Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
EPA Proposes Limits On Ethylene Oxide
Stat: EPA Proposes Limits On Carcinogenic Gas Used To Sterilize Medical Devices
On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new limits on the use of a carcinogenic gas called ethylene oxide. The hope is to reduce ethylene oxide emissions by 80%, which the agency said is part of the Biden administration’s Cancer Moonshot and its “commitment to securing environmental justice and protecting public health.” (Trang and Lawrence, 4/11)
In other pharmaceutical industry news —
NBC News: Promising New AI Can Detect Early Signs Of Lung Cancer That Doctors Can't See
Researchers in Boston are on the verge of what they say is a major advancement in lung cancer screening: Artificial intelligence that can detect early signs of the disease years before doctors would find it on a CT scan. The new AI tool, called Sybil, was developed by scientists at the Mass General Cancer Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. In one study, it was shown to accurately predict whether a person will develop lung cancer in the next year 86% to 94% of the time. (Lovelace Jr., Torres, Kopf, Martin, 4/11)
Stat: Oracle's Cerner Enviza To Use AI To Study Asthma Drug Safety
Cerner Enviza is partnering with health care AI company John Snow Labs to develop artificial intelligence tools to search patient records for side effects from the asthma drug montelukast — an early effort by Oracle, which owns Cerner Enviza and its parent company Cerner, to make use of the trove of data in electronic health records. (Trang, 4/11)
The New York Times: The Diabetes Drug That Could Overshadow Ozempic
Some research has found that Mounjaro may be even more powerful than either Ozempic or Wegovy. One major study comparing these drugs found that taking tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro, led to sharper reductions in blood sugar levels and greater weight loss than the other drugs. However, that study compared different doses of semaglutide and tirzepatide, making it tricky to determine how these medications stack up head-to-head, said Dr. Dean Schillinger, a professor of medicine and diabetes expert at the University of California, San Francisco. It was also sponsored by Eli Lilly, the company that manufactures Mounjaro. (Blum, 4/11)
Stat: Wireless Pacemakers May Work For Children With Slow Heart Rhythms — But First, Doctors Need Child-Sized Catheters
Roughly 1 in 15,000 children are born with congenital heart block, which causes an abnormally slow heart rate. The condition leads to lightheadedness, shortness of breath, and in serious cases, heart failure. Medications work in the short-term, but for children with more severe symptoms, pacemakers are the most reliable, durable treatment — though one fraught with risks. Traditional pacemakers have wires, or leads, that send electrical pulses to a slow-beating heart. The leads, however, do not mesh well with a growing body. (Lawrence, 4/12)
On multiple sclerosis —
Noticias Telemundo for Axios: Trial For Multiple Sclerosis Drug Focused On Hispanic And Black Patients
Researchers are conducting what they call a first of its kind clinical trial to study how Hispanic and Black patients respond to a common medication for multiple sclerosis. Much remains unknown about MS, a chronic illness of the central nervous system, especially how it affects non-white people. (Franco, 4/11)
Stat: How Many? One-Third Of Late-Stage Trials Testing Multiple Sclerosis Drugs Were Never Published
The results from more than one-third of late-stage clinical trials that tested multiple sclerosis drugs were never published in peer-reviewed journals — and studies with negative or inconclusive findings were more likely to remain unpublished, according to a new analysis. (Silverman, 4/11)
