GLP-1 drugs
Wegovy linked to lower risk of alcohol use disorder in real-world study
A new observational study in Nature Communications found that Wegovy was linked to a 50% and 56% lower risk of incidence and recurrence of alcohol use disorder over one year compared with other obesity medications. The sister diabetes drug Ozempic was linked to a 44% and 39% lower risk of incidence and recurrence versus other diabetes treatments.
The researchers behind this study, who include Nora Volkow (director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse), previously found similar trends when looking at cannabis use disorder.
There have been anecdotes that GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy not only reduce cravings for food, but also for substances like alcohol and tobacco. But no pharma company is so far running a randomized trial to specifically test GLP-1s in addiction. The closest type of study is a trial by Novo Nordisk in alcohol-related liver disease that will test alcohol intake as a secondary outcome.
Speaking at a STAT event earlier this year, Volkow said the early data on GLP-1s in addiction is "very, very, exciting," and she lamented drug companies' lack of research in this space.
health equity
The GLP-1 revolution is leaving Black Americans behind
KIERRA BRANKER FOR STAT
Though GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are transforming the treatment of diabetes and obesity (and potentially many other conditions as shown above), many Black Americans worry that their community, which already experiences a greater burden of chronic disease, is being left behind.
Recent studies found that Black people with diabetes are less likely to be prescribed GLP-1 drugs. They also experience significant insurance and access barriers, and the public's obsession with the drugs further serves as a reminder of how Black bodies are policed and judged by society.
STAT teamed up with Word In Black, a network of 10 Black news publishers, to report this story. Read more from Word In Black's Anissa Durham here, and also take some time to look at the accompanying article that includes a photo essay and first-person accounts of how Black Americans are thinking about their weight and the pressure to lose weight in this new Ozempic era.
venture capital
Investors pour money into fertility-focused biotech
Gameto, a biotech aiming to improve on IVF, said today that it raised $33 million in a Series B round led by Two Sigma Ventures and RA Capital.
In IVF, eggs are taken out of a woman's body and fertilized, but often times, the eggs that are taken out are not mature enough and have to be tossed. The idea behind Gameto's lead product, Fertilo, is in-vitro maturation (IVM) that may improve the odds of success in IVF. Fertilo is a solution that contains "ovarian support cells" that are meant to help nudge the eggs that are removed from the body into maturing.
Fertilo is already in clinical use in Australia and Latin America, and in the U.S., Gameto has tentative approval to start Phase 3 trials upon completion of certain assay and manufacturing requirements.
For more background on this startup, check out our story from last year.
personnel
Neurocrine names new CEO as it looks to new growth phase
Neurocrine said yesterday that its founding CEO, Kevin Gorman, will retire, and Kyle Gano, currently the chief business development and strategy officer, will succeed him.
Stifel analyst Paul Matteis wrote that this feels like "somewhat of a natural transition point for the company," as its approved tardive dyskinesia drug Ingrezza is well-established, and as it turns to a new phase of growth with the anticipated launch of a congenital adrenal hyperplasia drug and with several drugs in the pipeline.
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