Good morning, everyone, and how are you today? We are doing just fine, thank you, despite the gloomy and soggy skies hovering over the Pharmalot campus. After all, the Morning Mayor once told us that “every new day should be unwrapped like a precious gift.” So while you tug on the ribbon, we will brew another cup of stimulation. For the full experience, we are now hawking replicas — take a look. Meanwhile, here are a few tidbits to help you along. We hope your day is productive and peaceful. As always, do keep in touch and do feel free to send along secret dossiers and internal memos. …
President Trump heralded his signature drug discount platform, TrumpRx, as “one of the most transformative health care initiatives of all time.” But a month after its launch, few drugs are available, data about how much the site is being used remain unknown, and the private deals underlying TrumpRx are still being worked out, STAT points out. The reality of the early days of the platform comes in sharp contrast to the soaring expectations set by the president, who cast a vision for unprecedented cuts to how much people pay for medications. The administration is making its efforts to reduce drug prices a key part of its midterm election case that it has made health care more affordable, despite cuts across America’s health systems, including historic reductions to Medicaid spending.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s top drug regulator, Tracy Beth Hoeg, is working to hire a researcher and friend who wants the agency to add new warnings to antidepressants about unproven pregnancy risks, the Associated Press reports. Adam Urato, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and critic of antidepressant safety, is pressing the FDA to add a boxed warning to SSRIs, the drugs most commonly prescribed for depression. His petition says the medications can cause pregnancy complications, including miscarriages and fetal brain abnormalities that may lead to autism and other disorders in children. That proposed labeling change has become a top priority for Hoeg, who regularly consults with Urato and is working to bring him on as a full-time FDA employee.Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…