Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Advisers Set To Consider Use Of Psychedelic-Assisted PTSD Therapy
Reuters: US FDA Panel To Discuss First Psychedelic-Assisted PTSD Treatment Next Month
The U.S. FDA's panel of independent advisers will on June 4 deliberate whether they should recommend approval for the first MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, Lykos Therapeutics said on Monday. This would be the first FDA panel of outside experts to review a potential new PTSD treatment in 25 years. (5/6)
The Los Angeles Times: The Longest, Strangest Trip: Some Psychedelic Drug Users Are Stuck With Unwelcome Highs
A.J. took two small hits off a cannabis vape pen, a common ritual with his morning coffee. Moments after exhaling, a transfigured, kaleidoscopic version of the world emerged before his eyes. “Some colors are seeping into the other colors,” the 30-year-old said, gesturing across his art-filled living room in Yorba Linda. (Sheets, 5/6)
In other pharmaceutical news —
BioPharma Dive: Prologue, Flagship’s Newest Startup, Looks To Mine Viruses For New Drugs
Flagship Pioneering on Tuesday launched Prologue Medicines, a new biotechnology startup aiming to make drugs by closely studying the proteins of viruses. Prologue is starting out with $50 million and what it claims is the largest known database of viral protein structures. With the help of machine learning tools, the startup plans to mine that database for proteins that can point the way to new medicines. The startup hasn’t said which specific diseases it will go after first or identified a lead program. (Wu, 5/7)
Axios: How MRNA Vaccines Could Be Personalized Cancer Cures
An expanding pipeline of vaccines is giving patients new hope against some of the deadliest cancers, by training the body's immune system to attack malignancies. This personalized approach could make conditions like melanoma and bladder, kidney, pancreatic and breast cancers treatable, and even potentially preventable, via infusion. (Reed, 5/7)
KFF Health News: Amgen Plows Ahead With Costly, Highly Toxic Cancer Dosing Despite FDA Challenge
When doctors began using the drug sotorasib in 2021 with high expectations for its innovative approach to attacking lung cancer, retired medical technician Don Crosslin was an early beneficiary. Crosslin started the drug that July. His tumors shrank, then stabilized. But while the drug has helped keep him alive, its side effects have gradually narrowed the confines of his life, said Crosslin, 76, who lives in Ocala, Florida. (Allen, 5/7)
