Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Bankruptcy Filing Is A Farce, J&J Litigants Contend In Latest Lawsuit
Reuters: Cancer Victims Sue J&J Over 'Fraudulent' Bankruptcies
A group of cancer victims sued Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday, accusing the healthcare company of committing fraud through repeated and continued efforts to use a shell company's bankruptcy to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its talc products contained asbestos and caused cancer. (Knauth, 5/22)
Axios: Safety Risk Cited For Novo Nordisk's Long-Acting Insulin
A long-acting insulin from Novo Nordisk was shown to have a greater risk of excessively lowering patients' blood sugar without offering better management of sugar levels or other benefits, Food and Drug Administration staff found. (Bettelheim, 5/23)
Stat: For Longer-Lasting Obesity Drugs, Biotechs Turn To Gene Silencing
Enticed by the immense market opened by GLP-1 weight loss drugs Wegovy and Zepbound, a handful of biotech companies are trying to develop next-generation, longer-lasting therapies based on a very different approach: RNA interference. (DeAngelis and Chen, 5/23)
Axios: Ozempic Among Weight-Loss Drugs Boosting Pharma's U.S. Reputation
The blockbuster success of new anti-obesity drugs helped boost the corporate reputations of pharmaceutical brands, according to new rankings from the annual Axios/Harris Poll 100. For now, drugmakers are largely getting a pass from the public on the high prices of these transformational treatments, even as inflation-weary consumers have soured on other industries over price hikes. (Reed, 5/23)
Stat: FDA Poised To Publish Guidelines For Clinical Trial Diversity
The Food and Drug Administration is poised to tell drug and medical device makers how to better include people of color in the clinical trials that test whether products work and are safe, an agency official said Wednesday. Those guidelines are five months late. (Wilkerson, 5/22)
The New York Times: Despite Setback, Neuralink’s First Brain-Implant Patient Stays Upbeat
Just four months ago, Noland Arbaugh had a circle of bone removed from his skull and hair-thin sensor tentacles slipped into his brain. A computer about the size of a small stack of quarters was placed on top and the hole was sealed. Paralyzed below the neck, Mr. Arbaugh is the first patient to take part in the clinical trial of humans testing Elon Musk’s Neuralink device, and his early progress was greeted with excitement. (Jewett, 5/22)
