Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
ADHD Drugs Reduce Overall Mortality For Patients, Large Study Finds
People with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for premature death and other adverse health outcomes, but a large study out of Sweden suggests that treating the disorder with medication can help reduce the overall mortality risk for patients. (McPhillips, 3/12)
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve the first medicine developed specifically to treat the serious liver disease known as MASH as soon as this week. The pill, called resmetirom, is made by Madrigal Pharmaceuticals. (Feuerstein, 3/12)
Merck & Co said on Wednesday it plans to conduct clinical trials testing its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil 9 to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a single-dose regimen compared to the approved three-dose regimen. The company said it plans to conduct two separate trials testing Gardasil 9 in men and women 16-26 years old to examine whether a single dose of the vaccine provides comparable long-term protection when compared with the approved three-dose regimen. (3/13)
The news last week that a Phase 3 trial of Amylyx Pharmaceuticals’ amyotrophic lateral sclerosis drug — marketed as Relyvrio — failed to benefit patients compared to placebo hit the ALS patient community hard. (Merelli, 3/12)
A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit by a whistleblower who accused McKesson of providing drug pricing tools to doctors for free, to induce them to buy drugs from the company. (Stempel, 3/12)
German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim was accused in a federal lawsuit in Boston on Wednesday of improperly submitting patents to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to delay generic competition and inflate prices for its lung disease drugs Combivent Respimat and Spiriva Respimat. (Brittain, 3/6)
Sorrento Therapeutics may continue its Chapter 11 case in Texas, a U.S. judge ruled Monday, rejecting arguments that the pharmaceutical company manipulated bankruptcy venue rules by claiming a just-opened P.O. box as a subsidiary's primary address. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston, Texas, said at a hearing on Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice had waited too long before arguing that the case should be transferred to Delaware, where Sorrento was incorporated, or San Diego, California, where it was headquartered. (Knauth, 3/11)
