Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Experimental Drug From Ovid Fails To Help Untreatable Genetic Disorder
Stat: Ovid’s Treatment For A Rare, Untreatable Disease Fails In A Key Trial
Ovid Therapeutics’ experimental drug for a devastating rare disease proved no better than placebo in a pivotal clinical trial, the company said Tuesday, a bitter disappointment for families dealing with the untreatable condition. The study enrolled 97 children with Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes seizures and severe cognitive impairment, and randomized them to receive either Ovid’s drug, OV101, or placebo. (Garde, 12/1)
Stat: Agios Drug For Rare Form Of Anemia Achieves Main Goal Of Late-Stage Trial
Agios Pharmaceuticals said Tuesday that its experimental drug mitapivat increased hemoglobin levels in patients with a rare form of anemia — achieving the primary goal of a Phase 3 clinical trial. Mitapivat is the most important and closely followed medicine in Agios’ research pipeline because of its potential to treat a range of rare blood diseases defined by the destruction or malfunction of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. (Feuerstein, 12/1)
Also —
Modern Healthcare: UPMC To Sell Part Of Pharmacy Operations For $400 Million
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center plans to sell its pharmacy operations to pharmacy management company CarepathRx for $400 million, the organizations announced Tuesday. The deal rounds out CarepathRx's acquisition strategy, adding the back-office operations of UPMC's Chartwell subsidiary to its portfolio of infusion treatment oversight, specialty drug prescription optimization as well as medication management services for chronically ill patients. The health system will become an investor in CarepathRx when the transaction closes in an estimated 30 to 45 days. (Kacik, 12/1)
