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☆ Why the WNBA wants more people to know about the new over-the-counter birth control pill
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —As the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the United States hits store shelves, the company behind the product, Perrigo, is taking steps to ensure women are aware of this new contraception option. It’s a different formulation than what is in combination hormonal birth control pills, which contain both progestin and estrogen. Combined birth control pills may carry risks for people with uncontrolled hypertension or blood clot risks for smokers older than 35. Most birth control pills are up to 99% effective at preventing pregnancy if taken as instructed. “I’m always a little skeptical of Big Pharma and their partnerships, but I think the general principle of having highly effective over-the-counter birth control be over the counter, that’s empowering” she said.

Persons: “ We’re, Opill, ”, Colie Edison, “ We’ve, Leila Bahbah, ” Edison, “ we’re, “, ‘, ’, Roe, Wade, prescribers, Joe Biden, Dobbs, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Colleen Denny, Denny, “ I’m, ” Denny Organizations: CNN, WNBA, “, ESPN, US Food and Drug Administration, Jackson, Health Organization, White, Get CNN, CNN Health, NYU Langone Hospital –, Big Pharma Locations: United States, Dobbs v, “

☆ Exclusive: Ex-Truepill CEO just scored $6 million to help health plans and pharma companies ditch middlemen and work closely with patients
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He's launched a new company, Foundation Health, to help them do that quickly and at a low cost. Foundation aims to make it easy for insurers to set up their own online pharmacies and pharma companies to sell drugs directly to consumers. "The main focus area for us is to help health plans disintermediate PBMs," Afridi said. Foundation Health wants to help customers ditch big PBMsFoundation's software enables a few different things. Finally, direct-to-consumer health companies can plug into Foundation's technology to power their services, instead of building their own pharmacies and hiring doctors.

Persons: Umar Afridi, disruptors, Afridi, He's, disintermediate, Garry Tan, Y, they've, pocketing, Eli Lilly's, Jack Altman Organizations: California, Cuban, Plus, Business, Foundation Health, Foundation, pharma, Alt, Liquid Ventures, Exceptional, Storm Ventures, PageOne Ventures, Federal Trade Commission Locations: drugmakers

It is the first advertising company to reach a major settlement over the toll of opioids in the U.S. It faced a lawsuit in at least Massachusetts but settled with most states before they made court claims against it. James' office said the materials played up the abuse-deterrent properties of OxyContin and promoted increasing patients' doses. As part of the settlement, Publicis agreed to release internal documents detailing its work for Purdue and other companies that made opioids. The first began after OxyContin hit the market in 1996 and was linked mostly to prescription opioids, many of them generics.

Persons: Letitia James, Publicis, James, Bob Ferguson, Rosetta, ” Publicis, Sackler, OxyContin Organizations: Publicis, Publicis Groupe, New York, Purdue Pharma, Washington, Purdue, State Pharmacy, U.S, Supreme Locations: Paris, U.S, Massachusetts, Connecticut

☆ How well-off Brits still buy Ozempic online for weight loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

NHS diabetes patients – including Gradwell, who went for weeks without full medication – pay nothing for their medication. The shortage persists even after Ozempic's manufacturer Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) launched Wegovy, a semaglutide drug solely for weight loss, in September. Rightangled told Reuters it is within its rights to continue to prescribe Ozempic for weight loss. Two had stopped offering it for weight loss by October, but Rightangled continued to make it available as of Nov. 17, Reuters found. He said his oncologist said that while he could not prescribe Ozempic, it would be good for his health if he took it for weight loss.

Persons: Kim Gradwell, –, John, it's, Rightangled, Gradwell, Penny Ward, I've, Abdullah Sabyah, Ward, Juniper, Ben, Doctors, Novo, Ozempic, semaglutide, prescribers, Rightangled's Sabyah, Tyne wasn't, Gradwell's, Yaasir Mamoojee, We've, Maggie Fick, Marine Strauss, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Chad Terhune, Sara Ledwith, Josephine Mason Organizations: Diabetes, National Health Service, Novo Nordisk, King's College, Department of Health, Social Care, John, Reuters, Oxford University ., NHS, Alliance Healthcare, Alliance, Diabetes UK, NICE, semaglutide, Oxford University, General Pharmaceutical Council, Tyne, Thomson Locations: Dudley , North Tyneside, Britain, Novo, United States, London, U.S, England, Europe, Ozempic, Newcastle, Brussels, Los Angeles

☆ Belgium bans use of Ozempic for weight loss until summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Marine Strauss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Boxes of Ozempic, a semaglutide injection drug used for treating type 2 diabetes made by Novo Nordisk, is seen at a Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S. March 29, 2023. Ozempic is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes but has increasingly been prescribed "off-label" to treat weight loss because it has the same active ingredient as Novo's hugely popular - and scarce - anti-obesity drug Wegovy. In Britain, doctors and prescribers, including private online pharmacies, have been ordered to stop prescribing Ozempic to people who don't have type 2 diabetes as soon as possible. They are also banned from starting new patients with type 2 diabetes on the medicine for as long as the shortage lasts. Last month, Belgium's federal medicine agency recommended doctors and pharmacists only prescribe Ozempic to diabetic patients due to the surge in demand.

Persons: George Frey, Ozempic, Marine Strauss, Mark Potter Organizations: Novo Nordisk, Pharmacy, REUTERS, Marine, Thomson Locations: Provo , Utah, U.S, Belgium, Britain

☆ Analysis: Wegovy launch in UK may underline Novo's need to get ahead of Lilly
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A 0.25 mg injection pen of Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy is shown in this photo illustration in Oslo, Norway, August31, 2023. Studies have demonstrated more weight loss than with Wegovy. Novo's type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic has been on the market in Britain since 2019. A Lilly spokesperson declined to comment on Wegovy's launch or when exactly it would launch Mounjaro for diabetes treatment. Studies have shown that, used alongside exercise and lifestyle changes, Wegovy led to 15% weight loss over 68 weeks, while Mounjaro led to more than 22% over 72 weeks.

Persons: Victoria Klesty, Eli Lilly's, Wegovy, Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, Novo, Lilly, Mounjaro, Ozempic, Eli Lilly, Maggie Fick, Alexander Smith, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Wegovy, Economic Co, Development, Reuters, National Health Service, stoke, NHS, Britain's Department of Health, Social Care, Diabetes, UBS, Novo, Thomson Locations: Oslo, Norway, August31, Victoria, Britain, British, Danish, United States, Denmark, Germany, Europe, England

☆ Novo Nordisk's Wegovy weight loss drug launches in the UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Packages of the weight-loss drug Wegovy from the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk lie on the sales counter in a Danish pharmacy. Novo Nordisk launched its Wegovy weight loss injection in the U.K. on Monday, advancing the drug's rollout in Europe despite ongoing supply constraints. The drug will also be available privately through a "registered healthcare professional," Novo Nordisk said in a statement, without adding further detail. Novo Nordisk declined to disclose the final price agreed with NHS England for the drug, but said that NICE, the U.K. drug cost-effectiveness watchdog, had described it as a "cost-effective use of NHS resources." British insurance company Aviva , which provides private health insurance to around 1.1 million Brits, on Monday said that Wegovy would not be covered under its policy, according to Reuters.

Persons: Wegovy Organizations: Novo Nordisk, National Health Service, National Institute for Care, Nordisk, England, NICE, Aviva, Reuters Locations: Danish, Europe, U.S

☆ Focus: US psychiatrists prescribe Wegovy to battle medication-induced weight gain
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Elissa Welle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] A selection of injector pens for the Wegovy weight loss drug are shown in this photo illustration in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., March 31, 2023. The global market for weight-loss drugs is forecast to reach as much as $100 billion within the decade. Beyond severe mental health disorders, other patients struggling with obesity tend to suffer from mental health issues like depression and anxiety at higher levels than the general population, studies show. However, psychiatrists specializing in eating disorders are wary that drugs like Wegovy could exacerbate their patients’ focus on weight loss because they are so effective. Dr. Michael Weintraub, an endocrinologist at NYU Langone Health, said ideally psychiatrists will work with endocrinologists because weight-loss drugs require careful monitoring not related to mental health issues.

Persons: Jim Vondruska, Wegovy, Novo, It's, doggedly, Joseph Goldberg, Eli Lilly, Natalia Salomao, Dost Ongur, Brigham, Roy Chengappa, New Yorker Alexander Roger, Roger, Michael Weintraub, McLean's Ongur, Elissa Welle, Michele Gershberg, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Icahn School of Medicine, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Reuters, Mass, Brigham McLean Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, New Yorker, Fordham University, Nordisk, NYU Langone Health, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Mount Sinai, New York, Europe, Danish, Boston

☆ AI-Targeted Internet Advertisements Fueling Looming Addiction Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Albert Fox Cahn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

A new breed of direct-to-consumer services is aggressively using targeted ads to sell habit-forming medications. In short, AI and surveillance capitalism, which empower today's targeted ads, have joined forces with the deadly OxyContin playbook. As the Journal reported, after ADHD medications grew to 20% of the VC-funded company's business, driving a $4.8 billion valuation, things came crashing to earth. We as a society may have come to accept being stalked by targeted ads, but consequences are much graver when the product itself is a danger. But above all, we need rules that ban targeted ads for drugs that can get patients hooked.

Persons: Taylor Swift, they're, haven't, Van Zee, OxyContin, prescribers, Dr, David Sack, Anthony Yeung, recreationally, Yann Poncin, shih, Ryan Haight, Ryan Haight Act's, Albert Fox Cahn Organizations: Circle, Purdue, American, of Public Health, Sackler family's pharma, Physicians, Yale School of Medicine, Bloomberg, Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Health, Human Services, Ryan, Twitter, FDA Locations: Canadian, California, United States, New Zealand, New York

☆ FDA grants full approval to Pfizer Covid treatment Paxlovid for high-risk adults
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday granted full approval to Pfizer's Covid antiviral pill, Paxlovid, for adults who are at high risk of getting severely sick with the virus. The FDA first made Paxlovid available in December 2021 under emergency use authorization for high-risk individuals ages 12 and up. Both Pfizer and the FDA view the treatment as an important complementary tool to vaccination that can help high-risk Americans manage their Covid infections and ultimately save lives. For some doctors, another area of concern is Paxlovid "rebound cases." That's when patients who take the treatment see their Covid symptoms return or test positive shortly after they initially recover.

☆ Health Plan Coverage of Abortion and Related Services
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Practical Law Employee Benefits | Executive Compensation | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +36 min

The Dobbs ruling, which returned the regulation of abortion to the individual states, has led to legislation that restricts abortion, including medication abortion, in many states. In response to the rapidly changing post-Dobbs legal landscape, this article addresses health plan coverage of abortion, medication abortion coverage and litigation, abortion-related travel benefits, and related Practical Law resources concerning these topics. The insurer in a fully insured health plan, health maintenance organization (HMO), or similar arrangement:Assumes the risk of providing health coverage for insured events by paying medical costs for eligible claims incurred under the plan. Self-Funded Health PlansBy contrast, employers with self-funded arrangements may have more discretion in providing coverage for abortion and related services. Changes to plan coverage of medication abortion will likely require plan administrators to:(For more on coverage of medication abortion, see Newly Launched, ReproductiveRights.gov Website Addresses Access to Medication Abortion (Mifepristone) Using Telehealth on Practical Law.)

☆ Morning after pill brand speeds up retail access, doubles supply per pack
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The brand is also introducing a new 2-count pack of its emergency contraception (which has a three-year expiration period). Julie rolled out a new two-count pack of its emergency contraception priced at $70. Cleland said a study done last year by the American Society for Emergency Contraception on access to emergency contraception in stores compared price at retail for branded and generic emergency contraception options. “Every time there is a new development on restrictions to reproduction health care, there’s a run on emergency contraceptive. Our retail partners confirmed this,” said Morrison, adding that news events continue to influence buying patterns for emergency contraceptive.

☆ Pfizer's Covid drug Paxlovid may reduce the risk of developing long Covid, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

(Photo by Rachel Wisniewski/For the Washington Post)People who take Pfizer 's Covid antiviral treatment Paxlovid shortly after infection may reduce their risk of developing long Covid, regardless of their age, vaccination status or infection history, new research suggests. The study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine on Thursday, found that people who took Paxlovid within five days of a positive Covid test saw a 26% lower risk of long Covid compared with those who didn't receive it. The new study comes as researchers work to fill the knowledge gap about long Covid, an often debilitating condition with limited data and no proven treatment available. Long Covid refers to new, returning or ongoing health issues more than four weeks after an initial Covid infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She called the new study "very exciting and promising" because it's the first to show an association between Paxlovid and a decreased risk of long Covid.

☆ FDA advisors recommend full approval of Pfizer Covid treatment Paxlovid for adults 50 and over and other high-risk people
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Food and Drug Administration's independent panel of advisors recommended full approval of Pfizer's Covid-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid for high-risk adults 16-1 on Thursday, but flagged potentially harmful drug interactions. The FDA first made Paxlovid available in December 2021 for emergency use in high-risk individuals ages 12 and up. More than half of Paxlovid-eligible Medicare and Veterans Affairs patients are on medications that have drug interactions with Paxlovid, according to an FDA review of safety surveillance data. Roughly 74% of Paxlovid prescriptions were from adult primary care practitioners who may not be experienced with managing the possible adverse drug interactions, the FDA review added. To complete a full course of the drug, patients must take three Paxlovid pills twice a day for five days.

Companies Rite Aid Corp FollowWASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Monday sued Rite Aid Corp (RAD.N), accusing the pharmacy chain of missing red flags as it illegally filled hundreds of thousands of prescriptions for controlled substances, including opioids. Rite Aid pharmacists were accused of filling prescriptions for controlled substances despite clear signs it was wrong. The Justice Department also said Rite Aid intentionally deleted some pharmacists' internal warnings about suspicious prescribers, such as "cash only pill mill??? Rite Aid is one of the country's largest pharmacy chains, with more than 2,330 stores in 17 U.S. states. The case is U.S. ex rel White et al v Rite Aid Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, No.

☆ I used psychedelics to treat my PTSD after other treatments failed. My experience using these medicines with therapy led me to found my own company.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Jonathan Sabbagh started a psychedelics company after receiving treatments he said helped his PTSD. He said that psychedelics and ketamine-assisted therapy successfully treated his PTSD and other mental health issues and that his experience led him to start Journey Clinical with Myriam Barthes, his wife. He experienced psychedelics after moving to the US from Switzerland, where he grew up. What saved my life in that moment was finding a great psychiatrist who put me on a lot of medication. Working with a therapist helped me work through traumaThat's when I started to work with a therapist and do ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.

☆ I make 6 figures as a hospital pharmacist. Here's why it's a great career, and my advice to anyone who wants to pursue it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Gabrielle Reeder | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Her hospital and pharmacy is open 24/7, and she works 8-hour shifts including Sundays at times. Rummana said the job is always fast-paced, but she's grateful and loves being a hospital pharmacist. I started working at CVS and then transitioned into hospital pharmacy at St. Joseph's Wayne Hospital in Wayne, New Jersey. I started working at Hackensack in January 2021 as a hospital pharmacist, and I make $71.60 an hour. Seeing people leave the hospital and lead happier, healthier lives can be translated into a career as a pharmacist.

☆ FDA finalizes rule expanding availability of abortion pills
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday finalized a rule change that broadens availability of abortion pills to many more pharmacies, including large chains and mail-order companies. Still, the rule change’s impact has been blunted by numerous state laws limiting abortion broadly and the pills specifically. Legal experts foresee years of court battles over access to the pills, as abortion-rights proponents bring test cases to challenge state restrictions. Two drugmakers that make brand-name and generic versions of abortion pills requested the latest FDA label update. The FDA in 2000 approved mifepristone to terminate pregnancies of up to 10 weeks, when used with a second drug, misoprostol.

☆ Star Gymnast Simone Biles Breaks With Embattled Telehealth Provider Cerebral
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Rolfe Winkler | Louise Radnofsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The gymnast Simon Biles appeared to stop posting ads for Cerebral Inc. to her social media profiles after the spring, when controversy enveloped the company. Star gymnast Simone Biles and the embattled telehealth provider Cerebral Inc. have parted ways, the company said, after announcing a partnership last year that sought to use Ms. Biles’s mental health advocacy to power growth at the startup. Ms. Biles, who became a widely discussed mental-health symbol after her stunning mid-event withdrawal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, had been unveiled in October 2021 as the “chief impact officer” for Cerebral. The company provides online access to therapists and prescribers for mental health treatment. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

☆ DEA Alleges Online Pharmacy Truepill Wrongfully Filled Stimulant Prescriptions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said an investigation found Truepill Inc., an online pharmacy company, filled illegitimate prescriptions for stimulants such as Adderall to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The DEA said prescriptions from Truepill, which at one time was a preferred pharmacy provider for telehealth company Cerebral Inc., were unlawful because they were either written by prescribers without state licenses or surpassed 90-day supply limits.

☆ The DEA is alleging Truepill, Cerebral's former pharmacy partner, broke the law in filling prescriptions for highly regulated drugs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Blake Dodge | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The agency alleges that the pharmacy startup unlawfully dispensed stimulants used to treat ADHD. Truepill partnered with the mental-health startup Cerebral to send prescriptions to its patients. The Order to Show Cause requires that Truepill show evidence to justify its prescribing practices for controlled substances, which are highly regulated drugs. If the evidence isn't convincing, the pharmacy startup could have its DEA license revoked, which would leave the company unable to fill prescriptions for controlled substances. In "numerous instances," the startup dispensed prescriptions that weren't issued for a legitimate medical purpose, the DEA alleges.

These psychiatric drugs are regulated by the federal government as controlled substances that have high potential for abuse and addiction but are not opioids. The impact on independent pharmacies' prescriptions of psychiatric drugs from the widening crackdown on opioids has not been previously reported. It is dedicated to mitigating the abuse of controlled substances without interfering in good-faith clinical decisions made by doctors, she said. "Pharmaceutical distributors must walk a legal and ethical tightrope between providing access to necessary medications and acting to prevent diversion of controlled substances," Esposito said in a written statement. The FDA, the HHS agency that administers the list of controlled substances, did not respond to a request for comment.

Oct 27 (Reuters) - Leading consulting firm McKinsey & Co has agreed to settle claims by hundreds of U.S. local governments and school districts around the country that it fueled an epidemic of opioid addiction through its work for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP and other drug companies. The deal was disclosed in a court filing Wednesday evening in San Francisco federal court. Its terms were not made public, and McKinsey and a lawyer for the settling plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. McKinsey previously agreed to pay more than $600 million to settle opioid claims brought by all U.S. states and territories, and had argued that those settlements should shield it from local governments' and school districts' lawsuits. Purdue is in bankruptcy and is seeking to resolve opioid claims against it through a proposed $6 billion settlement funded by members of its founding Sackler family.

☆ Factbox: U.S. companies brace for Hurricane Ian
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - Hurricane Ian is set to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday, pushing residents to empty grocery shelves, board up windows and rush to evacuation shelters. Since then, it has been working to redeploy offshore personnel after determining Hurricane Ian no longer posed a significant threat to its assets. NextEra Energy Inc's (NEE.N) Florida Power & Light Co, the largest utility in the state, deployed nearly 16,000 workers from 27 states to restore power. A spokesperson said the company was monitoring the hurricane and making adjustments to operations to keep warehouse staff and drivers safe. CRUISE OPERATORSWalt Disney Co's Disney Cruise Line on Tuesday canceled its Disney Wish ship that was to set sail from Florida on Friday.

☆ Factbox: U.S. companies gird themselves as Hurricane Ian makes landfall
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Florida with Category 4 fury on Wednesday, pushing residents to empty grocery shelves, board up windows and rush to evacuation shelters. Since then, it has been working to redeploy offshore personnel after determining Hurricane Ian no longer posed a significant threat to its assets. A spokesperson said the company was monitoring the hurricane and making adjustments to operations to keep warehouse staff and drivers safe. Costco Wholesale Corp closed nine stores located in Florida due to an impact of Hurricane Ian. CRUISE OPERATORSWalt Disney Co's Disney Cruise Line on Tuesday canceled its Disney Wish ship that was to set sail from Florida on Friday.

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