STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about FDA’s Makary resigning, a Lilly weight loss drug trial, and more

Good morning, everyone, and how are you today? The middle of the week has finally arrived, and you should congratulate yourselves for making it this far and deciding to soldier on. After all, consider the alternatives. None too pleasant, yes? This calls for a delicious cup or three of stimulation. Our choice today is bananas Foster. As always, we invite you to join us. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits. Hope you have a meaningful and productive day, and please do keep in touch. We treasure your messages. … U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary is resigning from his role, and Kyle Diamantas, the top food regulator at the agency, will step in as acting commissioner, STAT notes. A group within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was unhappy with Makary’s leadership and had been looking into ways to remove him for months. His tenure was filled with the announcement of dozens of new and ambitious initiatives, including efforts to shorten drug review timelines, crack down on misleading ads, and pressure the food industry to remove chemical dyes. But it was also tumultuous, marked by personnel drama, departures of long-time staff, and controversy over political pressure impeding the FDA’s scientific process. Eli Lilly disclosed that patients in ​a late-stage trial who had been taking an injectable GLP-1 medication for over a year did not ‌regain significant weight after switching to its new weight loss pill Foundayo, Reuters writes. People who switched from Novo Nordisk’s injectable Wegovy to Lilly’s oral Foundayo regained an average of 2 pounds after a year, according to study results presented at an obesity conference. Patients who switched to Foundayo from Lilly’s ​own more potent injectable Zepbound regained an average of 11 pounds. The study looked at patients ​switching to Foundayo, known chemically as orforglipron, after 72 weeks of losing weig