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Pharmaceutical
FDA approves potential functional cure for chronic hepatitis B
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green light to bepirovirsen (Hibsago) from GSK as a potential functional cure for adults...
Judge sets aside HIV contracts and orders fresh bidding process
South Africa's biggest HIV drug tender has been set aside by the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), which found that the contracts awarded were unconstitutional...
BHF calls for urgent reforms to tackle medical aid hikes
Constantly rising and increasingly unaffordable medical aid hikes are pushing consumers to the limit, and the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) has said households...
Compounding drug rules revised in SA
Updated minimum standards and rules regarding the customisation of medicines, including GLP-1 treatments for diabetes and weight loss, can be expected in South Africa...
New CSIR pharma facility aims to reduce reliance on imported APIs
The CSIR’s brand new research facility in Pretoria, launched last week, aims to reduce the country’s massive reliance on international supplies of active pharmaceutical...
SA call for action against illegal obesity medicines suspected in US deaths
Big Pharma in South Africa and the US is calling for urgent crackdown on illegal medicines, especially unregulated obesity drugs like retatrudite, which is...
UN warns of thriving illicit medicines trade across central Africa
The United Nations issued another warning last week that central Africa could be facing a major public health threat from trafficked and illicit medicines,...
Chemo-free regimen an option for EGFR-mutant lung cancer – Swiss trial
Researchers in Switzerland suggest a three-drug combination may be effective for patients with EGFR-mutant advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who progressed on a...
FDA extends alopecia JAK inhibitor for younger age group
The FDA has approved the once-daily pill baricitinib – for the treatment of severe alopecia areata (AA) – in patients aged 12 and older, reports Medscape.
The approval extends...
SAHPRA reminder on ACE inhibitor risks
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has issued an alert to healthcare professionals of the risk of angioedema during treatment with angiotensin-converting...
Merck pulls antibiotic for multidrug-resistant infections
Merck has announced that it will no longer manufacture or market the antibacterial combination drug Recarbrio as “part of an ongoing review of its...
Discovery Vitality offers support for GLP-1 users fighting weight loss
In efforts to sustain the use of GLP-1 drugs by its members – most of whom stop claiming for the treatment within six months...
No evidence of harm from GLP-1s in pregnancy – British study
Women who accidentally fall pregnant while taking a GLP-1 treatment for diabetes or weight loss are not at increased risk of miscarriage or other...
SA pharma sector welcomes price hike
An announced 2.88% increase in the single exit price (SEP) of medicines from 1 October will have a limited effect on patients but was...
Patients turned away as national medicines stock levels drop
South Africa is experiencing widespread shortages of essential medicines, including folic acid, epilepsy medication, contraceptives and antibiotics, with some products out of stock for...
FDA approves first drug for rare, life-threatening disease
Sufferers of a very rare, progressive neurological disorder will, for the first time, have access to an FDA-approved medication, reports MassLive News.
The Food and Drug...
FDA warns of serious misuse risks of double-chin fat dissolver
An FDA labelling update has cautioned that unapproved use of deoxycholic acid injection (Kybella) outside the submental fat region may carry a risk of...
GLP-1 drugs may be linked to rare brain condition – Israeli review
A rare, serious brain condition may be linked to a small number of people taking GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes drugs, reports The Independent.
Around...
Doctors paid millions by Big Pharma to punt weight-loss drugs
Firms are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to convince US doctors to prescribe GLP-1 drugs, with most medical specialists apparently seeing nothing wrong...
Judge dismisses compounding pharmacy's appeal
A High Court application by compounding pharmacy iDexis for leave to appeal against an interim order prohibiting it from making medicines containing semaglutide has...
Union vows to fight Adcock Ingram layoffs
The General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (Giwusa) plans to oppose Adcock Ingram’s proposed retrenchments and closure at its Clayville, Johannesburg plant, despite...
Paracetamol in pregnancy linked to girls’ uterus, ovary changes – Danish study
Female reproductive organ development in girls could be affected by their mothers’ use during pregnancy of paracetamol, suggest researchers, but whether the differences observed...
Why did promising heart drug fall so flat?
Cardiologists are struggling to figure out why a drug that should have prevented heart attacks didn’t work at all – one which, until two...
Aspen dumps LEN production interest
In a blow to the country’s plans to escalate local production of Gilead’s revolutionary lenacapavir HIV prevention shot, South Africa’s biggest pharmaceutical manufacturer, Aspen...
Two major drug trial failures for Novartis in a week
In the wake of its high-profile setback in heart disease late last week, Swiss pharma giant Novartis really needed a win, but has flopped...
FDA adds boxed warning for iron replacement jab
A label change has been approved by the FDA for ferric carboxymaltose injection (Injectafer in the US but registered in South Africa as Ferinject...
Mounjaro gets FDA nod for CVD risk reduction in high risk diabetics
The US Food & Drug Administration’s approval of Mounjaro (tirzepatide) at the end of August to help reduce cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetics...
Staggering cost of pancreatic cancer pill the ‘new normal’
Rasonque, the new pancreatic cancer treatment from Revolution Medicines, illustrates the huge inflation in cancer drug prices over the past two decades, reports The...
GLP-1s may ward off TB, infectious diseases – Taiwanese study
Yet another positive side effect of blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drugs has come to light, after recent studies suggested that people with type 2...
Crucial medicine shortages being managed, says KZN Health
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health says that despite global supply-chain pressures having a huge impact on local essential medication stock, and resulting in shortages,...
PIMART pharmacists get go-ahead to apply for ARV dispensing permits
Ten months after an enabling court judgment, some specially trained South African pharmacists can finally start applying for permits allowing them to dispense ARVs...
Industry buoyed by promised hike for medicine price cap
After a major meeting last week with various pharmaceutical bodies, including the Pharmaceutical Task Group (PTG), the government has committed to considering an “extraordinary”...
FDA approves drug to treat HIV in newborns
The FDA has approved dolutegravir (Tivicay PD; ViiV Healthcare) tablets for oral suspension for the treatment of HIV infection in newborns from birth to...
Novo’s weekly insulin jabs hit the market
Novo Nordisk is launching its first-of-its-kind weekly insulin dose for type 2 diabetes, offering greater convenience and less pain, but the downside of the...
Weight-loss generics now in South Africa, but black market flourishes
The first generic weight-loss drug hit SA in August – with many more expected to follow. Will it be enough to kill the black...
Cipla and Health Department in legal showdown over ARV tender
Officials from the Department of Health have denied claims of flawed processes and collusive bidding linked to its controversial HIV drugs tender and in...
Black pharma slams market exclusion, lack of state support
The Black Pharmaceutical Industry Association (BPIA), which says less than 1% of the domestic market is held by black-owned firms, has added its voice...
SAHPRA recalls batches of BP meds
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) is recalling four batches of Arya Enalapril 10mg, commonly used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension).
The...
Lilly sues illicit weight loss drug dealers
Six companies are being sued by Eli Lilly for selling versions of its experimental weight-loss drug retatrutide, with the company saying this is just...
Fast-rising China pharma industry to take on global giants
Chinese analysts say the country is anticipating the emergence – within the next decade – of a home-grown pharmaceutical giant capable of competing with...