Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Approves Heart Failure Drug Inpefa; AI Helps In The Fight Against Antibiotic-Resistant Infections
FiercePharma: Lexicon Finally Scores FDA Nod For Heart Failure Drug Inpefa
It’s been a winding road full of potholes, but Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has finally reached its destination, gaining an FDA approval for Inpefa (sotagliflozin). (Dunleavy, 5/30)
ScienceDaily: Using AI, Scientists Find A Drug That Could Combat Drug-Resistant Infections
Using AI, researchers identified a new antibiotic that can kill Acinetobacter baumannii, a type of bacteria that is responsible for many drug-resistant infections. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 5/25)
New England Journal of Medicine: Ketamine Versus ECT For Nonpsychotic Treatment-Resistant Major Depression
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and subanesthetic intravenous ketamine are both currently used for treatment-resistant major depression, but the comparative effectiveness of the two treatments remains uncertain. (Anand, M.D., et al, 5/24)
CIDRAP: Study Supports Shorter Treatment Regimen For US Patients With Resistant TB
New data published today in Clinical Infectious Diseases indicates that early implementation of shorter treatment regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in the United States was successful. The data come from a cohort of 70 US patients who were started on the 6-month, all-oral bedaquiline, pretomanid, and linezolid (BPaL) regimen for rifampin-resistant TB (RR-TB) in October 2019, shortly after the US Food and Drug Administration approved the regimen. (Dall, 5/30)
CIDRAP: FDA Approves Antibiotic Combination For Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday approved the combination antibiotic sulbactam-durlobactam for the treatment of patients with hospital-related bacterial pneumonia caused by a highly resistant superbug. The drug, marketed as Xacduro, combines a beta-lactam antibiotic (sulbactam) with a novel, broad-spectrum beta-lactamase inhibitor (durlobactam) and specifically targets susceptible strains of Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex. (Dall, 5/24)
JAMA: Here’s What To Know About Xylazine, Aka Tranq, The Animal Tranquilizer Increasingly Found In Illicit Fentanyl Samples
The drug is a central α2-adrenergic receptor agonist that causes a rapid decrease in the release of norepinephrine and dopamine in the central nervous system, according to the FDA. (Rubin, MA, 5/24)
