November 2, 2021 — Monday was quite an opening day for ObesityWeek 2021. Starting with the lived experience, the meeting then moved quickly into some serious science, clinical care, and policy discussions. But one of the most impressive sessions of the day gave us a “tour de force” of future options under development for obesity care. Our friend Mike […]
May 22, 2021 — Anyone following the news on progress with anti-obesity meds might have noticed a rising number of news reports about various “tides” for obesity. Liraglutide is already out there. So is setmelanotide. Semaglutide injection is under review at FDA and approval is possible as early as the middle of this year. Tirzepatide is advancing in clinical […]
November 28, 2020 — This is the ultimate Friday news dump. FDA approved a highly innovative, highly targeted treatment for obesity – setmelanotide – Wednesday night. Just before a four-day holiday. The company announced in on Friday – timing one would typically choose for news they want to hide. But this is really good news for the treatment of […]
June 19, 2020 — In pharmaceuticals, a one-trick pony is doomed to oblivion. Some companies have a big hit with a successful drug and then struggle to follow up with more innovation. So patents expire and sales dwindle. The company with one-trick innovation fades away. But with solid clinical trial results announced yesterday for two new drugs in obesity, […]
May 18, 2020 — We call it stealth progress. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals last week gained approval from FDA for a priority review of setmelanotide for rare genetic forms of obesity in children. The indications are for obesity treatment in POMC and LEPR deficiency. Furthermore, the FDA has indicated it doesn’t plan to hold a public hearing on this drug This […]
November 5, 2019 — Success begets success. That’s a core message we’re taking away from a late-breaking forum on emerging anti-obesity medicines. Pharmaceutical researchers reviewed an impressive range of innovations that promise to set a higher bar for effective obesity care. All of this came before ObesityWeek kicks into high gear today. Building Upon Success Mads Tang-Christensen opened the […]
August 9, 2019 — New data from Rhythm Pharmaceuticals this week tells us that a new, highly targeted obesity therapy may become available soon. The data come from two phase 3 studies of setmelanotide in rare cases genetic obesity. With these positive results in hand, Rhythm expects to file for FDA approval in late 2019 or early 2020. Thus, […]
May 11, 2018 — Two years ago, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals made a big splash with a study showing impressive efficacy for their super targeted obesity drug, setmelanotide. That paper in the New England Journal of Medicine showed setmelanotide could reverse obesity in patients with a rare POMC gene defect. Now, researchers have published new data showing promise in patients with […]
July 22, 2016 — Targeting obesity with new treatments presents remarkable challenges. For evidence of this harsh reality, look at the sharply contrasting news this week for two potential new drugs: beloranib and setmelanotide. All work on beloranib was canceled by its developer, Zafgen. Almost simultaneously, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals published breakthrough results in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) […]
