Rise and shine, another busy day is on the way. We can tell because the official mascot is noisily bounding about the grounds in search of wildlife and Mrs. Pharmalot is busy putting the finishing touches on yet another feast that marks the observance of ancient traditions this week. As for us, we’re quaffing cups of stimulation —cinnamon dolce is our choice today — and foraging for items of interest. You can digest the results if you scroll down the screen. Meanwhile, we hope you have a meaningful and productive journey today. And of course, do keep in touch. Your insights and perspectives help the world go around. …
A major obstacle looms for the drugs of the future – not enough doctors know how to administer them, The Wall Street Journal writes. Promising therapies for some diseases are administered through lumbar punctures, which are not a routine part of a doctor’s daily practice. They may involve infusions of a gene packaged inside the shell of a virus, which can lead to potential immune complications and can require close monitoring of patients. Some drugs need to be stored in special conditions, which can take complicated planning and coordination that few doctors have experienced.
Splashy ads promoting the Wegovy and Ozempic weight-loss treatments risk exploiting a regulatory gray area of direct-to-consumer drug advertising, STAT explains. There are long-standing boundaries for drugmakers but less clarity for telehealth companies that have cropped up to prescribe their medicines. And this could leave patients vulnerable to misleading advertisements that steer them toward drugs they do not need, or leave them with an incomplete picture about risks and side effects. As a result, the recent spate of advertising of specific drugs by telehealth companies presents a new set of questions about oversight.
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