Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was refreshing and invigorating, because that predictable routine of online meetings and deadlines has returned. However, this will be an abbreviated workweek on this side of the pond due to an upcoming feast. In fact, we plan to disappear for a few days and in our stead, some colleagues will toil on our behalf. Meanwhile, we are brewing cups of stimulation — our choice today is blueberry cobbler — and passing along our latest menu of tidbits to help you get going. We hope your day is productive and meaningful. And for those who will similarly vanish later this week, remember that if you want to end war and stuff, you gotta sing loud. And so, we leave you with this….
Analysts forecast obesity medication is the next blockbuster pharmaceutical category, equivalent to the revolution in treating high blood pressure in the 1980s, The Financial Times tells us. Most health experts say the drugs should have a very positive impact on patients with obesity, a disease that can have devastating health implications and that largely goes untreated. But the scramble to launch a new generation of drugs to tackle obesity — a disease that affects about 650 million people worldwide — has caused unease among some critics, who warn about their potential misuse and side effects.
Provention Bio priced its new type 1 diabetes prevention therapy at $13,850 per vial — equivalent to almost $194,000 for its 14-day course — a higher level than predicted by analysts, Pharmaphorum writes. The company argues the cost is justified because its drug, called Tzield, is the first medicine that can delay the onset of type 1 diabetes, fending off eventual reliance on insulins and the risk of serious complications that come with advanced stages of the disease. Some analysts predicted the price would be much lower, around $115,000, and Provention stock gave up some gains after the approval was announced last week on concerns over pushback from payers.
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