Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating, because that oh-so familiar routine of online meetings, phone calls, and deadlines has predictably returned. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, continues to spin. So time to nudge it in a better direction with a delicious cup of stimulation. Our choice today is gingerbread. A sweet start to the day. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, we have assembled the latest laundry list of interesting items for you to peruse. We hope you have a smashing day and conquer the world. And of course, do keep in touch. …
Weight-loss drug makers are lobbying Congress to grant them access to Medicare for their blockbuster treatments, which would be a monster payday, The Wall Street Journal writes. New drugs to treat diabetes and obesity are helping people shed pounds and generating huge sales for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. But they cost hundreds of dollars a month or more and Medicare doesn’t cover them to treat obesity. The law governing Medicare’s prescription-drug benefit excludes weight drugs. If that changed, demand from the 65 million older and disabled people insured through Medicare could push sales even higher.
After more than two years of planning, the European Commission on Wednesday will release long-awaited draft legislation poised to transform the way medicines are brought to market and accessed across much of Europe, STAT says. The effort includes proposals that could upend the status quo — reworking incentives for drug development, preparing for drug shortages, altering the availability of medicines throughout the European Union, and streamlining the European Medicines Agency. The goal is to make the European pharmaceutical industry more competitive but also make it easier for everyone in all 27 European Union member states to get needed medicines.
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