Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GLP-1 Drugs Suggested For Diabetics At Risk Of Stroke, Heart Disease
USA Today: New Guidance For Stroke Prevention Includes Ozempic, Other Weight Loss Drugs
Experts this week identified new risks and issued updated recommendations for preventing strokes, a leading cause of death and disability in the U.S. It's the first time in a decade that health experts at the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association have issued significant updates to their guidelines. Among the findings, the report published Monday highlights the impact of Ozempic, other GLP-1 drugs and hormones used in gender-affirming care and lays out sex- and gender-specific risks of stroke. (Rodriguez, 10/21)
Reuters: Novo Nordisk's Oral Diabetes Drug Cuts Heart-Related Risks By 14% In Study
Novo Nordisk said on Monday an oral version of its drug semaglutide, helped significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients in a late-stage study. The drug, Rybelsus, helped reduce the risk of these events, including cardiovascular death, non-fatal heart attack and stroke, by 14% compared to placebo, meeting the main goal of the trial. (10/21)
Reuters: Lilly Sues Online Vendors, Medical Spa Over Copycat Weight-Loss Drugs
Eli Lilly said on Monday it sued three medical spas and online vendors for selling products claiming to contain tirzepatide, the main ingredient in its popular weight-loss medicine Zepbound, including in the form of dissolvable tablets. The new lawsuits, which name Pivotal Peptides, MangoRx and Genesis Lifestyle Medicine of Nevada, are the first related to copycat tirzepatide filed since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took the drug off its list of medicines in short supply earlier this month. (Wingrove, 10/21)
Stat: Pfizer, Eli Lilly Pressed By Senators On Telehealth Prescription Deals
Senators led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Monday demanded answers from Pfizer and Eli Lilly about their relationship with the telehealth prescribers they point patients to from their websites, seeking to determine whether the pharma giants are violating the federal anti-kickback statute. (Palmer, 10/22)
On the changes at CVS —
Stat: Behind CVS CEO’s Ouster, A Question: Do A Pharmacy And A Health Insurer Make Sense Together?
Does it make sense for a chain of drug stores to own a major health insurance company? That has been the existential question for CVS Health for six years, since its $70 billion acquisition of the massive insurer Aetna. The biggest pharmacy chain in the U.S. had already been moving beyond retail since its 2007 deal for pharmacy benefit manager Caremark. (Herper, 10/21)
Reuters: Can The New CVS CEO Handle The Aetna Challenge?
As CVS Health's CEO David Joyner steps into the top job after Karen Lynch's quick departure on Friday, Wall Street analysts and some investors are questioning whether he has the right experience to turn around the Aetna health insurance business as it struggles with high medical costs. (Niasse, 10/21)
In other news —
The New York Times: First Sickle Cell Gene Therapy Patient, 12, Leaves Hospital
Kendric Cromer, 12, left Children’s National Hospital in a wheelchair on Wednesday, wearing a T-shirt and cap printed with designs from the anime series “Naruto” and a black face mask. Staff lined the hallway, cheering and waving noisemakers. He had just become the first patient to receive a gene therapy for sickle cell since it was approved — a therapy that is expected to free him from the ravages of the disease. ... About 100,000 people in the United States have sickle cell disease. For the 20,000 or so with the most severe disease, gene therapy may be their only hope of living a normal life. (Kolata, 10/21)
The New York Times: Bruce Ames, 95, Dies; Biochemist Discovered Test For Toxic Chemicals
Bruce Nathan Ames, a biochemist who discovered a revolutionary method of detecting potential carcinogens, paving the way for the banning of many commonly used chemicals, died on Oct. 5 in Berkeley, Calif. He was 95. His wife, Giovanna Ferro-Luzzi Ames, said his death, in a hospital, was from complications after a fall. The so-called Ames Test, developed in the 1970s, is still used by drug manufacturers and pesticide companies to check the safety of their products. (Rosenbluth, 10/21)
The New York Times: Andrew V. Schally, 97, Dies; Scientist Shared Nobel Glory With Rival
Andrew V. Schally, an endocrinologist who was awarded a Nobel for discovering the hormones used by the brain to control growth, reproduction and other bodily functions, sharing the prize with his bitter rival, the neuroscientist Roger Guillemin, died on Thursday at his home in Miami Beach. He was 97. His son, Gordon, confirmed the death. (Gellene, 10/21)
