Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Poison Centers Report 1,500% Spike In Calls Related To Weight-Loss Drug
CNN: Poison Centers See Nearly 1,500% Increase In Calls Related To Injected Weight-Loss Drugs As People Accidentally Overdose
Poison control centers across the US say they are seeing a steep increase in calls related to semaglutide, an injected medication used for diabetes and weight loss, with some people reporting symptoms related to accidental overdoses. Some have even needed to be hospitalized for severe nausea, vomiting and stomach pain, but their cases seem to have resolved after they were given intravenous fluids and medications to control nausea. (Goodman, 12/13)
Reuters: US Employers Hire Virtual Providers As Weight-Loss Drug Gatekeepers
U.S. employers facing surging costs from paying for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and similar obesity drugs are hiring virtual healthcare providers like Teladoc to implement weight-loss management programs, a dozen consultants, pharmacy benefit managers, analysts, and providers told Reuters. These programs may require diet and exercise before granting access to the medicines, and in some cases will become employees' sole covered option for medications like Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s rival therapy Zepbound, which have list prices of more than $1,000 a month. (Wingrove, 12/13)
The Wall Street Journal: Diet Company Medifast, Once An Ozempic Skeptic, Embraces Weight Loss Drugs With LifeMD Telehealth Deal
Medifast, the weight-loss company that uses coaches and low-calorie shakes and bars to help customers slim down, is diving into the Ozempic and Wegovy market. The company is investing $20 million in LifeMD, a telehealth company that provides access to doctors and nurse practitioners who can prescribe the drugs. The move is an about-face for Medifast, a roughly $800 million market-cap company whose chairman and chief executive, Dan Chard, has previously said he was confident in its nondrug approach to weight loss and expressed concerns about the medications. (Petersen, 12/13)
The Wall Street Journal: Oprah Winfrey Says She Uses A Weight Loss Drug
Oprah Winfrey, the media mogul and world’s most famous dieter, said in an interview published Wednesday that she is taking weight-loss medication as a “maintenance tool.” Winfrey didn’t disclose which drug she is taking, but her acknowledgment introduces star wattage to the debate about weight-loss medications that have rocked the pharmaceutical, food and diet industries since their widespread adoption. (Schwartzel, 12/13)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Fox News: ChatGPT Spreads Inaccuracies To Drug Information Questions, Study Finds
In a study led by Long Island University (LIU) in Brooklyn, New York, nearly 75% of drug-related, pharmacist-reviewed responses from the generative AI chatbot were found to be incomplete or wrong. In some cases, ChatGPT, which was developed by OpenAI in San Francisco and released in late 2022, provided "inaccurate responses that could endanger patients," the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, stated in a press release. (Stabile, 12/14)
Stat: Vertex Non-Opioid Drug Reduces Chronic Nerve Pain In Mid-Stage Study
Vertex Pharmaceuticals said Wednesday that an experimental drug reduced pain in people with diabetes who have chronic nerve pain — mid-stage study results that support the biotech company’s efforts to develop an effective painkiller without the addictive potential of opioids. (Feuerstein and Wosen, 12/13)
NBC News: Could A Little-Known Psychedelic Drug Treat Opioid Addiction? Kentucky Wants To Find Out
As the opioid epidemic continues raging, some advocates in Kentucky are pushing the state to explore a little-known psychedelic drug called ibogaine as a possible treatment option for addiction, a move, they say, could save lives. A state committee is considering funding research into the drug, marking the first time a state has looked into such an approach and underscoring the urgent need to expand the playbook to combat a crisis that has devastated the region in the past decade. (Sullivan, Herzberg and Snow, 12/13)
Reuters: Ban Flavoured Vapes, WHO Says, Urging Tobacco-Style Controls
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday urged governments to treat e-cigarettes similarly to tobacco and ban all flavours, threatening cigarette companies' bets on smoking alternatives. Some researchers, campaigners and governments see e-cigarettes, or vapes, as a key tool in reducing the death and disease caused by smoking. But the U.N. agency said "urgent measures" were needed to control them. (12/14)
