Hello, everyone, and how are you today? We are doing just fine, thank you, especially since the middle of the week is upon us. After all, we have made it this far, so we are determined to hang on for another couple of days. And why not? The alternatives — at least those we can identify — are not so appetizing. And what better way to make the time fly than to keep busy. So grab that cup of stimulation and get started. Our flavor today is crème brulée, for those tracking our habits. Now, though, the time has come to get busy. So please grab your own cup and dig in to the items of interest assembled below. We hope you have a wonderful day, and please do keep in touch. …
Novo Nordisk’s older weight-loss drug Saxenda helped children between the ages of 6 and under 12 reduce their body mass index by 7.4% in a 56-week trial, but the findings also raise questions about whether obesity medications, some of which are currently approved for teenagers, should also be given to children at such a young age, STAT notes. The Novo-sponsored study was the first to examine the safety and efficacy of once daily injections of Saxenda, known chemically as liraglutide, in young children. No medications are currently approved for the treatment of obesity in children under age 12, though Saxenda was approved for adolescents in 2020 and for adults in 2014. Novo said it has applied with U.S. and European regulators to expand the approval to include the ages involved in this study.
An experimental vaccine from GSK for combating herpes failed in an early-stage trial, halting an effort to bring the first shot for the condition to market, Bloomberg News tells us. While there were no safety concerns, the trial for a therapeutic vaccine to treat the herpes simplex virus failed to meet its efficacy objective. There are currently no approved vaccines for the virus, which causes genital herpes, although there is a shot for the herpes virus that causes chickenpox. The failure is not expected to impact the company’s outlook for the short to medium term as sales of the shot had not yet been baked into revenue projections. Still, this is a blow for GSK, which has zeroed in on vaccine development and been buoyed by its success with its vaccine for a common respiratory illness.
