Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
3 Drugs On Horizon Could Help Lower Lp(a), A Genetic Form Of Cholesterol That Raises Heart Attack Risk
CNBC: Lp(A) Drugs From Novartis, Amgen And Eli Lilly Aim To Prevent Heart Attacks
Pharma thinks it’s found the next frontier in preventing heart attacks. Novartis, Amgen and Eli Lilly are among the drugmakers betting that slashing levels of a particularly bad form of cholesterol could deliver the next blockbusters in cardiology. All three of the pharmaceutical giants are in late-stage trials to test whether drugs that cut Lp(a) can protect people from heart attacks. (Peebles, 4/27)
More pharmaceutical developments —
Stat: Veradermics’ Hair Loss Drug Succeeds In Late-Stage Trial
An oral medicine for hair loss successfully spurred hair growth in a late-stage trial, startup Veradermics announced Monday. (DeAngelis, 4/27)
NBC News: Patients Say They Want Alzheimer's Blood Tests. Doctors Aren't Sure They Help
The idea is straightforward: Take a blood test now, even without symptoms, and learn if you could some day develop Alzheimer’s disease. Whether you should get this test is a more complicated matter. Most Alzheimer’s blood tests work by measuring levels of amyloid or tau, proteins that build up in the brain and are thought to play key roles in the disease. Both can begin gathering in the brain decades before any symptoms appear. But it’s still an ongoing debate how well the tests can predict who will go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease, doctors say. (Lovelace Jr., 4/27)
Axios: ADHD Drug Prescriptions Have Spiked Since The Pandemic
Stimulant use has spiked in the post-pandemic era, particularly among young adult women. Demand for ADHD medications is surging, but the drugs may not be reaching the people who need them the most. (Owens, 4/28)
MedPage Today: Can Endoscopic Procedure Slow Post-GLP-1 Weight Rebound?
An investigational endoscopic procedure showed a trend for reducing weight rebounds after patients with obesity discontinued the GLP-1 agonist tirzepatide (Zepbound), according to preliminary results from the REMAIN-1 trial. (Bassett, 4/27)
The New York Times: Thanks To GLP-1s, Obesity Experts Are Trying To Understand ‘Food Noise’
Before the new obesity drugs came on the market, almost no one used the term food noise. Researchers studying and developing drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound analyzed doses, side effects, weight loss and improvements in conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and sleep apnea. Incessant thoughts about food and internal dialogues about what to eat, what not to eat, when to eat, how to resist eating — these were not on the research agenda. (Kolata, 4/27)
Bloomberg: China Races To Build World's Largest Biobank To Rival US Drugs Research
As a fledgling researcher in US, Zhang Li was struck by the efficiency of extracting human tissue in the morning and mining it for data the same afternoon. Such a streamlined process had been missing from his years of training as a bio data scientist in China. Inspired, he returned home to Beijing to join the Chinese Institute for Brain Research and launch a national database that will collect blood and DNA samples from 33,000 children to help identify patterns of brain disease and their risk factors. (Kan and Tong, 4/28)
Also —
AP: OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma Faces Sentencing
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma could be dissolved and replaced by a company focused on the public good by the end of the week, as a massive legal settlement resolving thousands of lawsuits is set to take effect. A federal judge on Tuesday is expected to deliver a criminal sentence to the company to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice probe — a last necessary step to clear the way for the settlement. (Mulvihill, 4/28)
