Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector. She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.

Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 pill Foundayo helped alleviate sleep apnea in two late-stage studies, but it doesn’t appear as effective as Lilly’s injectable drug Zepbound.

In a one-year trial of patients who weren’t receiving PAP therapy, a form of ventilation, those on Foundayo saw a reduction of 17.8 “events” per hour on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), a measure of the number of times breathing stops and becomes restricted while sleeping. That compares with a reduction of 4.5 events among those on placebo.

Additionally, 28% of treated patients achieved remission or mild disease, compared with 13% in the placebo group, according to data presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association and published in JAMA.

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