Top of the morning to you. Another steamy day is unfolding here at the Pharmalot campus, where the official mascots are scampering about and enjoying summertime fun. As for the rest of us, well, we can only dream. But our to-do list will keep us busy, including chats with some interesting folks. Hopefully, you can relate. Either way, it is time to get cracking. So we are firing up the coffee kettle to brew another cup of stimulation — our choice today is butter pecan. And as always, here are a few tidbits to get you going. Have a grand day, and keep us in mind if you hear anything interesting. …
Roche earlier this year abruptly cancelled an international clinical trial of a drug being studied to treat children with a rare genetic disorder, citing “trade offs made… to increase the overall portfolio value,” but the news stunned parents of children enrolled in the Phase 2 study, as well as the academic researchers running it, STAT explains. Shannon Sadecki, whose son was in the trial, said she felt like she’d been “hit by a bus.” Parents say the decision left them heartbroken and angry because they had hoped the medication might be life-changing for their children, who have severe developmental delays caused by dup15q syndrome.
Frustrated by the lack of access to expensive weight loss drugs, North Carolina officials are urging the Biden administration to negotiate licenses with the manufacturers so that lower-cost alternatives can be made available, STAT reports. The move comes after the North Carolina State Health Plan earlier this year dropped coverage because spending topped $102 million last year mostly for two drugs made by Novo Nordisk — Wegovy and Saxenda. A third drug called Zepbound that is made by Eli Lilly was approved only last November for combating weight loss and so accounted for a small fraction of the outlay.
