Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
To Tackle Opioid Payouts, Pharma Industry Players Try Bankruptcy
The Wall Street Journal: Rite Aid Prepares Bankruptcy That Would Halt Opioid Lawsuits
Rite Aid is preparing to file for bankruptcy in coming weeks to address mass federal and state lawsuits the drugstore chain is facing over its alleged role in the sale of opioids, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. The chapter 11 filing would cover Rite Aid’s more than $3.3 billion debt load and pending legal allegations that it oversupplied prescription painkillers, the people said. Philadelphia-based Rite Aid hasn’t agreed on a settlement with federal, state government and private opioid plaintiffs to resolve those opioid liabilities in a potential chapter 11 and is currently planning to treat them as general unsecured claims, they said. (Gladstone, Scurria, and Klein, 8/25)
Reuters: Drugmaker Mallinckrodt Files For Second Bankruptcy In The US
Drugmaker Mallinckrodt on Monday said the company and some of its units have filed for a second bankruptcy in 3 years in the U.S., with the newest restructuring plan set to reduce its debt by about $1.9 billion. The Ireland-based company initiated Chapter 11 proceedings after reaching a debt reduction deal that would cut $1 billion from the amount it owes to victims of the opioid crisis. (8/28)
On pharmaceutical shortages —
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Cancer Drug Shortage Prompts Georgia Lawmakers To Raise Issue With FDA
Nine members of the Georgia congressional delegation sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration Thursday seeking answers to questions on cancer drugs that have been in shortage for months. The shortage, brought to a head by the shutdown of a large manufacturing plant in India, could harm patients because doctors have been forced to change treatment plans. “Providers at cancer centers have started to alter treatment programs and delay preferred therapies due to limited drug availability,” the letter states. (Hart, 8/27)
CNBC: ADHD Drug Market Faces Back-To-School Supply Strain
It’s been 10 months since the Food and Drug Administration first announced a nationwide shortage of Adderall — one of the most widely used medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — and the supply strain could potentially worsen in the months ahead. (Constantino, 8/26)
On weight-loss drugs —
NPR: Could Ozempic Help You Drink Less Alcohol? Scientists Are Trying To Find Out
"There's really been a large number of clinical and anecdotal reports coming in suggesting that people's drinking behaviors are changing and in some instances pretty substantially while taking [Ozempic or Wegovy]," says Christian Hendershot, a psychologist and addiction researcher at the University of North Carolina. He's leading one of six clinical trials now underway aimed at understanding how semaglutide may alter people's drinking and smoking habits. (Doucleff, 8/28)
Stat: What Do New Weight Loss Drugs Mean For Bariatric Surgery?
Over the past year, weight loss drugs have captured the public’s imagination but also raised existential questions about the future of bariatric surgery. For obesity, surgery has long been — and continues to be — the most effective treatment, reducing patients’ risk of sleep apnea, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and death. However, the gap between weight loss drugs and bariatric surgery is starting to narrow after Wegovy cut the risk of major heart complications by 20% in Novo Nordisk’s SELECT trial. (Bajaj, 8/28)
The New York Times: The N.Y.C. Neighborhood That’s Getting Even Thinner On Ozempic
The Upper East Side is one of the city’s wealthiest and healthiest neighborhoods. It has one of the highest life expectancies, and among the lowest rates of diabetes and obesity in New York City. Now the neighborhood’s residents are getting even thinner. Last year, about 2.3 percent of people living along a stretch of Manhattan that extended from the Upper East Side down to Gramercy Park were taking Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro — injectable medications belonging to a breakthrough new class of weight loss and diabetes drugs, according to an analysis by Trilliant Health, a health care analytics firm. That was the highest rate in New York City. (Goldstein, 8/26)
In other pharmaceutical news —
The Washington Post: Fish Oil Supplement Claims Don’t Match The Science, Study Shows
Most research shows that over-the-counter fish oil supplements don’t offer cardiovascular benefits, but that hasn’t stopped marketers from touting them for heart health, a new study shows. The sale of fish oil supplements is a multibillion-dollar industry, and many people take fish oil capsules daily, believing the omega-3 fatty acids they contain are good for their overall health, particularly for their heart. (Bever, 8/23)
The Wall Street Journal: 3M Nears Roughly $5.5 Billion Earplugs Settlement
3M and plaintiffs attorneys are nearing a settlement that would resolve hundreds of thousands of claims by veterans that earplugs made by the company and a subsidiary failed to protect them from hearing loss. Under the terms being discussed, 3M would pay about $5.5 billion, people close to the discussions said. Negotiations are continuing, they said, and the final amount hasn’t been established yet. (Tita and Keilman, 8/27)
Stat: Neuroscience Startup Neumora Files For IPO
Neumora, a neuroscience startup founded by VC Arch Venture Partners, hopes to become one of the few biotechs to go public this year. The company filed paperwork for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. It did not state how many shares it plans to sell or at what price. (DeAngelis, 8/25)
