Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GLP-1 Use Slashed Mortality Rate For Certain Colon Cancer Patients: Study
MedPage Today: GLP-1s Tied To Big Survival Advantage In Colon Cancer Patients
Patients with colon cancer and a history of treatment with GLP-1 receptor agonists for obesity had a 5-year mortality rate that was less than half the rate for patients who didn't take these drugs, according to a large retrospective analysis. (Bankhead, 11/14)
The Washington Post: GLP-1 Weight-Loss Treatment Is Being Used For Alcohol And Drug Addiction
When Susan Akin first started injecting a coveted weight-loss drug early this year, the chaos in her brain quieted. The relentless cravings subsided — only they’d never been for food. The medication instead dulled her urges for the cocaine and alcohol that caused her to plow her car into a tree, spiral into psychosis and wind up admitted to a high-end addiction treatment center in Delray Beach, Florida. (Ovalle, 11/16)
More pharmaceutical news —
Bloomberg: Sarepta’s Elevidys To Remain On Market With New FDA Warning
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s controversial gene therapy for a rare muscle condition will remain available in the US with a strict new warning about potentially deadly liver injuries, a regulatory decision that removes the risk it would be pulled from the market. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it was adding a boxed warning, the agency’s most severe form of caution, to Elevidys. The agency also said use of the gene therapy should be limited to children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who are four years of age and older, and can still walk. (Smith, 11/14)
Medical Xpress: One Of The World's Oldest Blood Pressure Drugs May Also Halt Aggressive Brain Tumor Growth
A Penn-led team has revealed how hydralazine, one of the world's oldest blood pressure drugs and a mainstay treatment for preeclampsia, works at the molecular level. In doing so, they made a surprising discovery—it can also halt the growth of aggressive brain tumors. Over the last 70 years, hydralazine has been an indispensable tool in medicine—a front-line defense against life-threatening high blood pressure, especially during pregnancy. But despite its essential role, a fundamental mystery has persisted: No one knows its "mechanism of action"—essentially how it works at a molecular level, which allows for improved efficacy, safety, and what it can treat. (Magubane, 11/16)
AP: Lifelong Drugs Don't Solve Autoimmune Diseases. Researchers Are Trying Something New
Scientists are trying a revolutionary new approach to treat rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus and other devastating autoimmune diseases — by reprogramming patients’ out-of-whack immune systems. When your body’s immune cells attack you instead of protecting you, today’s treatments tamp down the friendly fire but they don’t fix what’s causing it. Patients face a lifetime of pricey pills, shots or infusions with some serious side effects — and too often the drugs aren’t enough to keep their disease in check. (Neergaard, 11/14)
KFF Health News: FDA’s Plan To Boost Biosimilar Drugs Could Stall At The Patent Office
While the FDA is streamlining regulation of copycat versions of the expensive drugs that millions take for arthritis, cancer, and other diseases, the U.S. patent office is making it harder for the cheaper medicines to get on the market, industry officials say. (Allen, 11/17)
