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Portrayal of lorazepam use inTV series associated with increased online searches for the drug

In season three of the hit television series The White Lotus, the character Victoria Ratliff takes the prescription anti-anxiety medication lorazepam to help with her social anxiety and inability to sleep.

14 Nov 2025

Off-label GLP-1 use highlights the cultural pressures driving body anxieties

New obesity drugs that were designed to treat diabetes and obesity are increasingly being used off-label by people without these conditions to achieve slimness and social approval rather than health gains. This perspective maps how such pharmacological thinness interacts with stigma, beauty ideals, digital culture, and inequality, and calls for multinational, intersectional research to understand its full impact.

13 Nov 2025

Common gout drug shows promise in preventing heart attacks and strokes

A widely-used, inexpensive gout drug could reduce heart attacks and strokes in people with cardiovascular disease, according to a new Cochrane review.

12 Nov 2025

Extended use of anti-clotting drugs reduces risk of recurrent blood clots

Extending anti-clotting drugs beyond the initial treatment period of at least 90 days after a first blood clot is linked to lower rates of new clots developing compared with stopping treatment, finds a US study published by The BMJ today.

12 Nov 2025

No, taking paracetamol while pregnant doesn’t cause autism or ADHD, major review finds

Researchers reviewed nine systematic reviews on paracetamol use during pregnancy and found that while some studies suggested links to ADHD or autism, the evidence was of low quality and confounded by shared familial factors. Sibling-controlled analyses showed no causal relationship between prenatal paracetamol exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders in children.

11 Nov 2025

Evolocumab shows clear benefit in preventing first-time heart attacks and strokes

Adding the PCSK9 inhibitor evolocumab to standard lipid-lowering therapy significantly reduced first major cardiovascular events in adults with atherosclerosis or high-risk diabetes who had never had a heart attack or stroke. The 4.6-year study confirmed durable safety and benefit, supporting earlier, more intensive LDL cholesterol control.

11 Nov 2025

GLP-1 drugs linked to improved survival in colon cancer patients

A new University of California San Diego study offers compelling evidence that glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists - the class of drugs behind Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, for example - may do more than regulate blood sugar and weight.

11 Nov 2025

Study warns of unsafe antiseizure drug use despite rising access

In a study carried out in collaboration with the World Health Organization, two Aston University academics have found that while access to antiseizure medication in low- and middle-income countries is growing, it is not necessarily always prescribed safely.

11 Nov 2025

New drug combination gains Fast Track Designation for metastatic colorectal cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track Designation to a new drug combination for metastatic colorectal cancer, following encouraging results from a clinical trial led in part by the University of Oklahoma Health Stephenson Cancer Center.

10 Nov 2025

GLP-1 drugs beat metformin for weight control in teens with type 2 diabetes

In youth newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, GLP-1–based therapies, including semaglutide and tirzepatide, achieved similar blood sugar control but significantly greater reductions in body mass index than metformin. These findings highlight the potential of high-potency GLP-1 agents as effective monotherapy options in managing obesity and glycemic control in adolescents.

10 Nov 2025

Diabetes drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide show real-world heart benefits

In a large real-world analysis across three U.S. healthcare databases, semaglutide and tirzepatide showed cardiovascular benefits consistent with randomized trials. Semaglutide lowered heart attack and stroke risk versus sitagliptin, while tirzepatide performed comparably to dulaglutide and semaglutide over one year.

10 Nov 2025

PCSK9 inhibitor combined with a statin may help reduce LDL cholesterol after heart transplant

The cholesterol medication alirocumab, a PCSK9 inhibitor, combined with a statin appeared to reduce LDL cholesterol levels by more than 50% among patients after a heart transplant, according to a late-breaking science presentation today at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025.

10 Nov 2025

Weight loss drugs used by patients with high triglycerides do not increase pancreatitis risk

In a major new study, researchers from Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City have found that weight loss drugs used by patients who have high triglycerides do not increase their risk of pancreatitis or adverse cardiac events.

10 Nov 2025

Diabetes drug blunts exercise-induced health improvements

A widely prescribed diabetes drug may be sabotaging one of the most trusted strategies for preventing the disease: exercise.

7 Nov 2025

Study reveals uneven access to abortion pill mifepristone in British Columbia

Most pharmacies in British Columbia can provide the abortion pill mifepristone within days, but uneven access still leaves some women facing barriers to this time-sensitive medication, according to new research.

7 Nov 2025

Machine learning advances human-centric drug toxicity prediction

In the UK, there was a case where TGN1412, an immunotherapy under development, triggered a cytokine storm within hours of administration to humans, leading to multiple organ failure.

7 Nov 2025

UniSA launches pilot effort to make medicines safer for older Australians

In a national effort to make medicines safer for older Australians, the University of South Australia is calling for aged care providers and pharmacists to join a new pilot study to assess medication safety and management in residential aged care.

6 Nov 2025

Over-the-counter pain relievers outperform opioids after wisdom tooth extraction

Over-the-counter pain medications work as well or better than opioids after wisdom tooth extraction for both men and women, according to a Rutgers Health-led follow-up to a landmark paper on comparative pain relief.

6 Nov 2025

New evidence reassures safety of acetaminophen use during pregnancy

A rigorous systematic review of the present state of knowledge on the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and the risk of specific neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), such as autism and ADHD, offers reassurance that acetaminophen does not increase the risk of NDDs.

6 Nov 2025

Finerenone offers hope for kidney protection in patients with type 1 diabetes

The drug finerenone has a positive effect on patients with type 1 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

6 Nov 2025

Pharmaceutical News

Portrayal of lorazepam use inTV series associated with increased online searches for the drug

Off-label GLP-1 use highlights the cultural pressures driving body anxieties

Common gout drug shows promise in preventing heart attacks and strokes

Extended use of anti-clotting drugs reduces risk of recurrent blood clots

No, taking paracetamol while pregnant doesn’t cause autism or ADHD, major review finds

Evolocumab shows clear benefit in preventing first-time heart attacks and strokes

GLP-1 drugs linked to improved survival in colon cancer patients

Study warns of unsafe antiseizure drug use despite rising access

New drug combination gains Fast Track Designation for metastatic colorectal cancer

GLP-1 drugs beat metformin for weight control in teens with type 2 diabetes

Diabetes drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide show real-world heart benefits

PCSK9 inhibitor combined with a statin may help reduce LDL cholesterol after heart transplant

Weight loss drugs used by patients with high triglycerides do not increase pancreatitis risk

Diabetes drug blunts exercise-induced health improvements

Study reveals uneven access to abortion pill mifepristone in British Columbia

Machine learning advances human-centric drug toxicity prediction

UniSA launches pilot effort to make medicines safer for older Australians

Over-the-counter pain relievers outperform opioids after wisdom tooth extraction

New evidence reassures safety of acetaminophen use during pregnancy

Finerenone offers hope for kidney protection in patients with type 1 diabetes

Extending the reach of Amperia™

Modular cleanrooms: Enhancing flexibility and compliance

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

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