Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Links Baby Aspirin To Reduced Liver Fat In Liver Disease Sufferers
Stat: Baby Aspirin Cuts Fat Buildup In Liver Disease Patients, In Small Study
Low-dose aspirin led to a reduction in liver fat among patients with metabolic-associated liver disease, a small study out of Boston found. (Cueto, 3/19)
Reuters: AstraZeneca Bets On Next-Generation Cancer Therapy With $2 Bln Fusion Deal
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it will buy Canadian drug developer Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc for $2 billion in cash as the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker bets on next-generation cancer treatments. The deal gives AstraZeneca a foothold in the radiopharmaceutical drugs market, which has seen increasing investor interest since 2021 when data from Novartis' treatment showed that the drug extended survival for prostate cancer patients. (Shabong and Mishra, 3/19)
Reuters: Drugmaker Endo Receives US Court Approval For Bankruptcy Restructuring
Bankrupt drugmaker Endo International said on Tuesday a U.S. Bankruptcy Court has approved its restructuring plan and related opioid settlements to emerge from bankruptcy, which began in 2022. ... Endo had last month agreed to pay up to $465 million over a decade to resolve over $7 billion in claims for purported tax debts, a criminal investigation into the company's opioid marketing and the federal government's possible overpayment for its medications. (3/19)
CNN: A Lifesaving Therapy For Children With A Rare Disease Is Now The World’s Most Expensive Drug, Raising Questions About Access
The US Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the first therapy for a rare and devastating condition called metachromatic leukodystrophy, which typically kills affected children before they turn 7. The one-time treatment, called Lenmeldy, takes stem cells from someone with MLD and uses a harmless virus to insert working copies of a faulty gene. The repaired cells are then infused back to the patient, where they begin to produce an enzyme that’s lacking in children who have the disease. (Goodman, 3/19)
NBC News: Even Among The Insured, Weight Loss Drugs Are Rarely Prescribed, Study Suggests
Powerful weight loss medications aren’t reaching the people who need them most, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. ... “Obesity has been a long-standing clinical and public health change and it’s growing in scope,” said Dr. Chiadi Ndumele, director of obesity and cardiometabolic research in the division of cardiology at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, who presented the findings Tuesday at an American Heart Association meeting in Chicago. (Miller and Kopf, 3/19)
