What the Hims & Hers Super Bowl commercial gets wrong

We're at the BIO CEO & Investor Conference in New York – follow our exclusive coverage at Bio.News and on social media with #BIOCEO25. Below, we have the news you need to know today, plus a look back at why Vertex's recent approval matters in the war on opioids. (701 words, 3 minutes, 35 seconds)

“This is America,” goes the musical refrain of the new Hims & Hers Super Bowl ad for its compounded obesity drugs. But Hims & Hers has a strikingly different view of America than the innovative companies that have invested billions of dollars in coming up with better ways of addressing the nation’s health crises.

The ad affirms that new GLP-1s medicine “work,” but claims that they’re “priced for profits.” That’s a myth, one that is ironic given that it’s Hims & Hers—not the innovators—that is pocketing millions of dollars made by selling knockoff versions of breakthrough medicines.

• The company didn’t invent obesity medicines. They’re not studying the treatments or working on next-generation approaches. Instead, they’re freeriding on a system built by scientists and entrepreneurs.
• The FDA has received hundreds of adverse event reports from compounded GLP-1 medicines, including untested and counterfeit medicine.
• The campaign is doubly ironic given the cost of a Super Bowl ad, which USA Today pegged at about $7 million. 

BIO hits the American road

The first “BIO on the American Road” brought BIO President & CEO John F. Crowley to Denver, where he met with Colorado industry, lawmakers, patients, and media.

Why it matters: “American innovation can change the course of history, whether by advancing our security or conquering a devastating disease. The Colorado biotech industry embodies this dual promise,” Crowley wrote in an article published for his visit. “Some 4,000 biotech industry businesses employ about 40,000 workers at well-above-average wages.”

What’s next: BIO plans to visit biotech hubs across America to learn about work being done in biotech and the concerns of patients and others relying on biotech breakthroughs.

What happened: Crowley met Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), state lawmakers, CEOs and other industry members, and patients. He spoke at the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) “Day at the Capitol,” ran a panel for patient advocates, toured research facilities, and was interviewed by KOA Morning News radio and local Fox News affiliate KDVR-TV.

Vertex’s pain drug approved – a victory in the war on the opioid epidemic

The recent approval of Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ JOURNAVX™ (suzetrigine), a non-addictive treatment for acute pain, is a victory in the war against the opioid epidemic.

Why it matters: We need non-addictive pain treatments to help end the opioid crisis, which claims more than 80,000 lives a year.

What’s JOURNAVX: The first new class of pain medicine approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in more than 20 years, it inhibits electric pain signals in the nervous system.

How it works: “Because JOURNAVX blocks pain signals only found in the periphery, not in the brain, JOURNAVX provides effective relief of pain without the limitations of currently available therapies, including the addictive potential of opioids,” Vertex explains.

What’s next: Several other companies are developing non-opioid pain treatments, meaning it probably won’t be 20 years before the next new class of pain medicine is approved.

Read more on Bio.News. 

What Else to Read This Week

The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office welcomed Mexico’s action to resolve the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement dispute over biotech corn. Mexico previously issued a decree to ban imports of biotech corn from the U.S., but the U.S. asked a dispute panel to rule whether the ban would violate the agreement. In January, the panel decided Mexico could not ban U.S. biotech corn imports, and the Mexican government just published a repeal of the provisions in the disputed decree.

BIO is advancing access protections with the next administration. Among the most significant healthcare decisions facing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and its incoming leadership will be the future of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and changes to Medicare Part D. BIO is continuing to advocate for IRA reforms that help patients. “We have concerns about how insurance plans will be tightening up the formulary of drugs they will cover—not just in terms of number of drugs covered, but also how a formulary is implemented,” says Crystal Kuntz BIO SVP, Health Policy & Research. “For example, we take issue with how many hoops somebody has to jump through to get a drug, and we see other challenges to protecting patient access to medicine.”

Beltway Report

ICYMI: The ORPHAN Cures Act, a bipartisan bill that removes barriers to treating and curing rare diseases, was reintroduced in the House on February 4. On Tuesday, the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing, "Modernizing American Healthcare: Creating Healthy Options & Better Incentives." And on Thursday, the Senate Agriculture Committee will hold the second hearing in a series of farmer and rancher views on the agricultural economy. Meanwhile, nomination hearings continue with Labor, Education, and FBI on the schedule.