clinical trials
A surprising proposal to study GLP-1s with wearables
Koneksa Health, one of several companies that helps drug developers study their treatments with wearables and smartphone apps, has been pitching companies on funding a study of GLP-1s for Parkinson's disease. The proposal comes as drugmakers race to find the next applications for the popular drugs approved for diabetes and obesity.
Koneksa's proposal was inspired by a successful randomized control trial published earlier this year showing that people with Parkinson's on GLP-1 drug Lixisenatide saw no worsening of motor symptoms over a year, compared to those on placebo who did. But enthusiasm for the idea may be tamped down by a forthcoming readout from a Parkinson's study of another GLP-1 drug, Exenatide, that reportedly did not meet its primary endpoint.
Konkesa executives told me a one-year study of people with Parkinson's taking GLP-1s could help settle some outstanding questions about the potential of the drug class, including whether they have more impact on certain Parkinson's symptoms or subpopulations. That might be appealing to drugmakers hoping for a quick signal to help justify studying their drugs in Parkinson's — or maybe to support going out and acquiring a new asset.
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Artificial intelligence
The coming wave of LLM tech for medical imaging
Medical imaging leads the way on applications of artificial intelligence in health care, with algorithms that help clinicians analyze CT scans, MRIs, and X-rays accounting for more than three-quarters of AI devices authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. But at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America last week, experts agreed we're just at the beginning. In a poll conducted during a panel, every attendee expected radiology reports to be at least AI-augmented by 2030.
As STAT's Katie Palmer reports, much of the focus — and hype — surrounds the potential of large language models to streamline documentation. AI is already being widely used to help busy radiologists dictate their narrative impressions of images, and future developments could include helping turn those free text expressions into structured reports for medical records.
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Business A guess at Amazon Pharmacy's potential
An analysis published last week by Evercore ISI argues that Amazon Pharmacy could generate $33 billion in new revenues for Amazon over the next 3 to 5 years. Reasons include Amazon's expanding same-day pharmacy delivery, which the company claims will be available to half of customers next year, and responses to an Evercore survey suggesting 13% of Amazon customers have ordered from the pharmacy, compared to 9% the year before. But I think the most compelling argument is actually (somewhat) external to Amazon: Pharmacy chains across the country, including CVS, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid are closing stores at a remarkable rate, handing Amazon an opportunity "to address unmet customer needs created by 'Pharmacy Deserts.'"
Betting that Amazon's is going to do well in a market where it's invested heavily may not be all that surprising, unless that market is health care, where the company has made a series of pivots and closures in recent years. As Leerink Partners' Michael Cherny told me a few weeks ago, it's true that Amazon is always a competitive threat in any market where it chooses to play, but "just because Amazon produces something doesn't mean that Amazon suddenly is the market leader."
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