A legal dispute between the FDA and Eli Lilly over whether the highly anticipated obesity candidate retatrutide is indeed a biologic has come to a head as the company prepares to submit the medicine for approval.

Eli Lilly’s shares rose nearly 5% to $1,170 apiece in premarket trading as the company reported $23 billion in revenue for the second quarter. The company’s market cap is $1.02 trillion as of the end of July.

Amgen has discontinued Phase 1 obesity candidate AMG 513, leaving MariTide as its sole weight loss asset. Meanwhile, executives said the company’s late-stage pipeline is largely full and future business development will focus on earlier-stage opportunities.

As the use of GLP-1 and other incretin-based medications for obesity continues to grow worldwide, researchers at Marshall University have contributed to an international effort to address one of medicine’s most pressing unanswered questions: How should these medications be used by women before, during and after pregnancy?

Novo Nordisk’s shares fell 6% on Tuesday afternoon after its second quarter earnings report showed a slight miss for the Wegovy pill vs. consensus.

(MedPage Today) — The American Diabetes Association (ADA) asked for patience as its Audit and Governance Committee reviews the incident at this year’s annual meeting — when five prominent experts were removed by police — and prepares recommendations…

Wednesday, August 5 – (MedPage Today) — Note that some links may require registration or subscription.
Is “gym penis” — the phenomenon of shrinkage occurring after a workout session — real? (New York Post)
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed the…

A heads-up to anyone on medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and more.

Tuesday, August 4 – (MedPage Today) — GLP-1 Temporal Hollowing

Tuesday, August 4 – (MedPage Today) — Bariatric surgery has long been considered the gold standard for treating obesity. However, with weight-loss medications like GLP-1 receptor agonists skyrocketing in popularity, fewer patients are choosing surgery.
According…

Monday, August 3 – As food becomes less stimulating, GLP-1 users are gravitating toward this instead.View Entire Post ›

Sunday, August 2 – (MedPage Today) — Note that some links may require registration or subscription.
Ahman Green, 49, a four-time NFL Pro Bowl running back and the Green Bay Packers’ career rushing leader, has Parkinson’s disease. (AP)
In other NFL news, former…

Friday, July 31 – This is the reality TikTok won’t show you.

Thursday, July 30 – GLP-1 drugs linked to temporary hair loss: Here’s why

Thursday, July 30 – Shareholders allege that Novo Nordisk withheld information about crucial protocol changes in a Phase 3 study of the weight loss drug CagriSema, which led investors to buy company shares “at artificially inflated prices.”

Wednesday, July 29 – (MedPage Today) — Major Pharmaceuticals issued a nationwide recall of multiple doses of levothyroxine sodium tablets, sold under the Major and Cardinal brands, due to subpotency. (USA Today)
The investigational triple agonist retatrutide met…

Wednesday, July 29 – GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic have transformed the treatment of type 2 diabetes, helping millions of patients better control their blood sugar while reducing cardiovascular risk and, for many, promoting substantial weight loss.

Wednesday, July 29 – Pemvidutide showed a “highly statistically significant” treatment effect in patients with alcohol use disorder. Altimmune is going up against Eli Lilly and newcomer Baseline Therapeutics, among others, in this space.

Wednesday, July 29 – Despite the president’s comments, patients say these medications have been life-changing, and their effectiveness cannot be ignored.

Tuesday, July 28 – Can GLP-1s increase the risk of a rare eye condition?

Tuesday, July 28 – Different varieties and doses of GLP-1 medications can have meaningful differences in how they address heart and metabolic health issues, according to new research led by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Through an analysis of data from 19 randomized controlled trials, the researchers believe their work points to possible precision medicine applications of GLP-1s beyond weight loss. Their work is published in Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism.

Tuesday, July 28 – (MedPage Today) — Note that some links may require registration or subscription.
More healthcare workers in Congo went on strike as confirmed Ebola cases in the nation approached 3,000, including 1,309 deaths. (AP)
Florida reported the state…

Sunday, July 26 – Recent research has found that GLP-1s, like Ozempic and Wegovy, can help you maintain a lower calorie intake for more than a year. Image Credit: Jon Challicom/Getty

A new study found that people taking semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) maintained a significantly lower calorie intake after 60 weeks on the medication.

Participants taking semaglutide consistently consumed 24% to 30% fewer calories than those receiving a placebo throughout the study.

The findings suggest semaglutide may continue supporting weight loss even after differences in hunger and food cravings begin to fade.

Sunday, July 26 – Prescribing doctors often warn of the medications’ potential side-effects – but unexpected impacts on romantic relationships are less understoodFor Jennifer, obesity was the obvious culprit for most of her problems.The litigation attorney told herself it was the reason why she wasn’t being invited to parties, and why she and her husband struggled with physical intimacy in their otherwise “solid” marriage.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading…

Sunday, July 26 – (MedPage Today) — TTHealthWatch is a weekly podcast from Texas Tech. In it, Elizabeth Tracey, director of electronic media for Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, and Rick Lange, MD, president of Texas Tech Health El Paso, look at the top medical…

Sunday, July 26 – (MedPage Today) — Starting a GLP-1 receptor agonist for type 2 diabetes was associated with a lower risk of fragility fractures in adults 50 and older, including hip and vertebral fractures, according to a large target trial emulation study….

Sunday, July 26 – Newer oral drugs related to semaglutide medications such as Ozempic reduced pleasure-driven eating in mice by quieting a deep brain reward circuit. The finding could open new avenues for understanding food cravings and potentially treating substance use disorder.

Sunday, July 26 – Research into GLP-1 medications is not always robust but complaints such as digestive problems are well knownWeight loss jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro have boomed in popularity, and so have reports of myriad side-effects. This week researchers have suggested GLP-1 medications could be associated with hair loss.It can be hard to keep tabs on which of these unintentional outcomes have been the subject of expert scrutiny and which remain little more than hearsay. We take a look at some of the most talked about side-effects and explore which have been studied – and which remain unproven. Continue reading…

Saturday, July 25 – “This medicine erased years and years of self-hate, cured my eating disorder, reduced the pain in my body and improved my intracranial hypertension.”View Entire Post ›

Saturday, July 25 – (MedPage Today) — You passed medical training, now see if you can pass our weekly quiz

Saturday, July 25 – Novo Nordisk Inc. asked a New Jersey federal court Friday to block rival Eli Lilly & Co. from running ads allegedly comparing their respective GLP-1 drugs using “outdated” clinical trials and “false superiority messages,” arguing the ads are damaging its reputation and misleading consumers.

Saturday, July 25 – Stanford Medicine researchers have discovered a naturally occurring molecule that may suppress appetite and reduce body weight much like Ozempic, but without several of its common side effects. The molecule, called BRP, acts on a more targeted region of the brain involved in hunger and metabolism rather than affecting tissues throughout the body.

Saturday, July 25 – Ozempic, Wegovy, and similar drugs may deliver excellent health value, but covering them for millions of eligible patients could overwhelm insurance budgets. Researchers say better long-term support is needed and warn that low-cost compounded versions may carry serious safety risks.

Saturday, July 25 – A large study suggests that GLP-1 drugs including Ozempic and Mounjaro may slightly increase the risk of hair loss in people with type 2 diabetes. Compared with two other common classes of diabetes medications, GLP-1 users had a significantly higher rate of alopecia, though the absolute risk was still low. The hair loss was mainly non-scarring, which means it may be reversible.

Friday, July 24 – Scoring high marks on two more phase III obesity trials, this time involving serious type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications, Eli Lilly and Co. has cleared the path for a BLA filing for its triple-G candidate retatrutide, which many expect will eventually surpass the top two marketed drugs in the space.

Friday, July 24 – Has a wanted fugitive been posing as a biotech executive? And what does it take to develop a therapy for an ultra-rare disease? Find out on this week’s episode of…

Thursday, July 23 – July The use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity is associated with an increased risk of hair loss (alopecia) in adults with type 2 diabetes, a study published by The BMJ finds. Although the absolute risk is low, awareness of this potential effect may help inform shared treatment decisions, the researchers say.

Thursday, July 23 – (MedPage Today) — Adults with type 2 diabetes who used a GLP-1 receptor agonist had an increased risk of clinically recorded hair loss, data from a target trial emulation suggested.
Compared with other antidiabetic medications, GLP-1 drug use…

Thursday, July 23 – (MedPage Today) — The use of GLP-1 receptor agonists was associated with a lower risk of alcohol-related hospitalization in adults with alcohol addiction, a retrospective study found. (BMJ Open)
GLP-1 drugs for obesity were linked with reduced…