02/06/2026
There’s good news on the drug-shortages front, according to the latest report from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. The number of shortages in the last quarter of 2025 was slightly higher than in the previous quarter, but well below the all-time high in early 2024. Even better, the number of new shortages in 2025, just 89 drugs, was the fewest since 2006. (Side note: ASHP points out that “Lower numbers of shortages do not necessarily translate into fewer patients impacted, as a single shortage can impact large numbers of patients.”)
🔗 https://bit.ly/4r2c43Z
HHS’s Office of the Inspector General has issued a new advisory bulletin about pharma manufacturers selling medications directly to consumers. The gist? “[T]here is a low risk that a manufacturer would violate the Federal anti-kickback statute.” Of course, low risk doesn’t mean no risk, and there are cases when a manufacturer’s program would run afoul of the law. “Because DTC programs have only recently begun to proliferate,” the bulletin says, “it is impossible to predict the ways in which abuse may occur.”
🔗 https://bit.ly/45RbqOv
With patents for semaglutide expiring in the not-too-distant future, Novo Nordisk is pulling out all the stops to try to differentiate its version — specifically, Ozempic — from other GLP-1 agonists like tirzepatide. The company launched a new ad campaign, “There’s Only One Ozempic,” trying to capitalize on the fact that “Ozempic” has become sort of the generic name for GLP-1 drugs while pushing the fact that, even though it’s not really different than other GLP-1s, it’s been approved for more conditions.
🔗 https://on.wsj.com/4awVL9D
