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STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about HHS buyout offers, a Novo obesity trial, and more
Most HHS workers were emailed an offer to leave their job for as much as $25,000 as part of President Trump’s government cuts
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was refreshing and reassuring. Ours was longer than usual due to a quick trip with one of our short people to catch a splendid football match across the pond. Now, though, that oh-so familiar routine of phone calls, online meetings, and lengthening to-do lists has returned with a vengeance. Such are the signs of progress, we can only hope. And so, we are also indulging in yet another part of our routine — the ritual cup of stimulation. Our choice today is butter pecan. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits. Good luck, today, and do keep in touch. …
Most of the 80,000 federal workers responsible for researching diseases, inspecting food, and administering Medicare and Medicaid under the auspices of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department were emailed an offer to leave their job for as much as a $25,000 payment as part of President Trump’s government cuts, the Associated Press says. The workers have until 5 p.m. on Friday to submit a response for the so-called voluntary separation offer. The email was sent to staff across the department, which includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and the National Institutes of Health as well as the Food and Drug Administration, both in Maryland. The mass email went out to a “broad population of HHS employees” days before agency heads are due to offer plans for shrinking their workforces. HHS is one of the government’s costliest federal agencies, with an annual budget of about $1.7 trillion that is mostly spent on health care coverage for millions of people enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid.
Novo Nordisk reported the second Phase 3 trial of its new obesity hopeful CagriSema and, as with the first, the topline weight loss result was disappointing, Pharmaphorum notes. The drug, a combination of cagrilintide and semaglutide, achieved a weight loss of 15.7% after 68 weeks among patients who adhered to treatment with the once-weekly injectable drug, which was significantly ahead of the 3.1% seen with placebo but well below expectations. In December, Novo Nordisk reported that CagriSema was able to muster a 22.7% weight loss at 68 weeks in an earlier trial, which also fell short of its hoped-for reduction of 25%. The company has already acknowledged results from the first study were disappointing, saying in February that it plans to start an additional trial that will look at a new personalized approach to dosing with CagriSema and a longer period of follow-up.
