Plasma indole-3-propionic acid (IPA) is lower in individuals with type 2 diabetes than in healthy controls, and higher pre-antibiotic levels associate with reduced T2D odds. In both groups, 7-day broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment reduced IPA to near-undetectable levels, confirming its predominantly microbial origin. IPA also showed a novel inverse correlation with glycemic variability and linked to gut microbiota beta diversity rather than known IPA-producing taxa alone.
The FDA has approved Eli Lilly's Onswik, a once-weekly basal insulin for adults with type 2 diabetes. The approval gives patients an alternative to daily long-acting insulin injections. Details beyond the approval itself are available to STAT+ subscribers.
The FDA has approved Eli Lilly's once-weekly basal insulin Efsitora alfa (brand name Onswik), announced on September 24, 2026, to improve glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes alongside diet and exercise. Efsitora is a fusion protein linking a novel single-chain insulin variant to a human IgG2-Fc domain, extending half-life to allow weekly subcutaneous injection instead of daily dosing.
In the head-to-head REIMAGINE 5 trial, Novo Nordisk's CagriSema produced mean weight loss of 12.4% in patients with type 2 diabetes, versus 9.1% for Eli Lilly's tirzepatide. Both studies met their primary endpoints, safety was broadly consistent with prior trials, and no new safety signals were identified. The result positions CagriSema ahead of tirzepatide on weight loss, though it does not settle the broader competition between the two companies.
Novo Nordisk announced that CagriSema (cagrilintide and semaglutide) beat tirzepatide head-to-head on the primary endpoint of the phase-three REIMAGINE 5 trial. In parallel, the REDEFINE 9 trial showed CagriSema outperformed placebo on weight loss, also meeting its primary endpoint. The results position CagriSema as a challenger to tirzepatide in the obesity drug market.
A Perspective published in Nature Medicine on 25 September 2026 argues for redesigning cardiovascular medicine around sex differences. It connects evidence from preclinical and clinical domains, calls for greater understanding of sex-biased mechanisms, and urges integrating those insights into diagnostics and therapeutics, with a focus on female-predominant cardiovascular conditions.
Lilly's once-weekly insulin Efsitora alfa has been approved for marketing in China. Efsitora alfa is an Fc-fusion single-chain insulin of 299 amino acids expressed in CHO cells, with 24 disulfide bonds and a molecular weight of 64 kDa. In the trials QWINT-1 and QWINT-2 it showed glucose-lowering effects non-inferior to insulin glargine and insulin degludec, respectively.
The FDA has approved Eli Lilly's once-weekly long-acting basal insulin Onswik (insulin efsitora alfa) for adults with type 2 diabetes, offering an alternative to daily insulin injections. The approval reflects a broader effort across insulin and GLP-1 drugs to extend dosing intervals for long-term treatment. Onswik now becomes a new treatment option for adult patients in the United States.
Roche has struck a licensing deal worth up to $2 billion with Atavistik Bio to discover allosteric small molecules for cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases. Roche pays $70 million up front, with up to $1.9 billion in milestones; the partners will use Atavistik's AMPS platform, with Atavistik handling discovery and Roche taking over preclinical work and beyond. The deal extends Roche's CVRM push, which includes the zilebesiran partnership with Alnylam, the $3.5 billion purchase of 89bio and the $2.7 billion Carmot takeover.
On September 21, Eli Lilly said China's NMPA approved an update to the label for Mufengda (tirzepatide injection), its GIP/GLP-1 dual-target weekly injection, adding clinical study data in adults with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and obesity. The update incorporates SUMMIT study results showing a 38% reduction in the risk of worsening in these patients. The drug was previously positioned for glucose lowering and weight reduction.
CMAC, a deep learning framework built from 18 murine single-cell RNA-seq datasets, assigns absolute transcriptional maturation age to cardiomyocytes across platforms and experimental conditions. An XGBoost regressor on its batch-invariant latent space predicted chronological age with leave-one-dataset-out MAE of 4.09 days (Pearson r = 0.903), and in an independent P14 cohort of 98,163 cells achieved mouse-level MAE of 0.33 days. Applied to PGC1/beta double-knockout mice, it quantified maturation deficits of 4.77 to 8.60 days across P7 to P28.
While most users of GLP-1 obesity drugs lose an average of one-quarter of their body weight, 10–15% lose minimal weight or none, and researchers are investigating why, with biological sex, genetics and behavioural factors under study. The Endocrine Society has made individualized responses a field priority but says precision medicine for obesity remains largely aspirational. Studies of semaglutide and tirzepatide suggest oestrogen given with hormone-replacement therapy may enhance the drugs' effects.
Boehringer Ingelheim has expanded its collaboration with Seattle-based genomics biotech Variant Bio to cover cardiovascular disease, on top of the original January deal worth $120 million for cardiorenal and kidney disease. Variant will receive an additional upfront payment and is eligible for license and milestone payments totaling more than $250 million. The partners will use Variant's AI-powered Inference platform to identify genetically supported targets for potential first-in-class cardiovascular treatments.
A study found that the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Rin-like suppresses renal uric acid excretion in both humans and mice. The work reveals a new mechanism by which Rin-like affects uric acid homeostasis by regulating the function of relevant transporters. The finding provides a potential new target for treating hyperuricemia and related diseases.
The FDA has approved Cordis' sirolimus drug-coated balloon for treating coronary in-stent restenosis. According to the source, it is the first and only sirolimus drug-eluting balloon for this indication and was cleared through the FDA's breakthrough device pathway.
Novo Nordisk's CagriSema met its primary endpoint in the Phase III REIMAGINE 5 trial, a head-to-head comparison against tirzepatide. The fixed combination of the long-acting amylin analogue cagrilintide and the GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide also met its primary endpoint in the Phase III REDEFINE 9 weight-loss trial against placebo.
Novo Nordisk's CagriSema beat tirzepatide 5 mg head-to-head in the phase III REIMAGINE 5 study in adults with type 2 diabetes whose blood glucose remained inadequately controlled on metformin or an SGLT2 inhibitor. The parallel phase III REDEFINE 9 study in people with obesity or overweight met its primary endpoint. If approved, CagriSema would be the first GLP-1 plus amylin combination therapy worldwide.
Starting resuscitation of 32-to-35-week neonates with Fio2 0.30 instead of 0.21 did not change the primary outcome: ongoing respiratory support when leaving the delivery room occurred in 72.6% vs 73.3% (risk difference, -0.83). In the cluster randomized crossover trial across 26 Australian maternity hospitals, 1818 newborns were enrolled, and Fio2 0.30 was associated with less escalation of delivery room support and less endotracheal ventilation beyond the delivery room (6.4% vs 9.3%).
Chronic plus binge ethanol exposure in male C57BL/6J mice caused leaky gut, systemic inflammation, and abdominal aortic and perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) dysfunction, linked to microbiota-derived fMLP and LPS, M1 macrophage polarization, Th17 expansion, and FPR1 upregulation. Smooth muscle FPR1 deletion prevented the vascular hyporesponsiveness, and the PVAT-dependent alterations were absent in germ-free, Rag1-/-, IL-17RA-/-, or TLR4-/- mice. The work positions PVAT as a central integrator of gut microbiota-derived signals in alcohol-related vascular injury.
Suzhou Zhonghua Pharmaceutical's Weilening, a 100 mg sacubitril/valsartan sodium tablet, has won NMPA approval in China for adults with chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (NYHA class II-IV, LVEF of 40% or less). The company positions the dual-target drug as addressing an unmet need in standard treatment for heart failure, the end stage of cardiovascular disease.
