Lacks estate sues

The estate of the “immortal” Henrietta Lacks is suing both Novartis and Viatris for, they say, profiting off Lacks’s cells, which were harvested at Johns Hopkins in 1951 without her consent while she was being treated for cervical cancer. (You can search for the whole story if you don’t know it.)

While Johns Hopkins never profited from HeLa cells, companies and other research organizations have developed thousands of patents using HeLa cells. Novartis holds “hundreds” of those patents, according to the lawsuit.

GLP-1 reality check

Both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk say that they now have supplies of their GLP-1 drugs (Mounjaro and Zepbound for Lilly; Ozempic and Wegovy for Novo). The implication is that they’re out of shortage.

In reality, though, pharmacists are having trouble getting them. Supplies are still limited and can’t meet demand — that’s why the FDA still lists semaglutide and tirzepatide as ‘in shortage.’ That’s particularly important for compounding pharmacies, which are able to dispense both drugs as long as they’re one that shortage list.

When fish oil works

There are claims that fish oil supplements are good not only for the heart, but for the brain as well. That turns out to be true — some of the time.

Oregon Health & Science University researchers found that taking fish oil had “no statistically significant benefit for all older adults in general.” There was an exception, though: If someone carries the APOE4 gene (which indicates a higher risk of Alzheimer’s), taking fish oil put the brakes on the breakdown of nerve cells in the brain.

Of course, the main reason people take omega-3 supplements is for cardiovascular health, but now there’s a (possible) reason for those susceptible to Alzheimer’s to consider it as well.

Unanswered: Would this hold true for other sources of omega-3 fatty acids, like algae, or is it specific to fish oil? ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

Pharmacists can prevent AFib

Canadian researchers were curious: What would happen if pharmacists were able to prescribe oral anticoagulation therapy for “high-risk older individuals with atrial fibrillation.” Turns out it makes a big difference in how many of those people used the meds.

After three months, 92.3% of people who got prescriptions from pharmacists were sticking with usage guidelines, compared to only 56.1% who got them from a PCP. And a fun fact: More than a quarter of those PCPs contacted pharmacists to ask about dosing.

It’s almost as if you’re medication experts or something.

Why insulin price caps don’t work

The idea seemed good: States set caps on the monthly cost of insulin — usually $25 or $35 — so more people could afford it. But now a study out of the University of Colorado found those policies make little difference to patients on commercial plans.

Why? Because patients on commercial plans those usually have a lower co-pay anyway. The cap doesn’t help.

Instead, the researchers say, insulin-price caps should focus on people without insurance or those with high-deductible commercial plans — those are the folks who need help affording it.

Updating the threat list

The WHO has added several new pathogens to its list of What Could Cause the Next Pandemic, which, like most WHO announcements, we will all ignore until the next pandemic arrives.

New to the list, which numbers more than 30, are the dengue, influenza A, and monkeypox viruses.

The priority pathogens […] were selected for their potential to cause a global public-health emergency in people, such as a pandemic. This was on the basis of evidence showing that the pathogens were highly transmissible and virulent, and that there was limited access to vaccines and treatments.