Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Improperly Throwing Away Your GLP-1 Needles In NYC Will Cost You Big
Gothamist: NYC Sanitation Workers Fed Up With Being Pricked By Weight-Loss Drug Needles
The rising popularity of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic have become such a hazard for New York City’s strongest that officials are cracking down on people who throw loose injector pens in the trash. The sanitation department on Wednesday announced plans to raise the fine for throwing uncovered syringes or medical needles out with household trash from $100 to $250. At least 49 sanitation workers have been stuck by needles so far this year — up from 25 who got pricked on the job in all of 2019, according to the agency. Over the last three years, 140 workers have suffered on-the-job needle injuries, data shows. (Quigley, 8/19)
FiercePharma: Novo Testing Smaller Doses Of Wegovy Pill In Phase 3 Study
Just eight months after it introduced its oral version of semaglutide for obesity, also known as the Wegovy pill, Novo Nordisk is testing the GLP-1 in smaller doses in the late-stage OASIS 5 study. The company has not made public the strength of the doses being tested in the placebo-controlled trial, which is underway in the United States and Europe. A starter dose of the Wegovy pill comes in at 1.5 mg, with the titration schedule ramping up in increments of 4 mg, 9 mg and then a maximum dose of 25 mg. (Dunleavy, 8/20)
Medical Xpress: New Study Raises Concerns Over Use Of Weight-Loss Drugs In Elite Sport
Researchers surveyed 114 sports medicine physicians from 38 countries, covering 93 different sports, to explore their views on athletes' use of GLP-1 drugs. Twelve percent said they were aware of athletes using the medications despite having no medical need for them. (Clark, 8/20)
Fierce Healthcare: Weight Loss Drugs Reshaping Healthcare's Business Model: Report
The blockbuster success of GLP-1 weight loss drugs has caused major ripple effects across healthcare and pharma, representing a significant growth engine for drugmakers but a cost challenge for payers. GLP-1s are also potentially disrupting a healthcare system built around treating obesity-related complications, forcing providers, insurers and investors to rethink where future revenue and growth will come from, according to a new report from Wells Fargo. (Landi, 8/20)
In other pharmaceutical industry news —
FiercePharma: Roche Earmarks $750M To Double The Size Of Its Oregon Manufacturing Facility
Eight months after more than doubling down on its construction of a $2 billion drug manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, Roche is making a similar move on the other side of the United States. At the campus of its Genentech unit in Hillsboro, Oregon, Roche will invest $750 million to double the size of its existing production facility. The new outlay will support the construction of a fill-finish plant that will produce drug-delivery devices, such as prefilled syringes and auto-injectors, which largely allow patients to administer drugs by themselves at home. (Dunleavy, 8/20)
Forbes: Italy’s $10 Billion Pharma Family Makes A U.S. Power Move
For four generations, Rome’s Angelini family has built a $2.5 billion operation with drugs for depression and epilepsy in Europe. Now it’s bought its way into the U.S. market. (Feldman, 8/20)
MedPage Today: First Therapy Approved For Dangerous Metabolic Disorder
The FDA on Wednesday granted accelerated approval to pariglasgene brecaparvovec (Genglycos) as the first treatment for glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSDIa), an inherited metabolic disorder that requires frequent consumption of cornstarch to prevent severe or life-threatening hypoglycemia. (Ingram, 8/20)
The New York Times: What Is Treatment-Resistant Depression?
When Juan Rivera was in college, he noticed that the activities he loved, such as going out with friends, had stopped making him happy. “I would be with my friends but not enjoying it fully and just sort of feeling flat,” he said. On bad days, he could barely get out of bed, much less summon the motivation to leave the house. Mr. Rivera, now 35, discussed his struggles with a psychiatrist. She evaluated him, diagnosed him with depression and prescribed an antidepressant. (Wenner Moyer, 8/20)
