STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about Takeda restructuring, Pfizer settling Zantac suits, and more
Rise and shine, everyone, another busy day is on the way. We can tell because countless birds are chirping outside our window, the pace of motor vehicles passing by our window is picking up, and the official mascots are busy foraging for snacks on the official grounds. As for us, we are engaged in the usual ritual of brewing cups of stimulation. Our choice today is orange cream. As always, you are invited to join us. Meanwhile, here is the latest menu of tidbits for you to digest as you embark on your journey, which we hope is satisfying and rewarding. On that note, time to get cracking. Best of luck, and do keep in touch. …
Pfizer agreed to settle more than 10,000 cases accusing it of hiding cancer risks of its Zantac heartburn drug, Bloomberg News reports. The agreements cover cases in state courts across the U.S. but do not completely resolve exposure to Zantac claims. Financial details were not available. Last month, Sanofi agreed to pay more than $100 million to resolve about 4,000 cases. Zantac has been owned by different drugmakers in its more than 30-year run as one of the most popular antacids in the U.S. The settlements come as GSK defends itself in its first U.S. jury trial over claims it knew Zantac posed a serious risk. GSK has also settled some Zantac cases before they went to trial.
A host of hurdles are slowing the adoption of the new Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, from complicated logistics to the fact that many people do not recognize that their memory loss is a disease soon enough, STAT tells us. In addition, some patients still grapple with whether they want to be diagnosed, even though a treatment exists. Uptake of the drug has so far been slow. In its most recent quarterly report, Biogen reported Leqembi sales of $19 million, triple that of the previous quarter — but still far short of forecasts by Wall Street analysts who say the medicine could eventually generate sales of billions of dollars a year.
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