Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GLP-1 Use Linked To Lower MS Relapse Rates, Study Suggests
Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients exposed to a GLP-1 receptor agonist had lower rates of relapse activity and steroid use, reduced incidence of optic neuritis, and fewer demyelinating events compared with those who didn't use these agents, a large real-world study in the U.S. showed. (George, 10/26)
A nationwide, observational cohort study of more than 1.5 million births in Sweden showed that compared with a normal weight, maternal obesity was associated with a 35% higher rate of MS in offspring and maternal overweight was associated with a 20% higher rate. (Anderson, 10/26)
BMS halted the study earlier this year following three patient deaths in a competitor’s trial. (Hoe, 10/27)
More pharma and tech news —
In the past week, a GSK cancer drug picked up an approval for another tumor type, the company unveiled the first data from a global study of a promising next-generation chemotherapy, and a medicine that the firm has licensed got the limelight in a presidential session at a major oncology conference here. (Joseph, 10/26)
The odds are stacked against Kevin Strauss, a rural doctor who has spent most of his career working in a wooden, mortise-and-tenon frame medical center on a donated corner of Amish farmland. Most of his patients don’t have insurance, because their faith teaches that caring for the sick is a communal responsibility. They receive conscientious objector waivers from Medicare and Society Security taxes. Churches cover medical costs, with money raised from congregants. That means they can’t pay the multimillion dollar price tags that accompany virtually every approved gene therapy. For Strauss, this is both challenge and opportunity. If he can build gene therapies the Mennonite and Amish can afford, maybe he can build a gene therapy anyone can. (Mast, 10/27)
Google’s new $180 Fitbit Edge is somewhere between a full-fledged smartwatch and a smaller, purpose-built fitness tracker. It’s for people who are interested in both kinds of products, but wouldn’t go so far as to wear two wrist gadgets at once. (Like some techie gym enthusiasts among us.) As with anything else, there are compromises, including some user experience quirks that could potentially be addressed through firmware updates. But after a week of testing it, I’ve found Google mostly succeeded in trying to carve out a middle lane for itself. (Wollman, 10/26)
