We’re briefing on the Hill. This coming Tuesday, APC is holding a pharmacy compounding policy briefing and lunch in Washington, DC, for congressional staffers and legislative advisors — sort of a preview of what we’ll be talking about at Compounders on Capitol Hill, from the DTE issue and GLP-1 compounding to our Blueprint for patient access to essential meds and our omnibus bill. We’ll give you the full update and all the details in next week’s Compounding Connections.
Politico: MAHA vs FDA’s DTE ban. It’s not just compounders who are up in arms about FDA’s illogical decision to call desiccated thyroid extract (DTE) a biologic — it’s also gotten the attention of the Make America Healthy Again folks. Politico covered the issue and the pushback, and it turned to APC’s Tenille Davis for both background and perspective on DTE, including why the synthetic stuff isn’t right for every patient.
Fighting fire with fire — AI style. It was bad enough when health insurers were denying claims without a doctor even reviewing the cases, but now health insurance companies are turning to AI to do the same thing. That’s why companies like startup Counterforce Health are developing AI tools to allow patients and clinics to dispute those denials. They review the patient’s records and details of the policy, but they also delve into medical journals and even insurance commission data to make a case. Axios reports.
Pharma’s fickle fortunes. It was just a couple of weeks ago that the New York Times wrote about the fall of Novo Nordisk from the rankings of European companies, thanks to pressure on sales of its GLP-1 drugs. But now, apparently, the turns have tabled. Novo’s Wegovy was just approved to treat the serious liver disease metabolic-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), beating Lilly to the punch and nudging its value a bit higher. Because it’s all about shareholder value, y’know.
FDA podcasts on drug shortages. The latest episode of FDA’s “Q&A with FDA” podcast features an interview with Commander Emily Thakur of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps talking about “recent drug supply challenges, new FDA guidance, and solutions to mitigate drug shortages.” It’s essentially a rehash of the talking points we’ve heard before — and it barely mentions compounding — but you might want to check out the transcript. (Well, it says it’s a transcript, but it reads more like a formal position document.)