Just 2,000 Patients Are Taking Leqembi, The $26,500-A-Year Alzheimer’s Drug
But Biogen says it expected the slow uptake. Before receiving the drug, patients must have a brain scan or a spinal tap to confirm they are candidates for the treatment.
Boston Globe:
Biogen Alzheimer’s Drug Launch Off To Slow Start
Seven months after US drug regulators fully approved Biogen’s treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, only about 2,000 patients are taking the medicine nationwide, the company said Tuesday. (Saltzman, 2/13)
Stat:
Abbott's New Heart Device Gets FDA Advisory Panel Nod
An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration voted in favor of a new device from Abbott meant to treat patients with tricuspid heart valve disease. All but one of the 14 panelists said the treatment’s benefits outweighed its risks. The FDA tends to follow advisory panel recommendations. (Lawrence, 2/13)
Stat:
Latigo Launches With $135 Million For Vertex-Competing Pain Drug
After three years being incubated by California VC Westlake Village BioPartners, a new biotech launched Wednesday with $135 million and plans to compete with Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The startup is called Latigo Biotherapeutics, and it’s launching having already started a Phase 1 trial for a non-opioid pain medicine, LTG-001. The oral therapy is designed to silence pain-signaling neurons by blocking a sodium channel called NaV 1.8. (DeAngelis, 2/14)
Reuters:
FDA Warns Online Vendors Selling Misbranded Weight-Loss, Diabetes Drugs
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it has sent warning letters to two online vendors for selling unapproved and misbranded versions of semaglutide and tirzepatide, the active ingredients in popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs. The letters were issued earlier this month to Synthetix, which sells drugs on a website called Helix Chemical Supply, and US Chem Labs after the U.S. regulator conducted a review of their respective websites in October. (2/14)
Fox News:
Experimental Lupus Therapy Could Be ‘Life-Changing’ For Patients With Autoimmune Disease, Study Finds
Australian researchers may have found a breakthrough treatment for lupus.In a study published in Nature Communications on Feb. 6, scientists at Monash University revealed that they were able to "fix" defective cells that can cause lupus, an autoimmune disease. They accomplished this by infusing human cells — called regulatory T cells — harvested from healthy people, which then triggered a protective mechanism that helps to prevent autoimmunity, according to a press release from the university. (Rudy, 2/14)
Stat:
KalVista Pill Reduced Swelling 'Attacks' Caused By Genetic Disease
KalVista Pharmaceuticals said Tuesday that its oral, on-demand treatment for the swelling “attacks” commonly experienced by patients with a genetic condition called hereditary angioedema achieved the goals of a Phase 3 clinical trial. (Feuerstein, 2/13)
CBS News:
Have High Blood Pressure? New Procedure Could Treat Hypertension For Life
One out of every two adults will develop high blood pressure, which can lead to a host of problems including heart disease, stroke, and blindness. Many patients either can't or won't take medication, but a new surgical procedure could treat help hypertension for life. ... Three-quarters of people with high blood pressure don't have it under control. David Leifer enrolled in a clinical trial investigating whether a surgical procedure called ultrasound renal denervation could safely and effectively treat hypertension. ... Four years later, Leifer remains off medication with good readings. Doctors are hopeful he may never have to take medication again. (Marshall, 2/13)
