Good morning and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was refreshing and invigorating because — you know what we are going to say — that oh-so predictable routine of online meetings, phone calls, and deadlines has returned. There is no avoiding this though, unless you pack your bags and check out permanently. So better to confront reality with a delicious cup of stimulation. We have cracked open a new bag of maple cinnamon French toast for the occasion. And you are more than welcome to join us. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest as you start quaffing. We hope your day is meaningful and productive, and look forward to receiving all manner of feedback. Best of luck. …
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s nominee for U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, has criticized laws that provide companies that make vaccines with protections from lawsuits, and if he takes office, he has broad power to strip those protections, STAT explains. Most routine vaccines have had protections from lawsuits for nearly 40 years, and vaccines developed to address emergencies have enjoyed protections for 20. The HHS secretary can add or subtract vaccines from the list of protected childhood vaccines, and is in charge of declaring which public health emergencies warrant legal protections. For childhood vaccines, the law allows the secretary to make changes using a rulemaking process including a public hearing and at least six months of public comment. However, there is an open question as to whether a HHS secretary could simply issue a rule removing all vaccines from the program at once, as some were initially added by Congress.
Novo Nordisk is preparing to unveil data for a “next generation” weight loss drug it believes could lead the field of GLP-1 treatments, as drugmakers seek to better the results of blockbuster treatments Wegovy and Mounjaro, The Financial Times says. The company expects late-stage data for CagriSema, due to be published next month, to show that the drug cuts weight by 25% in just over a year. That compares with up to 16% from Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, and up to 22.5% from Eli Lilly’s rival Mounjaro when administered alongside lifestyle interventions such as improved diet, exercise, and sleep. The headline trial results will be closely monitored by pharmaceutical industry experts. Shares in Novo Nordisk, which remains Europe’s largest company by market capitalization, have struggled to keep pace with those of its chief rival in the weight loss sector, Eli Lilly. Investor faith in Novo Nordisk’s ability to meet demand for its products has taken a hit, while the company also suffered a setback from disappointing results for an experimental weight loss pill in September.
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