Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Not Enough Evidence': WHO Says No Obesity Meds For Kids Under 10
Bloomberg: WHO Says Obesity Drugs Shouldn’t Be Used For Young Children
The World Health Organization issued a strong recommendation against obesity medications for children under the age of 10, saying it’s not clear how the powerful drugs would affect them in the long term. Healthy food and exercise should be the focus for these young patients, WHO said. For older ones between the ages of 10 and 19, medicine is an option only if supervised lifestyle-change programs haven’t been successful, according to the United Nations agency. Bariatric surgery could also be considered “under strict conditions” for adolescents with severe obesity, WHO said. (Kresge, 10/7)
More pharma and tech updates —
The Wall Street Journal: Chinese Makers Of Fentanyl Ingredients Now Sell Bootleg Peptides To Americans
Chinese producers of the ingredients that go into fentanyl have found a profitable new market in the U.S.: peptides. A growing number of Chinese chemical manufacturers that have supplied fentanyl precursors to drug cartels are now capitalizing on the peptide craze in the U.S. and elsewhere, selling unregulated substances that promise to tan skin, repair tissue and help with weight loss, according to advertisements from the vendors and companies that track cryptocurrency payments for such products. (Kowsmann and O’Brien, 10/6)
Stat: Muscular Dystrophy Therapy Is Available, But Only To A Fortunate Few
There’s a boy like you in Minnesota, Yannick’s mom told him a few years ago. He has the same disease. He has the same kind of smile. Maybe you could talk? They clicked. After school and on weekends, the two boys boot up their computers, Yannick in San Diego and Brecken in a suburb of St. Paul, Minn. (Mast, 10/7)
Modern Healthcare: Stryker Taps Spencer Stiles To Succeed Kevin Lobo As CEO
Stryker Corp. CEO Kevin Lobo will step into the role of executive chairman on Jan. 1, handing the reins to President and Chief Operating Officer Spencer Stiles. The Portage-based medical device giant announced the executive changes before the start of trading on Oct. 6. Stiles has been with Stryker since 1999 and has held leadership roles in several of Stryker’s business units, including Orthopaedics, MedSurg and Neurotechnology. Before being tapped in January to be president and COO, he was group president of orthopaedics and spearheaded the company’s joint replacement and trauma and extremities business line, as well as digital, robotics and enabling technologies. (Boomgaard, 10/6)
On cancer treatment —
The Baltimore Sun: New Imaging Tool Identifies Most Prostate Cancers, Study Finds
A new study by the Medical University of Vienna found that a specialized form of imaging could identify 91% of prostate cancer cases without the need for a biopsy. (Hille, 10/6)
NBC News: Brain Tumor Vaccine: Experimental Shot Shows Promise Against Glioblastoma In Some Patients
When Tracey Kassman was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2022 at age 64, she thought her life was over. But Kassman decided to take a chance, joining a clinical trial studying a vaccine designed to prevent the return of glioblastoma. NBC News first spoke with Kassman, of Buffalo, New York, in 2023. At the time, she said she didn’t know if she would be alive to see that original story published. (Lovelace Jr., Kopf and Thompson, 10/7)
Stat: Caribou Biosciences, Maker Of CAR-T Therapy For Lymphoma, To Shutter
Caribou Biosciences is shutting down after failing to raise the money necessary to fund a late-stage clinical trial of its off-the-shelf CAR-T therapy for lymphoma, the company said Tuesday. (Feuerstein, 10/7)
CIDRAP: Study Suggests Sugar-Rich Foods Amplify Antibiotic Disruption Of The Gut Microbiome
A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, as Mary Poppins sang. But for blood cancer patients on antibiotics, it could make things worse. That’s according to a five-year study that closely tracked the role that diet plays in antibiotic-induced disruption of the gut microbiome. The findings were published last week in Nature. (Dall, 10/6)
MedPage Today: Chemo-Free Regimen May Be Effective Option For EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancer
A three-drug combination may be effective for patients with EGFR-mutant advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who progressed on a third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), according to a single-arm phase II trial. (Bassett, 10/6)
The New York Times: It Can Keep Cancer In Remission. Why Is No One Talking About It?
Despite mounting evidence that exercise programs can improve cancer outcomes, access to them remains limited. (Agrawal, 10/6)
