Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Eli Lilly Ad Calls Out Hollywood Obsession With Ozempic
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is finally weighing in on Hollywood鈥檚 obsession with Ozempic. In a commercial spot released Thursday, the company criticizes people who prescribe or take weight loss drugs without an obesity diagnosis. The ad hits the airwaves days before the 96th Academy Awards, an epic Hollywood gathering where people tend to be laser-focused on celebrities and their bodies. Eli Lilly is the company behind tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Zepbound, which was approved in November to treat people with obesity. (Rodriguez, 3/7)
[Some] are gambling on a do-it-yourself strategy to ease off the drugs and stay slim by stretching out doses, taking the medication intermittently or stopping and starting again only if needed. (Aleccia, 3/7)
Cigna Group said on Thursday its pharmacy benefit management unit had launched a program aiming to cap annual cost increases for health insurance providers and employers from new weight-loss drugs at 15%, as demand for the treatments soars. (Leo, 3/7)
Facing criticism over its pricing, Boehringer Ingelheim plans to cap out-of-pocket costs at $35 a month for its entire line of inhalers that are used to combat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. (Silverman, 3/7)
A clinical trial鈥檚 encouraging results won聽US Food and Drug Administration breakthrough therapy status for an聽LSD聽formulation to treat聽generalized anxiety disorder, Mind Medicine Inc. announced Thursday. The biopharmaceutical company聽is developing the drug. (LaMotte, 3/7)