And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda, so far, includes fraternizing with assorted family types, promenading with the official mascots, and catching up on our reading. We also hope to hold another listening party, where the rotation will likely include this, this, this and this. And what about you? This is a delightful time of year to enjoy the great outdoors, especially if the excessive heat abates. After all, lakes, mountains, and beaches are beckoning. This may also be an opportunity to enjoy simple pleasures — you know what they are — or catch up with someone special. Well, whatever you do, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy, and see you soon. …
Eli Lilly said in a social media post that its weight loss drug tirzepatide won approval from Chinese regulators, intensifying competition with Novo Nordisk in the key Asian market, Reuters tells us. Novo’s weight loss drug Wegovy won approval from China, the world’s second-largest economy and the country estimated to hold the highest number of overweight or obese people. Tirzepatide is the active ingredient in Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro, which is also approved in China, and weight-loss drug Zepbound. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are racing to increase production in a weight loss market estimated to reach at least $100 billion globally by the end of the decade.
Novartis will only sell its new prostate cancer drug privately if health systems continue to balk at its high price, The Financial Times writes. Pluvicto is one of a new generation of so-called “radiopharmaceutical” therapies that can help cancer patients live longer, but are expensive to produce due to complex supply chains. The U.S. list price is about $42,500 a dose, with a treatment cycle of up to six doses, but it is not offered by some European health systems. Harry Kirsch, Novartis’s chief financial officer, says the complexity of the product meant the drugmaker could not significantly cut its price. “We have to stick firm on the floor price,” he said. “This is not simple to manufacture and supply.”
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