Pfizer's weight loss pill, Novo Nordisk's setback, and the FTC vs. drug middlemen: Pharma news roundup
Pfizer said on Thursday that it is advancing development of a once-daily weight loss pill, which it believes could be competitive in the GLP-1 space. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not approve Novo Nordisk’s once-weekly insulin. And the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a report that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are hiking the price of drugs.
Check out those stories and more pharmaceutical news highlights from this week.
Novo Nordisk’s once-weekly insulin is rejected by the FDA, in latest set back for the pharma giant
Novo Nordisk announced Wednesday that its application to sell its once-weekly insulin icodec has been rejected by U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Pfizer says it is advancing development of a once-daily weight loss pill
Pfizer announced on Thursday that it is advancing development of a once-daily weight loss pill, which the company believes could be competitive in the weight loss space.
Patients taking Ozempic for weight loss typically stop using it within 2 years, analysis finds
More than 75% of patients taking Ozempic and Wegovy for weight loss stopped their treatments within two years, according to a new analysis.
Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro is more effective at weight loss than Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, study finds
Eli Lilly’s blockbuster diabetes and weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound were found to be more effective at helping patients lose weight than its rival Novo Nordisk’s medications, according to a new study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Drug middlemen are hiking the price of cancer drugs and reaping huge profits, FTC says
Drug middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) appear to be hiking the price of drugs at the expense of everyday Americans suffering from life-threatening conditions, the Federal Trade Commission said in a report released Tuesday.
Eli Lilly’s latest deal added $200 million to a Harvard professor’s billion-dollar fortune
Timothy Springer, a professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Harvard University, became $200 million richer on Monday after Eli Lilly announced it was acquiring a biotech company he founded. News of the deal added to Springer’s already billion dollar net worth.
Purdue Pharma’s Sackler family could face $1 trillion in damages if a second settlement fails
With the fate of its OxyContin settlement in the air, Purdue Pharma is back in court as its owners, the Sackler family, face a potential onslaught of lawsuits worth an estimated $1 trillion in damages.
Eli Lilly is buying a digestive disease drug maker for $3.2 billion
The Indianapolis-based pharma giant announced Monday that it is acquiring Morphic for about $3.2 billion. Morphic, a Massachussetts-based drug maker, is developing oral therapies that target ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease.