Dockworker strike puts drug supplies at risk

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Good morning. Who gave up fishing on the Cape to run another biotech company? Read on today to find out.

ResMed argues GLP-1 drugs will boost CPAP sales

Many analysts see GLP-1 drugs, which have shown positive results in treating sleep apnea, as a threat to CPAP companies. But ResMed, which makes sleep apnea devices, sees an opportunity.

The device maker has started presenting data suggesting GLP-1 users are more likely to go on to use CPAP eventually.

“I will hypothesize, I will say that they’re motivated patients,” said ResMed CEO Mick Farrell. “They’ve had this Botox-like effect of feeling fit, and they’re like, ‘I’m going to get I’m going to do all my health care now I’m going to use this device, and I feel good about myself.’”

Read more from STAT’s Mario Aguilar.

Ron Renaud is back running a biotech

Serial biotech CEO Ron Renaud is back again, turning his sights toward the booming class of GLP-1 obesity drugs.

Just weeks after overseeing the close of Cerevel Therapeutics’s $8.7 billion acquisition by AbbVie, Renaud became CEO of Kailera Therapeutics, a newly formed company with a pipeline of weight loss drug candidates.

My colleague Adam Feuerstein spoke with Renaud and took a look back at his management history. Over the last 10 years, all three of the companies he has helmed were sold to Big Pharma for a combined $16 billion.

No one would have begrudged him had he desired to spend more time with his Cape Cod fishing buddies. But he can’t quit biotech. “I like fishing, but you can’t do it every day,” Renaud said.

Read more.

Gilead strikes licensing deals for pricey HIV drug

In response to increased criticism of its pricing, Gilead has reached voluntary licensing deals with companies to make generic versions of its twice-yearly HIV medicine, lenacapavir, in 120 mostly low- and lower-middle-income countries.

This comes after two late-stage clinical trials found the injectable medicine was highly effective in preventing HIV, paving the way for it to be approved for pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP.

Though the results generated considerable excitement, critics raised concerns that the medication’s impact on addressing the HIV epidemic would be limited given its hefty price tag. Lenacapavir is already sold for treating HIV at $42,250 a year.

Read more from STAT’s Ed Silverman.

Senators accuse PBMs of private-label deals

Two senators are urging the FTC to investigate the parent companies of major pharmacy benefit manager over concerns that certain business units launched by the parent companies might unfairly steer patients toward higher-cost medicines.

The lawmakers specifically called out CVS Health and Cigna — which own CVS Caremark and Express Scripts, respectively — as they launched subsidiaries that are striking “co-manufacturing” deals with companies that make biosimilar drugs.

The senators worry that these deals could lead consumers to have fewer choices and pay higher prices, as PBMs are incentivized to favor the drugs made by the new business units over competing drugs from other manufacturers.

Read more from STAT’s Ed Silverman.

Dockworker strike puts drug supplies at risk

Supplies of GLP-1 drugs could be at risk as a result of the dockworker strike occurring across the East and Gulf coasts, CNBC reports, citing customs data.

Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly, which makes Mounjaro and Zepbound, both rely heavily on the Port of Norfolk in Virginia, according to trade data provider ImportGenius.

Beyond the GLP-1 drugs, other medications and medical equipment could be affected by the strike. Over $300 million worth of pharmaceuticals and over $27o million worth of medical equipment is traded every month through East and Gulf coast ports, the Washington Post reports.

These data highlight how fragile medical supply chains are, at a time when drug shortages are already high.

Hurricane Helene has also recently affected supply networks. Baxter, which makes IV and dialysis solutions, had to shut down a plant in North Carolina due to flooding.

More reads

• EMA looks to make its drug approval processes more efficient, Endpoints
• Humana tumbles as insurer faces $3 billion hit to revenue over lower Medicare star ratings, STAT
• Why a map of a fruit fly’s brain has neuroscientists ‘blown away’, STAT
• Can flashing lights stall Alzheimer’s? What the science shows, Nature