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Obesity Drug Costs: Limited-Time Use, Then Shift To Cheaper Maintenance Floated By Sen. Cassidy

 
• By Sarah Karlin-Smith

Sen. Bill Cassidy and an obesity advocacy group suggest studies test whether obesity patients could be switched to a cheaper maintenance medicine or diet after their initial weight loss on GLP-1s. Approval of Lilly’s Zepbound is a reminder of the expected surge in utilization for the class.

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Sen. Cassidy thinks there should be more to weight loss picture than GLP-1 drugs. • Source: Shutterstock

Senator Bill Cassidy, R-LA, and an obesity drug advocate raised the possibility that the US health system could deal with the potential costs of new anti-obesity drugs by using them for a limited period to achieve needed weight-loss and then switching patients to more inexpensive maintenance tools at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit.

Such a concept, if it proved feasible, could be attractive to the government and other payers in the health system...

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More from United States

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• By Michael McCaughan

After the abrupt departure of CBER’s director, it seems FDA, and Vinay Prasad in particular, would likely have been well served by hearing from an advisory committee before requesting the suspension in sales of Sarepta’s DMD gene therapy Elevidys.

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340B Rebate Model Gets HRSA Endorsement; Pilot Program Limited To Medicare Negotiated Drugs

 
• By Cathy Kelly

Pilot is harbinger of greater transparency in the 340B program. But rebates may only be denied by manufacturers for overlap with Medicare negotiated prices, not for issues like diversion that have driven recent lawsuits.

More from North America

340B Rebate Model Gets HRSA Endorsement; Pilot Program Limited To Medicare Negotiated Drugs

 
• By Cathy Kelly

Pilot is harbinger of greater transparency in the 340B program. But rebates may only be denied by manufacturers for overlap with Medicare negotiated prices, not for issues like diversion that have driven recent lawsuits.

Double Duty At US FDA: Tidmarsh Will Temporarily Lead Both CDER And CBER

 
• By Sarah Karlin-Smith

Just a week and a half into his tenure at the agency, the new CDER Director George Tidmarsh was also tapped to serve as acting head of CBER. Prasad’s swift ouster at CBER may point to a softening in cell and gene therapy regulation but could also portend even more scrutiny on vaccines.

Big PBM Dominance Enabled By Affiliated Third Party Administrators Limiting Choices, FTC Told

 
• By Cathy Kelly

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