STAT+: Pharmalittle: We're reading about Zantac court cases, a Neurocrine schizophrenia pill, and more

Hello, everyone, and how are you today? We are doing just fine, thank you, especially since the middle of the week is upon us. After all, we have made it this far, so we are determined to hang on for another couple of days. And why not? The alternatives — at least those we can identify — are not so appetizing. And what better way to make the time fly than to keep busy. So grab that cup of stimulation and get started. Our flavor today is pumpkin spice, for those tracking our habits. Now, though, the time has come to get busy. So please grab your own cup and dig in to the items of interest assembled below. We hope you have a wonderful day, and please do keep in touch. …

Delaware’s highest court agreed to hear an appeal by GSK and other drugmakers seeking to end more than 70,000 lawsuits claiming discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, Reuters writes. GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Boehringer Ingelheim are asking the court to overturn an order by a lower court judge allowing plaintiffs in the lawsuits to offer expert testimony on the alleged cancer link, which the companies argue is not supported by sound scientific methods. Without that testimony, the lawsuits cannot go forward. The drugmakers won a significant victory in 2022, when a federal judge in Florida rejected the plaintiffs’ expert witnesses in about 50,000 cases on the grounds that they did not use reliable scientific methods. Some of the Florida cases are being appealed, and the vast majority of the remaining cases are in Delaware.

Neurocrine Biosciences reported that the lowest dose of an experimental pill for schizophrenia reduced psychosis reported by patients in a mid-stage study, but higher doses of the drug also tested were ineffective, STAT informs us. The company said the study results supported advancing the medicine into Phase 3 studies next year. Investors viewed the mixed data with more concern, sending Neurocrine stock down 18% in early trading. The drug belongs to an emerging class of neuropsychiatric medicines that target muscarinic receptors in the brain. This type of drug has garnered a lot of attention due to the acquisitions of Karuna Therapeutics ($14 billion) and Cerevel Therapeutics ($8.7 billion) by Bristol Myers Squibb and AbbVie, respectively.

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