Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is. Despite dreary, gray skies and chilly temperatures, the Pharmalot campus is humming with activity, thanks to the official mascots, who are busy chasing after varmints and keeping the neighbors honest. As for us, we are engaged in the usual rituals — firing up the kettle for another cuppa stimulation (the choice today is raspberry hibiscus) and foraging for items of interest. On that note, here are a few tidbits to help you get started on your journey today, which we hope will be meaningful and productive. Meanwhile, do keep in touch. We always enjoy hearing from you. …
Diabetes patients taking an investigational drug from Eli Lilly saw significant reductions in their blood sugar and weight in a late-stage study, a notable result given that people with diabetes usually do not lose as much weight on treatments as those who do not have the condition, STAT explains. After 40 weeks, patients on the highest dose of the drug, an injectable called retatrutide, saw a 1.9% reduction on a measure of blood sugar called HbA1C, while those on placebo saw a 0.8% reduction. Those results include all patients, including those who discontinued. The efficacy is similar to Lilly’s popular diabetes drug Mounjaro. Participants on the highest dose lost 15.3% of their weight, while the placebo group lost 2.6%. The results suggest the medicine could be highly beneficial for people who have diabetes and are also obese, a group estimated to make up around 60% of adults with type 2 diabetes.
The TrumpRx.gov website is not delivering across the board lower prices than those paid in the United Kingdom, according to Reuters. The prices offered for around a third of the 54 drugs available on the TrumpRx website were lower in the U.K. Those include Pfizer’s arthritis pill Xeljanz, AstraZeneca’s diabetes drug Farxiga, and GSK’s inhalers for lung diseases, which were between 67% and 82% cheaper. Reuters evaluated what pharmacies are paid for each prescription medicine by the U.K. government against prices listed on TrumpRx from eight companies participating. The payouts are updated monthly by Britain’s state-funded National Health Service, which sets prices it pays for medicines through a mix of cost-control agreements and other assessments. In England, patients pay a standard prescription charge of 9.90 pounds, or $13.19, for each medicine, unless exempt.Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…