The chief communications officer turnover rate among Fortune 500 companies dropped 9% in 2023, according to a study by Patino Associates, with most CCOs in their roles for just under five years. The 2024 CCO Turnover Study examined companies on the Fortune 500 list, noting personnel and organizational changes within the communications and corporate affairs departments, according to the search firm.  In 2023, turnover rates were at a five-year low at 8%, down from 17% in 2022 and 15.2% in 2021.  The low turnover rate is tied to two trends, according to Patino Associates: a natural pa ..read more

Democrat Lucas Kunce is trying to pin reproductive care restrictions on Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), betting it will boost his chances of unseating the incumbent in November. In a recent ad campaign, Kunce accuses Hawley of jeopardizing reproductive care, including in vitro fertilization. Staring straight into the camera, with tears in her eyes, a Missouri mom identified only as Jessica recounts how she struggled for years to conceive. “Now there are efforts to ban IVF, and Josh Hawley got them started,” Jessica says. “I want Josh Hawley to look me in the eye and tell me that I can’t have the ch ..read more

Peloton Interactive has promoted Letena Lindsay to global comms head following Ben Boyd’s exit. As VP of global comms, Lindsay reports to CMO Lauren Weinberg. Lindsay confirmed to PRWeek that she started in the position in March when SVP of global communications Boyd left for the role of chief communications officer at Chobani. Lindsay is overseeing corporate communications, consumer comms, product and innovation comms, internal communications, international comms and community, she said via email. Lindsay, who declined to comment further, has worked at Peloton since 2018, when she joined as ..read more

Sanofi entered into a co-exclusive licensing agreement with Novavax to sell the biotech’s sell COVID-19 vaccine going forward and develop novel flu-COVID combination shots. As part of the deal announced Friday morning, Novavax will receive an upfront payment of $500 million as well as up to $700 million in development, regulatory and launch milestone payments, totalling up to $1.2 billion. The French drugmaker will take over booking sales of the COVID shot next year and the Maryland-based biotech will receive tiered double-digit percentage royalty payments. Regarding the flu-COVID combo vacci ..read more

Deals: Novo Nordisk agreed to a $600 million deal with Metaphore Biotechnologies to create new GLP-1 obesity medications. Chiesi announced it will pay Gossamer Bio $160 million to develop and commercialize its drug candidate seralutinib and commit $226 million in potential regulatory and sales milestones. Medtronic announced a research collaboration with Arecor Therapeutics. Arbor Biotechnologies acquired Serendipity Bioscience, a startup founded by MIT scientist and CRISPR pioneer Feng Zhang. Volpara Health named Clarity Quest as its age ..read more

Isabella Rosario Blum was wrapping up medical school and considering residency programs to become a family practice physician when she got some frank advice: If she wanted to be trained to provide abortions, she shouldn’t stay in Arizona. Blum turned to programs mostly in states where abortion access — and, by extension, abortion training — is likely to remain protected, like California, Colorado, and New Mexico. Arizona has enacted a law banning most abortions after 15 weeks. “I would really like to have all the training possible,” she said, “so of course that would have still been a limitat ..read more

Bill Thompson’s wife had never seen him smile with confidence. For the first 20 years of their relationship, an infection in his mouth robbed him of teeth, one by one. “I didn’t have any teeth to smile with,” the 53-year-old of Independence, Missouri, said. Thompson said he dealt with throbbing toothaches and painful swelling in his face from abscesses for years working as a cook at Burger King. He desperately needed to see a dentist but said he couldn’t afford to take time off without pay. Missouri is one of many states that do not require employers to provide paid sick leave. So, Thompson w ..read more

Agencies have warned advertisers against jumping ship to social media in the wake of Warc’s Social Media Reaches New Peaks report. Warc’s research revealed that social media is now the largest channel in the world in terms of adspend, overtaking paid search. Daniel Wood, chief executive at Creative Futures, part of EssenceMediacom, said: “The danger for advertisers is that they see this as a simple buy signal to move investment without properly interrogating the risks as well as the rewards.” He added that time isn’t the “only metric” and the “relative profit” generated by each channel ..read more

Takeda Pharmaceuticals is plotting a $900 million restructuring effort amid slumping profits and challenges from generics. The Japanese pharma giant announced the plan Thursday morning in conjunction with the rollout of its latest earnings report. As part of the program, which was approved by the board of directors, the drugmaker will focus on advancing its line of growth and launch products and aim to boost its core operating profit margin by low- to mid-30%. Takeda stated that some aspects of the restructuring program include “simplifying some division structures,” as well as investing in i ..read more

James Lemons, 39, wants the bullet removed from his thigh so he can go back to work. Sarai Holguin, a 71-year-old woman originally from Mexico, has accepted the bullet lodged near her knee as her “compa” — a close friend. Mireya Nelson, 15, was hit by a bullet that went through her jaw and broke her shoulder, where fragments remain. She’ll live with them for now, while doctors monitor lead levels in her blood for at least two years. Nearly three months after the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting left at least 24 people injured, recovery from those wounds is intensely personal and ..read more