Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating, because that oh-so predictable routine of online meetings, phone calls, and deadlines has returned. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, continues to spin. So to nudge it in a better direction, we are brewing cups of stimulation. Our choice today is hazelnut mocha. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here are a few tidbits for you to chew on as you start the day, which we hope is meaningful and productive. Best of luck and, as always, do keep in touch. …
Democratic U.S. Senate aides will meet with Novo Nordisk executives on Tuesday to discuss fallout from its decision to stop selling one of its long-acting insulins in the country, Reuters reports. Novo Nordisk will meet with aides for senators Jeanne Shaheen, Raphael Warnock, and Elizabeth Warren. In April, the lawmakers wrote to the company expressing alarm at its decision, announced in November, that it would permanently discontinue Levemir by the end of 2024. Novo said it has given patients enough time to switch to other options, but is unaware of plans for drugmakers to produce a biosimilar version of the insulin, although Novo would not assert any patent against such a version.
European health authorities cautioned that patients due to undergo surgery should be warned of a risk of anesthesia complications if they are being treated with diabetes and weight loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, Bloomberg News notes. The safety committee of the European Medicines Agency advised patients treated with GLP-1 drugs to inform their doctor before undergoing surgeries with general anesthesia or deep sedation and said product information will be updated accordingly. There is a “biologically plausible risk” of aspiration of stomach contents for patients under anesthesia and taking such medication, the agency said, even though it didn’t find a “causal association.”
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