Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is. Although chilly outdoors, the freezing rain enveloping the Pharmalot campus makes for a picturesque and soothing landscape. And what better way to enjoy the views than to fire up the coffee kettle for another cup of stimulation? Our choice today is peppermint mocha, which we believe is quite appropriate. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, we have assembled another menu of tidbits for you to peruse. We hope your day is meaningful and productive, and you accomplish much. And of course, do keep in touch. …
A pharmaceutical industry group is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to “take action” against a “dangerous” ad that Hims & Hers plans to run during the Super Bowl promoting the use of compounded versions of GLP-1 drugs for combating obesity. The Partnership for Safe Medicines also wrote to Fox TV, which is airing the football game, urging it to withdraw the “deeply troubling” ad, arguing the company failed to follow “FDA guidelines for prescription drug commercials.” The ad, which can be previewed on YouTube, makes the case that the weight loss industry, including drugmakers, are extracting profits from overweight and obese Americans without really helping them. But unlike ads for Wegovy, the blockbuster obesity medicine sold by Novo Nordisk, the Hims & Hers ad does not contain the same litany of required disclaimers, such as risk information, and does not note that its compounded version is not approved by the FDA. “The commercial is misleading in its entirety,” the industry group wrote to the agency.
AstraZeneca disclosed that it could face a fine of up to $4.5 million in China over suspected unpaid import taxes, raising investor hopes that the impact of several probes in the country could be minor, Reuters writes. The company was hit hard last year by news of a string of investigations into company executives and activities in China, which is the crown jewel of its international business, accounting for 12% of total sales in 2024. AstraZeneca officials said that, to the best of their knowledge, the import taxes related to cancer drugs Imfinzi and Imjudo, and that they continue to cooperate with authorities. A fine of between one and five times the unpaid tax of $900,000 could be levied if the company is found liable. The probe could possibly extend to include another of its best-selling cancer drugs, Enhertu. Last December, the company named Iskra Reic as its new international executive vice president, who took over from Leon Wang in efforts to stabilize operations in China after Wang was detained by Chinese authorities in October.
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