Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nuclear Medicine Safety Advisers Found To Have Conflicts Of Interest
Axios: Conflicts Found On Nuclear Medicine Safety Panel
Federal advisers on nuclear medicine safety had conflicts of interest when they evaluated whether accidental injections of radioactive drugs used in medical imaging should be reported to authorities, according to a watchdog report. Why it matters: The special inquiry found the Nuclear Regulatory Commission doesn't have a policy requiring conflict-of-interest reviews and therefore lacks controls to ensure compliance with federal ethics guidelines. (Bettelheim, 4/8)
In news about heart health —
KFF Health News: Ten Doctors On FDA Panel Reviewing Abbott Heart Device Had Financial Ties With Company
When the FDA recently convened a committee of advisers to assess a cardiac device made by Abbott, the agency didn’t disclose that most of them had received payments from the company or conducted research it had funded — information readily available in a federal database. One member of the FDA advisory committee was linked to hundreds of payments from Abbott totaling almost $200,000, according to a database maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services. (Hilzenrath and Hacker, 4/8)
Stat: Abiomed Heart Pump Reduces Heart Attack Deaths In Trial
A controversial heart pump from Abiomed reduced the number of deaths in severe heart attack patients, according to a highly anticipated randomized trial presented at the American College of Cardiology conference and published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Sunday. The trial, which took 10 years to enroll, followed 355 patients for 180 days in Denmark, Germany, and the United Kingdom who came into the hospital with a heart attack and dangerously low blood flow, known as cardiogenic shock. (Lawrence, 4/7)
Stat: Trial Challenges Practice Of Using Beta Blockers After Heart Attack
Beta blockers are a mainstay in cardiovascular treatment, frequently given to patients after heart attacks. But a new large trial turns that convention on its head, suggesting that the drugs may not in fact help many of these patients. The trial, which enrolled about 5,000 patients who specifically had preserved ejection fraction after a heart attack, found that long-term treatment with beta blockers did not significantly reduce the combined risk of death or new heart attack, according to results being presented here Sunday at the American College of Cardiology conference and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Chen, 4/7)
AP: J&J To Pump Another $13B Into Its MedTech Business With Shockwave Deal
Johnson & Johnson is pumping more money into heart care with a roughly $13 billion deal for Shockwave Medical, which specializes in technology that helps open clogged arteries. The health care giant said Friday that it will spend $335 in cash for each share of Shockwave. The total deal value includes cash acquired. The deal has already been approved by the boards of directors from both companies. (Murphy, 4/5)
On weight-loss drugs —
Bloomberg: Novo’s Wegovy Aids Heart Failure Patients With Diabetes In Study
Wegovy, the blockbuster weight-loss medication from Novo Nordisk A/S, eased heart failure symptoms for patients with diabetes in the latest large trial to support use of the drug to treat health conditions linked to obesity. Patients who took Wegovy reported less fatigue, less leg swelling, were less short of breath and were able to walk farther in six minutes than those who got a placebo, researchers reported on Saturday in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Kresge, 4/6)
The Washington Post: Women Using Ozempic And Similar Drugs Are Reporting Unexpected Pregnancies
Across social media, women who have used Ozempic or similar medications for diabetes or weight loss are reporting an unexpected side effect — surprise pregnancies. The Facebook group “I got pregnant on Ozempic,” has more than 500 members. Numerous posts on Reddit and TikTok discuss unplanned pregnancies while on Ozempic and similar drugs which can spur significant weight loss by curbing appetite and slowing the digestive process. The drugs are known as “Glucagon-like peptide 1” or GLP-1 drugs. (Klein, 4/5)
