Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Most Blood Work Does Not Require 8-Hour Fasting, New Research Shows
MedPage Today: Few Lab Tests Actually Need 8 Hours Of Fasting, Study Suggests
Fasting less than 8 hours before routine blood tests generally did not change results, with few exceptions, according to an observational study. In paired within-person analyses of over 100,000 patients undergoing multiple blood collections, the vast majority of 372 test items did not have established analytical performance specifications exceeded with less than 8 hours of fasting, reported Sollip Kim, MD, PhD, of the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea, and colleagues in JAMA Internal Medicine. (Lou, 9/28)
In other pharma and tech news —
The Hill: Blood Pressure Medication Recalled Nationwide Under FDA’s Class II Risk Level
If you are one of millions of Americans taking medication to lower blood pressure, you may want to check the label. Inventia Healthcare Limited, based in Mumbai, India, is voluntarily recalling 13,567 bottles of chlorthalidone tablets that may not dissolve properly, potentially lowering the dosage that gets absorbed by the body. The bottles of 25 mg tablets being recalled nationwide have the batch number RISA24002 and an expiration date of March 2027. (Tanner, 9/28)
Stat: Merck Discontinues Antiobiotic Recarbrio In U.S., Despite Superbug Fears
In an unexpected move, Merck discontinued an important antibiotic from the U.S. market earlier this month, underscoring concerns about the commitment large pharmaceutical companies are willing to make to a field that is crucial to public health. (Silverman, 9/28)
MedPage Today: Insurance Formularies Holding Up Lower-Emission Asthma, COPD Inhalers
Commercial insurance formularies have posed a barrier to cutting greenhouse gas emissions from metered-dose inhalers used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a study showed. (Phend, 9/28)
The Hill: CagriSema Outperforms Zepbound In Weight-Loss Trial, Novo Nordisk Says
Amid the pending litigation against GLP-1 drugmakers, Novo Nordisk’s new obesity drug led to greater weight loss than Zepbound in patients, according to new research. A late-stage clinical trial found that a 1 mg dose of CagriSema led to 12.4 percent weight loss in patients with Type 2 diabetes after 60 weeks. By comparison, patients receiving a 5 mg dose of Zepbound (tirzepatide) experienced 9.1 percent weight loss. “The results from CagriSema are very encouraging, demonstrating the strong potency of the combination of semaglutide and cagrilintide,” Novo Nordisk Chief Scientific Officer Martin Holst Lange said. (Taub, 9/28)
The Hill: GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs Help Sleep Apnea, But CPAP Still Best Option, Study Shows
GLP-1 medications continue to be discussed as a treatment option for obstructive sleep apnea, but researchers say CPAP remains the preferred treatment for the condition. The review, published in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, found that the weight loss drugs consistently reduce apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) scores, meaning patients experience fewer breathing interruptions during sleep. (Taub, 9/28)
Also —
Stat: The Last ‘Breakthrough’ Devices To Get Special Treatment From Medicare
In the last month, manufacturers have announced “breakthrough” status from the Food and Drug Administration for a menagerie of devices: triage algorithms for abdominal CT scans, diagnostic panels for urinary tract infections, and thrombectomy robots, to name a few. (Palmer, 9/29)
