Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HIV Study: Antibody Drugs Can Be Used As Alternative Treatment In Children
Stat: Neutralizing Antibodies Against HIV Shows Promise In Children
When children living with HIV are injected with neutralizing antibodies, the treatment can suppress cells that contain the virus and are capable of reactivating, an early-stage trial found. Details of the trial, documented in a study published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine, show that broadly neutralizing antibodies can boost the protective effects of antiretroviral drugs. This suggests that antibody drugs can be used as supplements or even as alternative treatments for HIV in children. (Tsanni, 7/5)
In other pharmaceutical industry news —
Reuters: Mark Cuban's Online Pharmacy Set To Launch Humira Biosimilar
Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, an online pharmacy launched by the billionaire to sell drugs directly to customers at low prices, should soon begin selling Coherus BioSciences's biosimilar version of AbbVie Inc's blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, Cuban said on Wednesday. "We should be getting it today or tomorrow," Cuban said in an email. (Erman, 7/5)
Stat: The PBM Ad Wars Are Taking Over Washington, D.C.
If you live in this city, you’re probably awash in pharmacy benefit manager ads — whether you’re listening to an NPR podcast, reading the New York Times, streaming “Yellowstone,” or watching the U.S. Open Golf Championships. It doesn’t matter if it’s 5 a.m., primetime, or 11 p.m.; in between ads for dog joint supplements and the “Barbie” movie, you will inevitably learn about these middlemen of the prescription drug market. (Bajaj, 7/6)
Stat: What To Know About A Major Upcoming Wegovy Heart Health Study
At some point this summer, the drugmaker Novo Nordisk will release results from a closely watched study that, if successful, could further uncork demand for new obesity medications, streamline insurance coverage for the therapies, and demonstrate long-lasting health benefits. The Select trial, as the study is called, is the first large, randomized trial to test whether long-term treatment with a weight loss drug can meaningfully improve patients’ cardiovascular health. Novo is testing Wegovy, a weekly injection also sold under the brand name Ozempic for type 2 diabetes, against placebo in the five-year study. (Garde, Joseph and Chen, 7/6)
Reuters: Pfizer, AstraZeneca And Others Ask US Supreme Court To Bar Iraq Terrorism Funding Claims
More than 20 U.S. and European pharmaceutical and medical-device makers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to bar claims that the companies helped to fund terrorism that killed or injured hundreds of American service members during the war in Iraq. The companies, part of five corporate families — AstraZeneca, Pfizer, GE Healthcare USA, Johnson & Johnson and F. Hoffmann-La Roche — are challenging a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. (Scarcella, 7/5)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Research Misconduct Found By Former Penn Brain-Injury Scientist, Feds Say
Federal officials have found that a longtime University of Pennsylvania scientist repeatedly engaged in research misconduct, falsifying results from experiments in which his lab tested drugs on pigs with brain injuries. William M. Armstead, who left Penn during the 2021-22 academic year, has agreed to a seven-year ban on conducting federally funded research as a result of the findings. (Avril, 7/5)
