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Pharmaceutical
Higher Wegovy dose sheds more kilos – Novo trial
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has said a higher dose of its drug Wegovy led to greater weight loss in patients during a late-stage trial, but...
Watchdog alert over FDA’s fast-track drug approvals
A new report from the US Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General has raised concerns about the FDA’s accelerated approval...
Paracetamol pack sizes reduced in Australia
In new harm-reduction measures from next month, packs of paracetamol sold in Australia will contain fewer tablets, both in pharmacies and other outlets.
The Therapeutic...
Major US review maps effectiveness of GLP-1 drugs
A study by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on the relationship between GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and 175 diseases and conditions supports a...
FDA adds Guillain-Barre alert for RSV jabs
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a safety alert linking possible Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) with two respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines...
Pharmacy middlemen charged with inflating drug prices
America’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers have been accused by the Federal Trade Commission of significantly marking up the prices of certain medicines, including...
Lilly hopes for 2026 approval for new weight loss pill
Eli Lilly expects its experimental weight loss pill – orforglipron – to be approved as early next year, and plans to release key late-stage...
New dementia drugs still won’t be accessible to the poorest
Experts say that treatment to prevent Alzheimer’s or lessen its effects are on the horizon as the fight against dementia enters a “new era”,...
Antibiotic crisis ‘could claim 40m lives’, warns UK expert
As superbugs spread across the globe, death rates from antimicrobial resistance are likely to double over the next 25 years, with senior citizens especially...
Small cost hikes on US drugs, but steeper launch prices
Although pharmaceutical companies in America pushed up the prices of at least 250 branded medications from 1 January, including Pfizer’s Covid-19 treatment Paxlovid, Bristol...
Danish studies flag rare optic nerve damage with Ozempic
Scientists involved in two large studies suggest their findings confirm that diabetes medication Ozempic doubles the risk of developing non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy...
Weight-loss meds go head-to-head in new study
In the first head-to-head comparison test, people using Eli Lilly’s obesity medicine Zepbound shed nearly 23kg while those using competitor Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy dropped...
Cancer drug combo almost halves blood cancer death risk
The experimental cancer drug Blenrep, in combination with other treatments, reduced the risk of death by 42% in multiple myeloma, a common type of...
No red flags with non-hormonal menopause drug phase 3b trial
Results from a phase 3 randomised controlled trial of the non-hormonal drug Fezolinetant (45mg once daily) found the treatment to be efficacious and well...
Kenya’s balancing act with addictive natural stimulant
Amid growing concerns about muguka, a highly addictive variant of the natural stimulant khat, Kenya needs evidence-based regulations to balance public health and economic...
Killer opioid fentanyl detected in SA drug users
Recent drug tests have found people at South African clinics testing positive for fentanyl – the potent opioid causing tens of thousands of deaths...
SA company poised to make key TB drug ingredients
Though several South African companies are producing HIV and TB medicines, the active ingredients that go into these medicines are usually imported from India...
UK regulator probes anti-depressants safety alerts after suicide link
The UK’s medicines regulator is reviewing dozens of safety alerts for 30 common antidepressants, it has been revealed, after the recent suicide of a...
UK man calls for guideline changes after near death linked to tooth extraction
A Welshman who survived two bouts of endocarditis after having a tooth pulled out – without prior antibiotic treatment – is calling for changes...
No link between doxycycline and suicide – EMA
The European Medical Agency’s safety assessment committee (PRAC) has concluded that the currently available evidence is not sufficient to establish a causal relationship between...
New pill cuts genetic cholesterol by nearly 86%, finds mid-stage trial
The highest dose of an experimental pill has dramatically lowered an inherited form of high cholesterol in a mid-stage trial.
Eli Lilly announced that, according...
Study finds two treatments osteoarthritis ineffective
Negative studies of colchicine and a herbal-supplement cocktail have dashed hopes of non-surgical treatments – with fewer side effects than ordinary painkillers - for...
British NHS offers pill to help smokers quit
NHS England is to offer hundreds of thousands of smokers a once-a-day pill that increases their likelihood of quitting, and which, say the experts, could save...
SAHPRA and drug companies flag risks of compounded weight-loss drugs
Compounded versions of hugely popular weight-loss and obesity drugs have led to the deaths of at least 10 people and 100 hospitalisations overseas, prompting...
Watching and waiting vs antibiotic treatment for paediatric patients
A team of physicians describe a baby’s symptoms from a recent case, and proffer two treatment scenarios, the options and the supporting evidence for...
Drugmaker recalls anxiety medicines over cancer concerns
A recall has been issued for thousands of bottles of the medicine duloxetine because they may contain a potentially cancer-causing agent, according to the US...
Novo seeks FDA ban on compounded Ozempic
Novo Nordisk has asked the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent compounding pharmacies from manufacturing their own versions of the company’s weight...
Fake medicines trade flourishing in KZN
Organised crime networks are continuing to do a roaring trade in counterfeit pharmaceutical products smuggled into South Africa and into the hands of desperate...
UK blocks Alzheimer’s ‘wonder drug’ over costs
The most effective drug for Alzheimer’s has been blocked for use on the NHS, banned – despite regulators declaring it safe – because of...
EMA withdraws authorisation for Duchenne MD treatment drug
After re-examining available data, the European Medicine Agency’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has confirmed its previous recommendation to not renew the conditional marketing authorisation...
Zealand, Boehringer get FDA ‘breakthrough’ status to treat MASH
Denmark’s Zealand Pharma and German partner Boehringer Ingelheim have won the US Food and Drug Administration’s Breakthrough Therapy status for the review of their...
FDA green lights Pfizer’s drug for haemophilia A, B
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Hympavzi (marstacimab, Pfizer) as routine prophylaxis to prevent or reduce the frequency of bleeding episodes in patients...
Gilead inks deal for generic HIV drug supply to low-income nations
Gilead Sciences has granted royalty-free licences to six generic drug manufacturers to make and sell cheaper copycat versions of its HIV prevention medicine in...
Slow progress on Pfizer’s plan to sell cheap drugs to poor nations
Two years after launching a plan to make its medicines available to 45 low-income countries at not-for-profit prices, Pfizer has only signed up 10...
Lupus drug meets main goal of late-stage trial
An experimental lupus treatment has met the main goal of a late-stage trial in patients with the chronic disease, a surprise result after the...
EMA extends mpox jab to youngsters
The European Medicines Authority has recommended extending the indication of the smallpox/mpox vaccine Imvanex (also know as Jynneos) to adolescents aged 12 to 17, the drug...
Prescription amphetamine tied to higher psychosis risk – US study
Amphetamine use has risen steadily in the US over the past few years – up 70% between 2011 and 2021 – with a recent...
Mpox drug SAE only in compromised patients – CDC study
An analysis by the US Centres for Disease Control & Infection on the use of Tpoxx – the antiviral drug tecovirimat prescribed to more...
FDA alert on menopausal drug
The FDA has issued an alert warning women about menopausal medicine for hot flushes, saying fezolinetant (Veozah), a hormone-free pill, could cause rare but...
Liraglutide reduces six-year-olds’ weight in nine-country study
Researchers say that liraglutide (Saxenda), in combination with lifestyle intervention, helped reduce the body mass index (BMI) in obese children as young as six.
In...