By Deidre McPhillips, CNN Overdose deaths with evidence of counterfeit pill use became more than twice as common between the second half of 2019 and the end of 2021, according to a new CDC report. Tomas Nevesely/iStockphoto/Getty Images CNN — Overdose deaths reached record levels in the United States in recent years, and a new report shows that counterfeit pills are involved in a growing share of those deaths. The US Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public safety alert about a sharp increase of fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl and methamphetamine about two years ago. According to the agency, more than 9.5 million counterfeit pills were seized in 2021, more than the prior two years combined. A new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention captures the deadly consequences, tracking detailed accounts of deaths that were submitted to the CDC’s State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System ...
By Meg Tirrell and Nadia Kounang, CNN Doctor explains new over-the-counter medicine that’s a ‘complete antidote to opioids’ CNN — The first over-the-counter naloxone, a drug used to reverse opioid overdose, will be available in retail stores and online as soon as next week, its manufacturer said Wednesday. The medicine, with the brand name Narcan, will have a suggested retail price of $44.99 per carton of two doses, maker Emergent BioSolutions said in a news release. It will be available initially in stores and online from retailers including Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart and CVS. The US Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan as an over-the-counter drug in March against a backdrop of record high deaths from opioid overdose, driven by powerful synthetic drugs like fentanyl. Narcan is a nasal spray version of naloxone, which can revive a person from an overdose within minutes. Nearly every state in the US has ...
Zerva Therapeutics, formerly KemPharm, has announced a strategic acquisition of Acer Therapeutics to expand its rare therapies portfolio. The biggest Acer assets include the marketed rare therapy Olpruva (sodium phenylbutyrate formulation), and late-stage drug celiprolol. The acquisition is expected to be worth up to $91m in stock and cash payments, of which $76m is contingent upon milestone-based payments for Olpruva and celiprolol. Additionally, Zerva purchased Acer’s secured debt of more than $17m at a discounted value of $16.5m from its creditor, Nantahala Capital. The news caused Acer’s stock to skyrocket by 140% when the markets opened on 31 August. Zerva has a market cap of $165.25m, with a reported Q1 2023 revenue of $2.9m, as per the company’s financial report. Whilst Acer reported a loss of $8.1m in Q2 2023, as per the company’s Q2 financials. Olpruva is an oral suspension approved for the treatment of urea cycle disorders by ...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recommended reclassifying marijuana as a lower-risk drug, which would in turn ease restrictions on the budding business, a spokesperson for the Drug Enforcement Administration told CNBC on Wednesday. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning it’s deemed to have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Despite being legalized for recreational use in nearly half of states, marijuana’s federal classification alongside drugs such as heroin and LSD has hindered the industry’s growth. After enjoying a sales surge during the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry is in free fall as investors turn away and capital dries up. The industry has also been barred from accessing most banking services, or from being traded across state lines, resulting in a glut of cannabis in many states and a drop in prices. A federal reclassification could ...
Dive Brief Medtech trade groups have voiced support for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ plan to accelerate reimbursement of certain breakthrough devices. In letters sent on the same day, AdvaMed and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) urged CMS to quickly finalize the program, while also naming changes they want the centers to make. The trade groups recommended changes including the expansion of the CMS program to cover breakthrough diagnostics, products authorized in the previous three years and medical devices that are nearing approval. Dive Insight In June, CMS released a draft version of the Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET) pathway for consultation. The path could fill a gap created by the repeal of the contentious Medicare Coverage for Innovative Medical Technologies plan and address industry calls to cut the gap between device approval and reimbursement. AdvaMed and MDMA submitted feedback on the new proposal to CMS ...
After 16 years on the market, Takeda’s blockbuster attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) med Vyvanse has finally reached its patent cliff. The med, which is also approved for binge-eating disorder, has been in short supply since June due to a “manufacturing delay compounded by increased demand,” the company said in a statement earlier this summer. Now, generics may soon help ease the supply situation. On Aug. 25, the FDA cleared many copycats of the drug. The now-approved generics range in dosage from 10 mg to 70 mg and come in capsule and chewable forms. Manufacturers such as Teva, Sun Pharmaceutical, Actavis, Mylan, Hikma and others have cleared the agency’s regulatory bar with their generics. It’s not clear whether any of the companies have actually launched their copycats in the U.S. Takeda’s patents on its branded version expired Aug. 24. Whenever they debut, the generics will surely be welcomed by patients. A 100-day ...
Bayer and BlueRock Therapeutics have announced positive results from their phase 1 stem cell clinical trial, showing that the treatment improved symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The trial results were presented at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders in Copenhagen, Denmark. Parkinson’s disease is the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease in the world and causes parts of the brain to become progressively damaged over many years. The condition affects around 145,000 people in the UK. As part of the trial, a total of 12 people with Parkinson’s underwent surgery to receive either a high or low dose of bemdaneprocel (BRT-DA01), an experimental therapy involving dopamine-producing cells developed from stem cells. Stem cells develop different types of specialised cells, including skin, muscle or brain cells. For years, researchers have been working to find a way to convert stem cells into dopamine-producing brain cells to be used to replace those that are ...
By Tristan Manalac Pictured: Magnifying glass focusing on a tumor in an ovary/iStock, Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen In the Phase III INNOVATE-3 trial, Novocure’s investigational ovarian cancer therapy Tumor Treating Fields was unable to significantly improve overall survival, the company announced Monday. Patients who received Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) treatment combined with paclitaxel had a median overall survival (OS) of 12.2 months, which was only marginally higher than the 11.9-month median OS in comparators treated with paclitaxel alone. In terms of safety, TTFields remained well-tolerated and showed no new signals of concerns or systemic toxicities. Its adverse event profile in INNOVATE-3 was consistent with what had previously been reported. TTFields is an investigational oncology therapy that uses electric fields that act via many different mechanisms to kill cancer cells. Because it works via several pathways, the approach can be combined with other treatment modalities—such as PARP inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors—to ...
Medicare will soon be able to negotiate the prescription drug prices for the first time, under US President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was enacted last year. Earlier today, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a list of ten drugs that will be up for price negotiations. Aimed at driving down healthcare costs and increasing patient power, the IRA allows the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the US Government’s national insurance programme, to provide drugs at reduced prices. The price negotiation process will consider elements like the drug’s clinical benefit, the unmet clinical need, and the costs associated with the drug’s production. The negotiations with manufacturing companies will occur in 2023 and 2024, with any price changes rolling in by 2026. Blockbuster drugs are aplenty on the list. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Pfizer’s co-developed drug Eliquis (apixaban) and Amgen’s Enbrel (etanercept) are ...
The day drugmakers have been dreading has arrived: Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled its list of 10 drugs up for the first price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The drugs that made the price negotiation cut are Johnson & Johnson’s Imbruvica, Stelara and Xarelto plus Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis, Merck & Co.’s Januvia, Novartis’ Entresto, Eli Lilly’s Jardiance, AstraZeneca’s Farxiga, Novo Nordisk’s Fiasp and Amgen’s Enbrel. Together, the drugs accounted for more than $45 billion in Medicare Part D spending from June 2022 to May 2023, according to a CMS fact sheet (PDF). Next up, these companies will get a chance to submit data and information on their medications to CMS by Oct. 2. Meanwhile, many of the companies are challenging the legality of the IRA in court. It remains to be seen whether any of those efforts can stop the IRA process ...
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