Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating, because — you guessed it — that oh-so familiar routine of online meetings, annoying commutes, and deadlines has predictably returned. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, somehow continues to spin no matter how hard we try to slow it down. So to cope, we are firing up the coffee kettle to brew another cup of stimulation. Our choice today is strawberry cream. As always, you are invited to join us. Meanwhile, here is the latest menu of tidbits for you to digest. We hope your day is fruitful and insightful. And of course, please do keep in touch. …
A next-generation obesity drug candidate from Novo Nordisk produced modest weight loss, along with a higher rate of some psychiatric side effects like anxiety and sleep disturbances — results that pose a challenge to the pharma giant’s efforts to find novel obesity drugs that could extend its success from its blockbuster Wegovy, STAT writes. A Phase 2a trial tested monlunabant, a pill that inhibits CB1 receptors, and those on the lowest dose of 10 milligrams lost on average 6.4% of their weight at 16 weeks, compared with 0.6% in the placebo group. The study also tested higher doses of 20 milligtams and 50 milligrams, but Novo said “limited additional weight loss” was seen, though it did not disclose specific data. Novo also said there were higher rates of reports of mild to moderate neuropsychiatric side effects — primarily anxiety, irritability, and sleep disturbances — in treated patients compared with those on placebo.
A new dark-money group called Americans for Pharma Reform that was formed last month has launched a multi-state bus tour to bring awareness to what it characterizes as bad behavior by the pharmaceutical industry, STAT reports. Arguing that the pharmaceutical industry should be reformed isn’t an outlandish stance, given that more than 60% of Americans view the industry negatively. But whoever is bankrolling the bus tour has gone to extreme lengths to hide their identity. Rob Burgess, the executive director for the group, say it is registered as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, which are not required to disclose their donors and can engage in political activity, as long as that is not their primary purpose. Burgess said the group does not comment on its backers. Its registration with the Delaware Division of Corporations lists its address as a nondescript building in Delaware and the web address listed on the side of the bus, “BustBigPharma.com,” takes visitors to an imitation news site, featuring headlines unflattering to the industry
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