Photo credit: King-of-Herrings/Creative Commons
1. Physicians continue to discuss efforts to limit direct-to-consumer advertising. At the American Medical Association’s meeting in Chicago, some doctors pushed for legislation that would eliminate drugmakers’ ability to write off DTC advertising as a business expense. (MD)
2. Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug, Victoza, showed a smaller benefit than expected in a trial focused on reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular deaths. Researchers found that Victoza reduced those risks by 13% rather than the anticipated 15%. (Bloomberg)
3. Shire said it will acquire the rights to an experimental bowel drug developed by Pfizer. The drug, PF-00547659, treats moderate-to-severe inflammatory bowel disease. (Reuters)
4. Novartis is pushing back on efforts by the Colombian Health Minister to force the drugmaker to lower the price of its cancer drug Gleevec. The dispute has been going on for four years. (Stat)
5. There is a small number of documented “ALS reversals,” which are patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis who get better and see improvement in their condition. Those patients have created a new understanding of the disease and may help drugmakers develop new therapies. (WSJ)
