Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating because that oh-too-familiar routine of meetings, deadlines, and the like has returned with a vengeance. You knew this would happen, yes? To cope, we are relying, as always, on cups of stimulation. Our choice today is laced with traces of cocoa. Feel free to join us. Remember, no prescription is required. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits to help you along. Best of luck accomplishing your goals today and, of course, do keep in touch. …
In February, a small biotech company called Kezar Life Sciences reached a breakthrough with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, agreeing to a plan for a clinical trial it hoped could lead to the approval of its treatment for a rare, debilitating liver disease called autoimmune hepatitis. The problem: The agreement came four months too late, STAT explains. The meeting to discuss trial design, a critical step in the drug development process, had been scheduled for last October. But the FDA abruptly canceled it without explanation. The company could no longer proceed as planned and, without clarity from regulators, its path forward was unclear. Kezar’s investors wanted out, and the biotech was forced to start the process of winding down.
Americans starting weight loss medicines for the first time want lower cost and greater convenience as they consider pills from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, Reuters says, citing seven doctors who specialize in obesity. Novo’s Wegovy pill has been on the market since January, while Lilly’s newly approved Foundayo joins the fray this week. Interviews with the specialists show a promising landscape for oral weight loss drugs as the companies compete for share in the fast-changing obesity treatment market that is seen topping $100 billion a year in the next decade. All seven doctors said they had begun prescribing oral Wegovy, and three said they have prescribed the pill to about 10% of their patients. Of those patients, most are taking a GLP-1 for the first time, rather than switching from injectables, and have not yet reached the highest dose.
