And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda is still on the drawing board, but we do plan to catch up on our reading and napping, promenade with the official mascots and hold another listening party with Mrs. Pharmalot, and the rotation will likely include this, this, this, this, and this. And what about you? As the temperatures warm, this is a fine time to enjoy the great outdoors. Perhaps a drive in the hills or a stroll along a cityscape is in order. You could take the opportunity to try something new or look in on someone special. Or simply plan the rest of your life. Well, whatever you do, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy, and see you soon…
Western drug makers are talking to alternative suppliers in response to draft U.S. legislation seeking to restrict an important Chinese drug developer and manufacturer over national security concerns, The Financial Times explains. The Biosecure Act would prohibit U.S. companies receiving federal grant money from working with four Chinese biotechs, including WuXi AppTec and its sister company WuXi Biologics, which produce active pharmaceutical ingredients for hundreds of U.S. and European drugmakers. Companies, including Eli Lilly, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and BeiGene, are talking with rival contract manufacturers to diversify production away from WuXi companies.
Following a nine-month investigation, European regulators said they have not found evidence that GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy cause suicidal thoughts or actions, STAT writes. The announcement from the European Medicines Agency echoes the findings of a review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which in January said it did not find a causal relationship between the class of weight loss and diabetes medications and suicidal ideation. The EMA’s review started last July following anecdotal reports of patients experiencing thoughts of self-harm while on liraglutide (a branded version is Novo Nordisk’s Saxenda) and semaglutide (Novo’s Ozempic and Wegovy).