Half of people stop taking popular weight-loss drug within a year, study finds

The new class of anti-obesity drugs, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), is proving remarkably effective at helping individuals lose weight. However, a new population-wide study presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Vienna (15–19 Sept) finds that half of adults without diabetes who start taking the weight-loss drug semaglutide in Denmark discontinue treatment within a year.

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Half of people stop taking popular weight-loss drug within a year, study finds

The new class of anti-obesity drugs, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), is proving remarkably effective at helping individuals lose weight. However, a new population-wide study presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Vienna (15–19 Sept) finds that half of adults without diabetes who start taking the weight-loss drug semaglutide in Denmark discontinue treatment within a year.

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Study shows smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of its characteristics

The characteristics of type 2 diabetes vary from patient to patient and it has been proposed that the condition is made up of four subtypes. Now, new research presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (15–19 September) shows that smoking increases the risk of the condition, regardless of subtype.

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Links between diabetes and depression are similar across Europe, study of over-50s in 18 countries finds

The relative increase in odds of an individual with diabetes developing severe symptoms of depression—and vice versa—is the same, regardless of where they live, a study of over-50s in 18 countries in Europe presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (15–19 September) has found.

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Well-preserved Amazon rainforest on Indigenous lands can protect people from diseases, study finds

Every time humans cut into the Amazon rainforest or burn or destroy parts of it, they’re making people sick.

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AstraZeneca Faces NPPA Heat Over Symbicort Pricing, Slapped Rs 60 Crore Showcause Notice

New Delhi: AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited has received a show cause notice from the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), which has raised a demand of Rs 60.49 crore plus interest over alleged overcharging on its asthma drug, Symbicort Turbuhaler.

In a filing dated September 12, 2025, to BSE and NSE, the company stated, “Pursuant to Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, we would like to inform that AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited (‘the Company’) has received a Show Cause Notice from National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India on September 11, 2025.”

According to the annexure submitted along with the disclosure, NPPA, in its notice, has alleged that the company “has overcharged for batches of ‘Symbicort Turbuhaler’ Inhalation Powder, 60 Doses each, by marketing or manufacturing them at prices above the notified ceiling price subsequent to the relevant price notifications issued for the period from April 2016 to July 2025.”

The company has been given 30 days to submit its response to these allegations.

Also Read:AstraZeneca Faces Setback as CDSCO Panel Rejects Seloken XL Prescribing Update

On the financial impact, AstraZeneca said, “The expected overall financial implication cannot be determined at this stage. The quantum of implication as per the notice is Rs. 60,49,79,385/- (Rupees Sixty Crore Forty Nine Lakh Seventy Nine Thousand Three Hundred and Eighty Five only) plus interest, which the Company disputes.”

The company clarified that no litigation has been filed in any court or tribunal yet, as this is at the show cause stage.

Also Read:AstraZeneca eyes year-end filing for BP drug Baxdrostat

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Telangana to expand organ transplant services at Govt Hospitals

Hyderabad: To strengthen organ transplant services across Telangana, Health Minister C. Damodar Raja Narasimha convened a meeting with senior Health Department officials on Wednesday and issued key directives aimed at expanding and improving transplantation facilities in government hospitals across the State.

During the review meeting, the Minister assessed the functioning of the State-run Jeevandan organ transplant programme. Currently, major transplants are conducted at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Gandhi Hospital, and Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad. The Minister directed that organ transplantation surgeries also be conducted at MGM Hospital in Warangal and RIMS in Adilabad. 

Read: Karnataka Plans Organ Transplant Centres in 22 Medical Colleges

To further bolster the organ transplant infrastructure, the Minister directed health officials to prepare detailed proposals for setting up Organ Retrieval Centres in all district headquarters.

Officials also briefed the Minister on the recently adopted Central legislation on organ donation, which has widened the pool of eligible donors. The law now permits grandparents to both donate and receive organs.

The Minister highlighted the importance of operationalising organ swapping. In this process, if a donor in one family is medically incompatible with the intended recipient, and a donor in another family faces a similar situation, both families may exchange donors to ensure that each patient receives a compatible organ, reports the Hindu.  

Also Read:ESIC Hospital Hyderabad perform first in-house cadaver organ retrieval, Gives new life to three

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that over 18,900 organ transplants were performed in 2024 in India – the highest in a single year, said Union Health Minister JP Nadda. He was speaking at the 15th Indian Organ Donation Day organised by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) under the aegis of the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health, at Dr Ambedkar International Centre. Nadda stated that the government is continuously streamlining organ donation and transplant so that more and more citizens can benefit from it.

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NEET PG 2025: Supreme Court postpones hearing by 2 weeks

The Supreme Court of India has postponed the hearing of the National Eligibility-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2025 examination-related case hearing.

The top court bench was supposed to take up all the pending matters related to NEET PG transparency today, but the Court has now adjourned the matter for two weeks.

As per the Supreme Court’s official website, the case has been listed for further hearing on 23.09.2025.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that a group of NEET-PG 2025 aspirants filed a plea before the Supreme Court challenging the “corrective notice” issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) on August 21.

For more details, check out the full story on the link below:

Supreme Court Delays NEET PG Transparency Case Hearing by Two Weeks

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Delhi High Court seeks UPSC reply on reservation for blind, low vision candidates in Combined Medical Services exam

The Delhi High Court recently sought to know the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) stance on a plea seeking one percent reservation for candidates with blindness and low vision in the Combined Medical Services Examination (CMSE).

While considering the matter, the HC bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Degela issued notices to the UPSC, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD).

For more details, check out the full story on the link below:

Delhi High Court Seeks UPSC Reply on 1% Blind, low vision Reservation in Combined Medical Services exam

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Fixed Dose Combination of Metformin-Voglibose Now CDSCO Approved

New Delhi: The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has clarified that the fixed-dose combination (FDC) of Voglibose 0.2 mg and Metformin Hydrochloride (SR) 500 mg is an approved formulation, removing it from the earlier list of unapproved FDCs.

In a communication to all State and UT Drugs Controllers, CDSCO referred to its earlier letter dated April 11, 2025, which listed certain FDCs as unapproved.

However, following a review, the regulator confirmed that the Voglibose-Metformin sustained release (SR) combination (listed at S. No. 31 in that letter) had already received CDSCO approval. The matter was also taken note of by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court during a hearing on July 14, 2025.

Consequently, the regulator has now formally excluded this FDC from the unapproved list circulated earlier.

A Voglibose-Metformin SR combination is a medication for type 2 diabetes that helps control high blood sugar levels by combining two drugs with different mechanisms of action: Voglibose, an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, and Metformin, a biguanide.

Voglibose is an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor indicated in the management of postprandial blood glucose in patients with type II diabetes. Metformin is a biguanide antihyperglycemic used in conjunction with diet and exercise for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Earlier, the Medical Dialogues Team had reported that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had issued a stern directive to all State and Union Territory Drug Controllers, instructing them to immediately stop the manufacture and sale of 35 unapproved Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs), including Metformin Hydrochloride IP (as Prolonged-Release) 500mg and Voglibose IP 0.2mg Tablet.

Also Read:Govt Bans 35 Combination Drugs, See Full List

In its latest communication, the drug regulator noted,

“In this regard, it may be mentioned that one of the FDCs, namely Voglibose 0.2 mg and Metformin HCL (as SR form) 500 mg (at S.No. 31), has been found to be approved by CDSCO and the same was also recorded by the Hon’ble High Court, Delhi, during the hearing on 14.07.2025.
Accordingly, the FDC, i.e., Voglibose 0.2 mg and Metformin Hcl (as SR form) 500 mg (at S.No. 31), stands excluded from the list of unapproved FDCs in the letter dated 11.04.2025.”
Also Read:Glipizide and Metformin FDC – Effective, Safe and Cost-Effective in T2D: Latest Indian Real-World Study
To view the official notice, click the link below:
https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/corrigendum-to-the-letter-dated-11042025fdc-300737.pdf

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