Ahead of the big game, managing editor Jack O’Brien hosts DJ Khaled and Danielle Brooks about starring in Novo Nordisk’s Super Bowl commercial promoting its oral version of the blockbuster drug Wegovy.

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One of the main reasons drugmakers have pivoted ad dollars in this direction is simple: People love sports.

So in honor of the release of our Sports Issue, we’re dissecting why about half a dozen pharma brands are lining up to advertise during Super Bowl LX on Sunday.

Before we dive into that during our Trends segment, we have a feature interview with a pair of leaders from Avalere Health.

Avalere Health CEO Amar Urhekar and U.S. president of marketing Sarah Hall join the show to discuss how the policy-first agency has navigated its health clients through regulatory turbulence to find smoother air and how the 2025 Agency 100 honoree has fared in the first month of 2026.

We also talk to Hall about her jump from FCB Health New York to Avalere Health, as well as how Urhekar has added key leadership talent from those who have left the federal government or holding companies over the past year.

Now lace up your cleats, grab a glove and get ready to play ball.

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We begin the show with a remembrance of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse who was shot and killed by federal agents on the streets of Minneapolis.

The killing of Pretti has unnerved the nation as a whole, but also had an even more profound impact on the tight-knit community of front-line workers who serve as the foundation of our healthcare system.

In a time of crisis, they are looking for health leaders to meet the moment and offer unconditional support.

Not every event in a fast-paced world requires a statement or action from health brands, but when an ICU nurse is the victim of both senseless violence and vicious disinformation, the moment arises.

As for the main interview, pharma editor Lecia Bushak speaks with Haymarket Media colleague Vera Luxner at Rare Disease Advisor about some upcoming initiatives related to Rare Disease Month, which takes place in February.

Then, editor-in-chief Jameson Fleming and editor-at-large Steve Madden join the Trends segment to discuss the recent launches of the nomination period for the 2026 Agency 100, the MM+M Awards and the Healthcare Marketers Survey.

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You’ll recall that actors Justin Long and John Hodgman achieved advertising fame in the latter part of the 2000s for their participation in Apple’s long-running Get a Mac campaign.

Now, the pair have reunited for Novo Nordisk’s There’s Only One Ozempic campaign, which debuted Tuesday morning.

In the spots, Long represents Ozempic and its FDA-approved indications, while Hodgman represents “other GLP-1s for type 2 diabetes.”

Novo’s latest consumer-focused brand campaign seeks to differentiate Ozempic from other GLP-1 drugs on the market by underscoring its multiple clinical indications for people living with type 2 diabetes.

As such the pair are featured in a handful of light-hearted ads that take place in front of a water cooler, a whiteboard and on a game show set.

To promote the ad campaign, Long and Hodgman joined managing editor Jack O’Brien for a lively joint interview on this week’s episode of the podcast.

In lieu of our Trends segment, we have some audio bites from editor-at-large Steve Madden’s time on the ground at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.

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Few people in medical marketing have as accomplished of a track record as Matt McNally.

Over the course of more than three decades, Matt has worked across numerous major holding companies and impacted the industry in innumerable ways.

In late 2024, he found his career at an inflection point.

Having led Omnicom Health Group for a few years, his future was put in question when Omnicom announced its multibillion dollar takeover of holding company rival IPG.

As industry stakeholders speculated about whether he or IPG Health CEO Dana Maiman would lead the new Omnicom Health vertical post-merger, Matt submitted his resignation, effective January 1, 2025.

Then, just over a week later, he returned to Publicis to serve as global CEO of Publicis Health.

In his first year on the job, Publicis Health has benefited from the robust performance of MM+M Agency 100 honorees like Digitas Health, Heartbeat, Razorfish Health and Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness.

Additionally, Publicis Health welcomed medcomms agency P-value Group into the fold over the summer.

On this week’s episode, McNally joins us to talk about how his return to Publicis Health has gone, what he makes of the new-look Omnicom and what else is on his radar for 2026. It’s a conversation with a medical marketing tastemaker that you won’t want to miss.

For our Trends segment, we have a few updates on those Untitled Letters the FDA has been sending out to drugmakers.

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The first episode of the MM+M Podcast in 2026 centers on the bright lights of Las Vegas.

Like clockwork, early January in Vegas is dominated by the Consumer Electronics Showcase – which is routinely ranked as the most-attended trade show in the U.S.

While CES is, in accordance with its name, more consumer-focused in nature, the four-day bonanza always offers a healthcare hook.

Alison Woo, a former CNN journalist and comms lead for pharma giants like GSK and Novartis, has been stationed in Vegas since media availability began on Sunday.

You may remember Alison from the last time she was on the podcast, which was one year ago when she covered CES 2025 for us.

This week, Alison and managing editor Jack O’Brien chat about all things CES: the omnipresence of AI, innovation that will actually make a difference in healthcare as well as only the most pertinent medical marketing takeaways for you the listener.

And for our Trends segment, we’re discussing some of our medical marketing industry resolutions for 2026 and say goodbye to reporter Heerea Rikhraj.

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2025 – what a year that was for medical marketing.

So many events and developments contributed to headlines in not only MM+M but mainstream outlets as well.

Chief among them was the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS Secretary, which signaled the direction that the second Trump administration would take on health policy.

Not to be outdone, AI had a sizable impact, too. The momentum behind AI affected how millions consume information, do their jobs and even the ads they see on a daily basis.

Additionally, the closing of Omnicom’s takeover of IPG sent another shockwave through adland. Though medical marketing shops may be more insulated than consumer agencies, they were not spared.

This week, I’m joined by editor-in-chief Jameson Fleming, editor-at-large Steve Madden, pharma editor Lecia Bushak and reporter Heerea Rikhraj so the MM+M editorial team can say ‘goodbye’ to 2025 and ‘hello’ to 2026 in our final episode of the year.

And once again, in lieu of the Trends segment, we bring you an interview from our recent AI Deciphered conference, this time with health futurist John Duffield.

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