All eyes have turned to the Senate Health, Labor and Pensions Committee and whether chair Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I-Vt.), will subpoena Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato and Merck CEO Robert Davis to testify at a hearing on the high costs of prescription drugs. The hearing was supposed to be held on Thursday, but only Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Chris Boerner agreed to testify and only if at least one other CEO participated. (The Hill)
Drugmakers kicked off 2024 by raising the list prices for Ozempic, Mounjaro and dozens of other widely used medicines. Companies including Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, and Eli Lilly, which sells Mounjaro, raised list prices on 775 brand-name drugs during the first half of January. (The Wall Street Journal)
Scientists have identified a persistent change in a handful of blood proteins in people with long COVID that indicates that an important part of their immune system remains on high alert for months after an acute infection. The findings could help explain what causes the persistent fatigue, brain fog and other debilitating symptoms of long COVID, as well as pave the way for diagnostic tests and potentially, a long-awaited treatment, experts say. (NBC News)
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, patients have become increasingly comfortable with getting their medications online – Big Pharma is ready to get in on the action. Direct-to-consumer telehealth has made it easy to schedule a virtual visit and get a script, with prescriptions shipped to your doorstep. (STAT News)
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the biotech companies eGenesis and OrganOx announced how pigs could help people who need liver transplants. They hooked up a brain-dead patient to a pig’s liver, which circulated the man’s blood for three days. (TIME)
Click here to see last Friday’s Five things for pharma marketers to know.
