Some of the biggest news and trends captured in PharmaVoice’s newsletter this week. Sign up here to receive the newsletter daily.
Lilly deepens its neuroscience push
Eli Lilly’s dealmaking streak isn’t just aimed at traditional assets. The large pharma scooped up AtaiBeckly and its pipeline of psychedelics-based candidates for mental health conditions last week for $2.8 billion.
Lilly’s decisive foray into psychedelics could inspire more pharma companies to play their hand in the space, according to one analyst. But for Lilly, it’s all about broadening its neuroscience reach.
This week, we featured a Q&A with the company’s president of neuroscience on its Alzheimer’s disease program in particular, and Lilly’s moves to expand on the success of its amyloid drug Kisunla.
Peptides back in the spotlight
We first reported on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s quest to make peptide drugs more readily available a few months ago. He’s since been setting the stage to allow compounding pharmacies to produce the drugs again, stacking a key FDA committee with members linked to the peptide industry. That committee kicked off a two-day meeting on the issue this week.
Unapproved, injectable peptides have exploded in popularity among wellness influencers who tout them for skin health, weight loss and more. The push to ease peptide restrictions, however, has drawn blowback from the scientific community because the drugs often lack clinical data about their safety and efficacy.
But Kennedy is no stranger to controversies and this week, we looked at another contentious issue inside the FDA — the ongoing public release of drug rejection letters, and what’s in the most recently published batch. We also featured quotes from pharma execs on some of the biggest challenges facing the industry.
Ebola’s steady march
One of the biggest challenges with the current Ebola outbreak is its strain. Drugs and vaccines exist to combat the Zaire strain — but not Bundibugyo, which is what’s currently tearing through the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Researchers are grabbing whatever tools they have and will soon offer frontline healthcare workers in Congo a vaccine that mixes Merck’s approved Zaire-strain shot called Ervebo with an experimental candidate developed by Sudan Ebola.
New therapies are also being quickly advanced into clinical trials. This week, we looked at what we know about those candidates and if they could prove effective in curbing Ebola’s current spread.
