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More Parents Are Delaying Their Kids’ Vaccines, and It’s Alarming Pediatricians
As measles cases pop up across the country this winter — including several in California — one group of children is stirring deep concerns among pediatricians: the babies and toddlers of vaccine-hesitant parents who are delaying their child’s measles-mumps-rubella shots.
Pediatricians across the state say they have seen a sharp increase recently in the number of parents with concerns about routine childhood vaccinations who are demanding their own inoculation schedules for their babies, creating a worrisome pool of very young children who may be at risk of contracting measles, a potentially deadly yet preventable disease. It is difficult to know how widespread such delays have become. California keeps careful track of the rate of kindergartners who have been vaccinated against measles but does not have comprehensive data for children at younger ages.
“I have patients who have three kids, and they vaccinated the first two kids on schedule. And then since COVID, with their third kid, they are like, ‘I don’t know if this is safe. I want to wait until the kids are older,’ or ‘instead of doing two shots today, I want to do one shot,’” said Dr. Eric Ball.
At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, attending pediatrician Dr. Colleen Kraft said about half of parents are questioning the CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule — a significant increase since the pandemic.
FDA Approves Wegovy for Treatment of Obesity-Related Heart Problems, Despite Gastroparesis Risks
Novo Nordisk has convinced federal regulators to approve Wegovy, a weight-loss version of the diabetes drug Ozempic, for use as a preventative treatment against strokes, heart attacks and heart disease caused by obesity.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a press release on March 8, announcing the approval of Wegovy for use against cardiovascular disease linked to being overweight. The agency indicated the drug should be used in addition to a reduced-calorie diet and exercise.
Both Ozempic and Wegovy are part of a new class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA), which also includes Mounjaro and Zepbound, and are now viewed as breakthrough weight loss treatments that may provide a variety of other health benefits. However, concerns have emerged that certain users experience a painful and debilitating stomach paralysis, known as gastroparesis.
As a result of the drug makers failure to fully disclose the gastroparesis risks on the warning label, a growing number of Ozempic lawsuits, Wegovy lawsuits and Mounjaro lawsuits are now being pursued, each raising nearly identical allegations that critical information was withheld from consumers and the medical community to increase profits.
Pfizer Is Betting Big on Cancer Drugs to Turn Business Around After COVID Decline — Here’s What to Know
Pfizer is ready to move on from COVID. Now, the company is betting on cancer drugs to help it regain its footing after a rocky year marked by the rapid decline of its COVID business. It just might take a while before that bet pays off.
Pfizer pitched its deeper push into oncology during a four-hour investor event last week. And it had a splashy 60-second Super Bowl ad that touted its initiative to “outdo cancer.”
Along with plummeting demand for its COVID products, Pfizer disappointed Wall Street last year with the underwhelming launch of a new RSV shot, a twice-daily weight loss pill that fell short in clinical trials and a 2024 forecast that missed expectations. The company has launched a $4 billion cost-cutting program, laying off hundreds of employees and shaving down its research and development spending.
Chris Boshoff, who leads Pfizer’s oncology unit, said the oncology division plans to shift to biologic drugs as its main source of revenue, increasing the proportion of those treatments in its pipeline from 6% to 65% by 2030.
How Big Pharma Is Fighting Biden’s Program to Lower Seniors’ Drug Costs
Pharmaceutical giants are mounting a vigorous legal battle against President Biden’s plan to lower seniors’ prescription drug costs, urging federal judges here and around the country to invalidate a new program that aims to reduce the price of medications for high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
In a flurry of lawsuits, these drugmakers have blasted the government initiative as unconstitutional, defended their pricing practices and warned that regulation could undermine future cures — even as millions of older Americans say they are struggling to afford essential treatments.
The legal wrangling appears primed to reach the Supreme Court, which could carry lasting implications for the government’s ability to regulate healthcare prices broadly. The stakes are also enormous for Biden, who ran in 2020 on a pledge to fulfill a longtime promise — made by both parties — to ease a key financial strain on older Americans.
Where’s the Narcan? At Pharmacies Across the U.S., the OTC Antidote Can Be Hard to Find
It was a glimmer of hope amid America’s raging opioid epidemic. Narcan, the nasal spray that can almost instantaneously reverse a potentially deadly opioid overdose, was going to be available over the counter in stores, easy to find and easy to buy.
With the proliferation of fentanyl in the illegal drug supply, overdose deaths in the U.S. had reached alarming rates and most efforts to stop the crisis were failing. Narcan needed to be more readily accessible for anyone who might need it to save a friend or even a stranger.
In a long-awaited move, the Food and Drug Administration cleared the antidote for over-the-counter use in March 2023, and in September the $45 two-dose boxes were shipped across the country. Prior to that, Narcan, or naloxone nasal spray, was distributed for free at community health centers and was also available via prescription.
“There’s a real inconsistent rollout,” said Maya Doe-Simkins, the co-director of Remedy Alliance, a group that distributes naloxone, the generic version of Narcan, to harm-reduction groups across the country.
Cut-Price Malaria Vaccine to Begin Africa Rollout From May
The world’s biggest vaccine maker will start rolling out a cheap new malaria inoculation in Africa from May, bolstering the fight against one of the most deadly infectious diseases globally.
The Serum Institute of India (SII) this year plans to ship 25 million doses of the new vaccine, developed along with Oxford University researchers and known as R21. The R21 vaccine, a three-dose course and booster shot for children aged 5-36 months is the second malaria shot approved by the WHO.
But researchers say it will be cheaper than the other vaccine produced by British pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline.
The vaccines will mostly be bought and distributed through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Gavi, a global vaccine alliance.
FDA Will Take a Deeper Look Into the Safety and Effectiveness of Lilly Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug
Federal regulators put off a decision on whether to approve an Eli Lilly Alzheimer’s drug by making an unusual request to have outside advisers look at the treatment.
Lilly had expected the Food and Drug Administration to decide on donanemab’s approval by the end of the month. But the drugmaker said Friday that the agency now wants more information about its safety and effectiveness.
No date has been set for the advisory committee meeting.
The FDA often asks committees to review drugs that are first in their class of treatments. Donanemab, if approved, would follow Eisai’s Leqembi, which was approved last year, and Biogen’s Aduhelm.
