A view of the Novo Nordisk logo in the company's office in Bagsvaerd, on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark, March 8, 2024.
Tom Little | Reuters
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Novo Nordisk He is pointing to his rival, Eli Lillywith a new obesity drug agreement.
On Monday, the Danish drug manufacturer said he had agreed to pay up to $ 2 billion for the rights of an experimental medication of the Chinese pharmaceutical company United Laboratories International. Injectable treatment, UBT251, is in early development to treat obesity, type 2 diabetes and other conditions, so it could happen several years before you enter any market.
Novo Nordisk will pay $ 200 million in advance and payments of up to $ 1.8 billion, along with staggered royalties. The agreement gives the company exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and market drugs worldwide, but not in the Chinese continent, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
Novo Nordisk joins a list of other pharmaceutical giants, such as Merck and Astrazeneca, who have recently signed relatively cheap agreements with Chinese biotechnology companies for obesity drugs.
“While Trump's rates and trade war conversations continue, we thought it was worth noting that Pharma continues to seek names of Chinese biotechnology as a source of cheap early license agreements in which the big pharmacists can explore the potential of innovative mechanisms with a limited initial investment,” said BMO analyst Capital Markets Evan Seigerman on a note on Monday.
So what does the new drug have different?
A triple approach is needed to promote weight loss and regulate blood sugar. Most obesity treatments commercially are directed only to one or two intestinal hormones to produce those effects.
The successful Injection of Novo Nordisk of Novo, diabetes and diabetes treatment, Active LPG-1. Meanwhile, the weight loss drug of Eli Lilly at zero and diabetes treatment are directed to both LPG-1 and another intestinal hormone called GIP.
Researchers say that activating a third intestinal hormone, in principle, could have a more powerful effect on the appetite and satisfaction of a person, leading to greater weight loss and greater health benefits.
That is exactly what UBT251 does, since it goes to LPG-1, GIP and another intestinal hormone called glucagon.
“The addition of a candidate aimed at glucagon, as well as LPG-1 and GIP, will add an important optional to our clinical pipe, since we seek to develop a wide portfolio of differentiated treatment options that meet the diverse needs of people who live with these highly prevailing diseases,” said martin holst executive vice president of Martin Holst, executive vice president of Development of Novo Nordisk.
This is what Eli Lilly has to do with all this.
The newly acquired medication of Novo Nordisk is a clear potential competitor for the unpatrifying of Eli Lilly “triple g” drug drugs.
The experimental injection is directed to the same intestinal hormones as UBT251, and has demonstrated weight loss even greater than the existing medications of Eli Lilly in the trials in the middle stage.
The undatrupted helped patients lose 24.2% of their body weight, or 58 pounds, on average after 48 weeks in an adult medium stage trial that were obese or overweight. Those who took the placebo lost 2.1% of their body weight after that same period of time.
Eli Lilly hopes to release the results of a 68 -week study in late stages in people with obesity and knee osteoarthritis in 2025, one of the less than nine clinical trials observed closely in reluctant.
That means that Eli Lilly's drug could enter the market years before the treatment of Novo Nordisk.
Even so, Seigerman said that UBT251 data of a phase one test in China in 36 patients are “impressive.”
The highest dose of weekly injection helped patients lose 15.1% of their weight on average after 12 weeks, compared to the average weight loss of 1.5% in patients who took a placebo, according to the release of Novo Nordisk.
The medicine safety data were consistent with other intestinal hormone guidance therapies. The most common side effects were gastrointestinal and most were mild to moderate in gravity.
“While the results are early, we see that these signs of efficiency are promising and potentially competitive,” said Seigerman.
He added that the New Deal can reflect the efforts of Novo Nordisk to reposition after disappointing data in the late stage about his other experimental medication of obesity called Cagrisema. It is a combination of Cagrilintide, a nascent form of weight loss treatment known as amiline analogue, and semaglutida, the active ingredient in Wogovy and Ozempic.
Do not hesitate to send any advice, suggestion, stories ideas and data to Annika in Annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.
The latest in medical care technology: doctors who see the benefits of AI, but feel pessimistic about the future of the United States health system, survey, the survey finds
Things are looking for doctors in the United States, at least a little.
Doctors generally feel better with their profession than in recent years, according to a new survey in charge of the Athenahealth Medical Care Software. The number of doctors who thought about leaving the profession weekly decreased by 22% from last year.
That is at least in part because artificial intelligence has helped relieve some of its administrative responsibilities, according to the survey. Only about 27% of doctors believe that AI is overvally, compared to 40% of respondents surveyed last year.
Even so, most doctors still have broader concerns. Only about 30% of respondents said they feel optimistic about the General Directorate of the United States Medical Care System.
Athenahealth partnered with Harris's survey to conduct the survey, called the doctor's feelings. He surveyed 750 primary care doctors and 251 specialists in the United States between January 2 and January 15. Only 6% of respondents use Athenahealth electronic health records.
Perhaps, as expected, about half of the doctors who are already using their practices say that transcription services and capacities are currently the most valuable use case for technology. The AI tools that can automatically generate documentation such as clinical notes have exploited in popularity during the last year.
But doctors are not yet sold completely in Ia.
More than 60% of respondents said they are worried that technology can lead to the loss of human touch. Similarly, 58% of the doctors surveyed said they are concerned about excessive dependence on AI for diagnoses, and 53% said they are concerned about the risk of inappropriate diagnosis.
Doctors are also concerned with demanding regulatory requirements, the lack of data exchange between the systems and the financial health of their organizations. And although 61% of respondents said they believe that patient portals help improve the quality of care, 83% of the surveyed doctors said they join their administrative workload.
So small steps towards progress? The survey suggests that AI helped improve the doctor's feeling last year, but it was not a silver bullet.
As AI continues to mature, we will be watching closely to determine where it is, and it is not a true difference in medical care.
Read more about the findings of the survey here.
Do not hesitate to send any advice, suggestion, stories ideas and data to Ashley at Ashley.capot@nbcuni.com.
