Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Shift In Drug Approvals Halts Trial Of Second Skin Cancer Drug
The FDAs rebuff of Replimunes melanoma candidate has sent waves through the industry, prompting Krystal Biotech to shutter a clinical trial. Krystal Biotech has discontinued a phase 1/2 trial assessing intratumoral injections of KB707, a modified herpes simplex virus type 1-based gene therapy, for patients with advanced skin cancer. (Masson, 8/21)
President Trumps repeated threats to impose punishing tariffs on imported medicines have sparked interest in where Americans drugs are produced. The picture is complex. Most of the time, drugs are not made in a single country from start to finish. More often, a factory imports raw materials that it uses to make a drugs active ingredients, which then get shipped to a plant in another country that formulates the drug into a tablet or liquid. (Robbins and Corum, 8/23)
Amid demand for retraction, a leading medical journal is reviewing a study published in 2001 that touted the benefits of a depression pill for adolescents, but was subsequently discredited and became the focal point of a searing controversy over inappropriate marketing of the medicine. (Silverman, 8/25)
Patients using Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs are reporting a complication not listed among the drugs most common side effects. Were not talking about Ozempic babies, but thats also a thing. Dentists warn theyre seeing cases of something nicknamed Ozempic teeth. Medications like Ozempic and Wegovy can lead to dry mouth because the active ingredient, semaglutide, affects the salivary glands, explains Adam Taylor, an anatomy professor at Lancaster University, in an article for The Conversation. The medications can also cause people to drink less water because they feel less thirsty. (Martichoux, 8/23)