Pharmalittle: We’re reading about Europe’s pharma reform, weight-loss meds, and more

Rise and shine, everyone. The middle of the week is upon us. Have heart, though. You made it this far, so why not hang on for another couple of days, yes? And what better way to make the time fly than to keep busy. So grab that cup of stimulation — our flavor today is strawberry creme — and get started. To help you along, we have assembled another menu of tidbits for you to peruse. Meanwhile, do keep us in mind if you hear anything interesting. We continue to accept — at absolutely no charge to you — postcards and telegrams. And of course, we hope you have a smashing day. …

Weight-loss medications are not reaching the people who need them most, NBC News says, citing data from researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Their study looked at health records from 18,000 patients who had gone to a Johns Hopkins outpatient clinic from January to September 2023. All had obesity, meaning a body mass index of at least 30, and all had insurance coverage for the medications. Only 2.3%, however, were prescribed a weight-loss drug. But disparities were apparent. Overall, white adults were more likely to get a prescription than Asian or Black adults. The findings have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit against several pharmacy benefit managers and drug companies for a “conspiracy” to raise prices on insulin medication and unfairly profit off state residents, The Indiana Capitol Chronicle says. Among those sued were Novo Nordisk and Sanofi — which are two of three big insulin makers – and CVS Health and its Caremark unit, Express Scripts, and OptumRx. But one of Indiana’s largest employers — Eli Lilly, another large insulin maker — was not on the list of defendants. The Republican attorney general said at a news conference that Eli Lilly is “cooperating with us, and so they have not been named in the lawsuit as of yet.”

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