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The U.S. Senate health panel said on Tuesday it would vote this month on whether to subpoena Novo Nordisk to answer questions about U.S. prices for weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, which are far higher than those in other countries. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, which is investigating the drugs' costs, said in a statement that at its June 18 meeting it will weigh a subpoena requiring Novo Nordisk Inc President Doug Langa to testify at a July 10 hearing. (Aboulenein and Erman, 6/11)

The Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) today announced an agreement with Indian pharmaceutical company Bugworks Research Inc. to co-develop a new broad-spectrum antibiotic that targets some of the most difficult-to-treat bacterial pathogens. (Dall, 6/11)

An analysis of US emergency department (ED) visits for pediatric urinary tract infections (UTIs) provides some new insight into antibiotic prescribing practices, researchers reported today in Pediatrics. Led by researchers from Boston Children's Hospital, the analysis aimed to evaluate changes in antibiotic prescribing at US ED visits for pediatric UTIs from 2011 to 2020 using nationally representative data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). A previous analysis of NHAMCS data found that, from 1998 to 2007, there was a decline in use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) for pediatric UTIs amid rising resistance rates and a significant increase in the use of enteral third-generation cephalosporins (e3GC). That finding raised concerns. (Dall, 6/11)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to French drugmakers Ipsen and Genfit's drug for a chronic inflammatory liver disease, Iqirvo, the companies said on Monday. Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) causes inflammation of the small bile ducts in the liver and eventually destroys them. It primarily affects women aged 30 to 60, impacting 75,000 in the United States. (Singh and Sunny, 6/11)

Merck is focused on second- and third-generation opportunities in the cardiometabolic drugs market, which includes weight-loss treatments, the company said on Tuesday. "We think more in terms of small-molecule orals, versus injectables. That's the preferred route," CEO Robert Davis said at the Goldman Sachs Global Healthcare Conference. (Sunny and S K, 6/11)