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Pharmaceutical
Guaranteed orders vital for anti-HIV jab production – Aspen
The country’s largest generic manufacturer, Aspen Pharmacare, has warned that local drugmakers will need guaranteed demand to produce Gilead’s twice-year HIV prevention shot lenacapavir,...
Non-hormonal drug for hot flushes now offered by NHS England
A non-hormonal drug for treating hot flushes and night sweats during menopause is now available on the NHS in England when HRT (hormone replacement...
Common drug class may increase heart disease risk – Swedish study
People who use drugs with anticholinergic effects, including certain anti-depressants, drugs for urinary incontinence and common antihistamines, could have a higher risk of developing...
Wegovy may have highest risk of blinding condition – Canadian study
The obesity drug semaglutide (Wegovy) conferred a significantly higher risk of ischaemic optic neuropathy (ION) than any other GLP-1 agonist, including semaglutide for diabetes...
Hospitals botching pain management – South African study
Most patients do not receive important pain treatment during and after surgery, reports GroundUp, with a recent local study – published in Lancet Africa...
Lilly warns of potentially toxic compounded tirzepatide
In an open letter last week, Eli Lilly warned that compounded versions of tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) containing vitamin B12 could pose a potential safety...
Rise in AMR threatens to outpace research and drug development
In the five years since the Access to Medicines Foundation released its last antimicrobial resistance benchmark, the pipeline for new projects in development has...
Dentists still prescribe risky ‘black box warning’ antibiotic
American dentists wrote more than 2.3m prescriptions last year for an antibiotic called clindamycin, whose label has carried a black box warning for more than four...
SA leading the charge for made-in-Africa anti-HIV jab
South Africa’s National Aids Council (Sanac) has asked local drug companies to submit applications by 7 April to make generic versions of the anti-HIV...
Cancer drug pulled from market over safety concerns
The cancer drug tazemetostat (Tazverik) is being voluntarily withdrawn in the United States and all other markets over concerns about secondary cancers, pharmaceutical company...
Higher risk of osteoporosis and gout with GLP drugs – US study
A large analysis has suggested that popular weight loss drugs may carry an increased risk to bone health, and conditions like osteoporosis, reports NBC...
Drug slashes Davet syndrome paediatric seizures by 90% – UK study
British scientists say an experimental drug is showing remarkable promise for children with Dravet syndrome – a severe and hard-to-treat genetic form of epilepsy...
Listed prices of Ozempic to be halved in 2027, says Novo
Novo Nordisk plans to slash prices of its listed price for weight loss drug Wegovy and diabetes drugs Ozempic and Rybelsus by up to...
Cipla joins legal challenge as Aids drug tender row escalates
The Department of Health’s controversial Aids drug tender is under fresh attack, after Cipla filed an application in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) last...
Pharmacist gets 10 years or R500 000 fine for GEMS fraud
A judge has given a pharmacy owner in Malamulele, Limpopo, a 10-year term behind bars or the option to pay a R500 000 fine,...
Migraine drug trial advances after positive results
Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck will advance the IV formulation of its migraine prevention drug to phase 3 trials after the successful phase 2b trial,...
More positive cancer drug data for auto-immune kidney disease
Continuing the reinvention of its cancer drug Gazyva as a treatment for immune-mediated diseases of the kidney – which resulted in a lupus nephritis...
Ancient bacteria strain found in ice resistant to antibiotics
In a fascinating discovery, scientists have found that ancient bacteria preserved in ice for thousands of years are unaffected by modern-day antibiotics, reports CNN.
In...
Controversial UK puberty blockers trial on hold after concerns
A clinical trial assessing the risks and benefits of puberty-blocking drugs in children questioning their gender has been paused after safety concerns were raised...
New drug holds promise for pre-eclampsia
A new drug for a dangerous condition that affects pregnant women, threatening not just their health but their babies’ lives as well, could transform...
WHO flags data risks with rapid escalation of AI in healthcare
A WHO report on a five-year digital transformation strategy framework was the focus of a debate last week over who owns the data in...
Surprising link between aspirin, cancer deaths – ASPREE trial follow-up
A team of researchers has suggested that low-dose aspirin was not associated with a reduced incidence of cancer in older adults, but was associated...
Statin pills safer than advertised, major British review finds
Cholesterol-lowering statins, used by millions, are far safer than previously thought, a major review has found, with the authors suggesting packaging leaflets should be...
Aids drug supply resumes as Barrs exits business rescue
Barrs Pharmaceuticals, which was unable to supply its share of the government’s Aids drug tender, has exited business rescue and sold a controlling stake...
FDA halts two gene therapy trials after child develops brain tumour
Two investigational gene therapies for rare paediatric diseases have been put on hold by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) after a child...
Semaglutide shows heart benefits in key group – global study
An analysis by an international team of researchers has concluded that taking oral semaglutide may reduce heart-related hospitalisations and deaths among those with a...
SA sales of weight-loss drugs surge amid global rise in lawsuits
Sales of weight-loss drugs are sky-rocketing in South Africa, as it has in other parts of the world. But as the popularity of the...
CMS rules on healthcare products branding in Dis-Chem dispute
Dis-Chem has defended its health insurance partnership with Centriq and Kaelo insurance products, saying a recent regulatory ruling should be seen as a clarification...
Leucovorin for autism not backed by evidence, say experts
American doctors have warned that despite Trump administration claims and suggestions, leucovorin (Wellcovorin), a drug used to treat cerebral folate deficiency, will be used...
Life-changing sleep apnoea pill could be available next year
There’s hope on the horizon for the hordes of people worldwide who suffer from sleep apnoea as Apnimed, the $400m company behind the first...
Suppliers’ business rescue threatens critical medicines supply
The supply of critical medicines, including the three-in-one anti-Aids drug taken by most HIV patients, and morphine, is under threat after suppliers were placed...
Aspen sets its sights on Canada for generic weight-loss jabs
Aspen Pharmacare is gearing up to launch one of the world’s first generic versions of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide in Canada, where the GLP-1 weight-loss...
Major Lancet review debunks paracetamol, autism claims
Taking paracetamol while pregnant is safe and there is no evidence it increases the risk of autism, ADHD and developmental issues in children, say...
Dementia patients prescribed harmful drugs – US study
Despite the associated dangers, one in four dementia patients in the United States is still receiving a potentially inappropriate drug prescription, an analysis of...
KZN Health reverses pharmacy intern freeze after outcry
The financially-stricken KwaZulu-Natal Health Department has done an about-turn on its controversial decision to freeze pharmacy internship posts – announced this past weekend –...
FDA asks drugmakers to remove suicide warnings from GLP-1 labels
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has asked Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to remove warnings about suicidal ideation or behaviour from the...
‘Stuffy nose’ nasal spray warning in UK
Britain’s Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has issued a warning to the public about using nasal sprays for blocked noses beyond a week, reminding users...
People who stop weight-loss jabs regain weight in two years – UK study
A landmark study, led by researchers from Oxford University, has found that people who stop taking weight loss jabs regain all of the weight...
How ADHD drugs really work – US study
The stimulants Ritalin and Adderall have been used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for decades, but research shows they don’t act on the brain’s...
Weight-loss drugs top pharma list to watch in 2026
Eli Lilly has dominated headlines in recent months, recently taking the crown as the most valuable company in the biopharma industry by market cap....