Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is, despite the gray skies hovering over the Pharmalot campus. We are doing our best to maintain sunny spirits, though, because once again, we recall some helpful wisdom from the Morning Mayor, who taught us that “Every new day should be unwrapped like a precious gift.” To celebrate the notion, we are brewing still more cups of stimulation and inviting you to join us. Our choice today is salted caramel mocha, a veritable taste of the Jersey Shore. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest. Hope you have a meaningful and productive day and, of course, do stay in touch. …
Purdue Pharma, the company best known for fueling the opioid crisis by misleadingly marketing the infamous painkiller OxyContin, received approval for a new auto-injector device used to reverse opioid overdoses, STAT tells us. The announcement represents the latest in a string of recent approvals for products that use nalmefene, essentially a more powerful version of its better-known chemical cousin, naloxone. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Zurnai, as the device is known, also underscores Purdue’s continued effort to play a role in the nationwide response to the opioid crisis.
Patients in England with a rare blood disorder will now be able to receive the world’s first CRISPR-based medicine, after Vertex Pharmaceuticals and U.K. health officials struck a reimbursement deal for the pricey treatment, STAT writes. The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the cost-effectiveness watchdog, recommended the treatment, called Casgevy, for certain patients with beta thalassemia, a condition that otherwise requires regular blood transfusions. With the positive review, and an agreement between Vertex and the National Health Service on the price, Casgevy can now be offered through the NHS in England.
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