems, including heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
“I am all for getting artificial food dyes out of the food supply,” said Marion Nestle, a food policy expert. “They are strictly cosmetic, have no health or safety purpose, are markers of ultraprocessed foods and may be harmful to some children.”
The cautionary tale of Trix cereal
Color is powerful driver of consumer behavior and changes can backfire, Giusti noted. In 2016, food giant General Mills removed artificial dyes from Trix cereal after requests from consumers, switching to natural sources including turmeric, strawberries and radishes.
But the cereal lost its neon colors, resulting in more muted hues — and a consumer backlash. Trix fans said they missed the bright colors and familiar taste of the cereal. In 2017, the company switched back.
“When it’s a product you already love, that you’re used to consuming, and it changes slightly, then it may not really be the same experience,” Giusti said. “Announcing a regulatory change is one step, but then the implementation is another thing.”
Kennedy, the health secretary, said U.S. officials have an “understanding” with food companies to phase out artificial colors. Industry officials told The Associated Press that there is no formal agreement.
However, several companies have said they plan to accelerate a shift to natural colors in some of their products.
PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said most of its products are already free of artificial colors, and that its Lays and Tostitos brands will phase them out by the end of this year. He said the company plans to phase out artificial colors — or at least offer consumers a natural alternative — over the next few years.
Representatives for General Mills said they’re “committed to continuing the conversation” with the administration. WK Kellogg officials said they are reformulating cereals used in the nation’s school lunch programs to eliminate the artificial dyes and will halt any new products containing them starting next January.
Sensient officials wouldn’t confirm which companies are seeking help making the switch, but they said they’re ready for the surge.
“Now that there’s a date, there’s the timeline,” Manning said. “It certainly requires action.”
Dee-Ann Durbin contributed reporting from Detroit.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Coca-Cola reported better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter and said the impact of tariffs on its business are likely to be “manageable.”
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Coke and other beverage makers are facing a 25% tariff on the aluminum they use for cans, among other items. Last week, rival PepsiCo lowered its full-year earnings expectations due to the impact of tariffs.
“Based on what we know today, the dynamic tariff landscape could impact pockets of our system’s cost structure, as well as consumer sentiment in our markets,” Coke Chief Financial Officer John Murphy said Tuesday in a conference call with investors.
But Murphy said Coke has “numerous levers to help manage the impact.” The company has said previously that it may shift aluminum suppliers or rely more heavily on plastic or glass bottles.
Coke’s unit case volumes grew 2% in the first quarter, led by higher demand in China, India and Brazil. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar was a standout, with case volumes up 14%. Demand for sports drinks and coffee fell.
In North America, case volumes fell 3%. Prices rose 8%, partly because Coke sold a higher mix of premium beverages like Topo Chico sparkling water and Fairlife milk.
Coke Chairman and CEO James Quincey said a video that was circulating on social media in February hurt U.S. sales, particularly among Hispanic consumers in the South. The video claimed that Coke was reporting its own workers to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and called for a boycott of the company.
Quincey said the claims in the video were false and the controversy has largely abated. Coke is trying to win back Hispanic sales by promoting the company’s local economic impact and offering targeted deals, he added.
The video aside, Quincey said there was a pullback in purchasing on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border due to consumer uncertainty.
“I think some of the geopolitical tension was just causing people to be a little more cautious with their spend,” he said “A little less going out, a little more keeping the money in the pocket.”
Revenue fell 2% to $11.1 billion in the January-March period, the company said Tuesday. Adjusted for one-time items, including currency fluctuations, Coke reported revenue of $11.2 billion. That beat Wall Street’s expectation of $11.15 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
Net income rose 5% to $3.3 billion for the quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, the Atlanta company earned 73 cents per share. That beat expectations of 72 cents.
Coke moderated expectations for its full-year profit Tuesday. The company said it now expects full-year adjusted earnings to grow 7% to 9%, down from 8% to 10% previously. Coke earned $2.88 per share in 2024.
Shares of Coca-Cola rose less than 1% in Tuesday morning trading.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted on social media Tuesday that he had dismantled a program supporting women on security teams — and may not have realized the program he tried to break was not a “woke” Biden-era initiative but instead a celebrated program signed into law by his boss, President Donald Trump.
Hegseth in an agitated post on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, called the “Women, Peace & Security” program at the Department of Defense “a UNITED NATIONS program pushed by feminists and left-wing activists. Politicians fawn over it; troops HATE it.”
It was, in fact, bipartisan legislation that Trump signed into law in 2017 that recognized the role women have in achieving security objectives, especially in situations overseas where their male counterparts may not for cultural reasons be able to question or would not for religious regions have direct access to women. Trump’s own Cabinet officials supported the program when it was working its way through the legislative process.
This month, Gen. Dan Caine, the new Joint Chiefs Chairman, told Congress that the program had helped troops in battle.
“When we would go out into the field after concluding an assault, we would have female members who would speak with those women and children who were on the objective and they would help us to understand the human terrain in a new and novel way,” Caine said during his April confirmation hearing. Trump met and became endeared to Caine when he was serving in Iraq, which was part of the reason Trump nominated him to the chairmanship.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who at the time represented South Dakota in the House, wrote the House version of the 2017 Women, Peace and Security Act alongside Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. And as recently as this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who as a senator co-sponsored the Senate version of the bill, said that it was “the first law passed by any country in the world focused on protecting women and promoting their participation in society.”
That proposal stemmed from a U.N. resolution unanimously endorsed by the Security Council, the most powerful U.N. body, in October 2000, aimed at including women in peacebuilding efforts, as women and girls have historically borne the brunt of global conflict.
“It’s no secret that women remain, largely on the periphery of formal peace processes and decision making, which is not good for the cause of peace,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in response to Hegseth’s comments Tuesday.
Dujarric added that “one of the real-life impacts of the Women Peace and Security program has been the increasing number of women peacekeepers who serve in U.N. missions, which has had a very clear, measurable and positive impact on the protection of civilians in conflict zones.”
Hegseth’s tweet drew immediate fire from Senate Democrats who are continuing to question Hegseth’s qualifications for the job amid the continuing fallout from his use of the commercial app Signal to share sensitive military operations on an unsecured channel with other officials, his wife and brother.
“Hegseth has absolutely no idea what he’s doing,” said New Hampshire Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
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“That tweet contains some glaring inaccuracies that are far beneath the standard we should expect from the Department of Defense,” Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said as he read the tweet aloud during a Congressional hearing Tuesday.
A spokesman for Hegseth did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the secretary’s tweet.
While Hegseth in his post called the program “yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops” and pledged to do the bare minimum required by Congress to maintain it while working to eliminate it altogether, the program has been celebrated by Trump, his administration and his family.
It became a heralded part of the first Trump administration’s accomplishments for women, and in 2019, Ivanka Trump celebrated that the WPS program was starting a new partnership to help train female police cadets in Colombia.
