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☆ Roche says weight loss drug shows promising results in early trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Roche on Thursday said its experimental weight loss drug showed promising results in an early-stage trial, boosting the company's bid to compete in the booming market for those treatments. But its weekly weight loss injection, called CT-388, is still years away from entering the market. The treatment works by mimicking the effect of two gut hormones — GLP-1 and GIP — to suppress a person's appetite, just like Eli Lilly's popular weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes injection Mounjaro. Scientists have hypothesized that targeting those two hormones could have a meaningful effect on weight loss and blood sugar levels with fewer side effects than drugs that only target GLP-1, such as Novo Nordisk's weight loss treatment Wegovy. Eli Lilly's Zepbound delivered up to 22% weight loss after 72 weeks, while Novo Nordisk's Wegovy has led to 15% weight loss after 68 weeks.

Persons: Roche, Eli Lilly, Roche's, —, Eli Lilly's, Eli Lilly's Zepbound, Novo Nordisk's Wegovy Organizations: Roche, AG, Carmot Therapeutics, Novo Nordisk, Novo Nordisk's Locations: Basel, Switzerland, Swiss, Roche's, Novo

☆ Swiss pharma giant Roche's first-quarter sales edge higher as its emerges from post-Covid-19 slump
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche on Wednesday reported a modest uptick in first-quarter sales, even as waning demand for its Covid-19 products continued to weigh on the company. Sales were up 2% at constant exchange rates, led by stronger demand for Roche's newer medicines and diagnostics, the company said. Excluding Covid-19 products, sales were up 7%. But sales tightened when reported in the company's local currency, down 6% off the back of a strong Swiss franc. Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker on Wednesday confirmed the company's 2024 outlook, saying it was largely out of the woods following a post-Covid-19 slump.

Persons: Roche, Thomas Schinecker, Schinecker Organizations: Roche, AG, Wednesday, Reuters Locations: Basel, Switzerland, Swiss

☆ Roche to Buy Bowel-Disease Drug From Roivant, Pfizer for More Than $7 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Adrià Calatayud | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Roche’s deal is the latest example of a big pharma company turning to the deal table to bolster its pipeline of autoimmune drugs. Photo: Philipp Schmidli/Bloomberg NewsRoche Holding has agreed to buy the developer of a bowel-disease treatment from Roivant Sciences , a company started by Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy , and Pfizer in a deal worth more than $7 billion. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant said Monday it would pay $7.1 billion upfront for Telavant Holdings, and make a near-term milestone payment of $150 million. Roche said the deal gives it rights to commercialize Telavant’s RVT-3101 drug candidate, which has shown promise for inflammatory-bowel disease and could have potential in other indications, in the U.S. and Japan.

Persons: Philipp Schmidli, Vivek Ramaswamy, Roche Organizations: pharma, Bloomberg, Roche Holding, Roivant Sciences, Republican, Pfizer, Telavant Holdings, Telavant’s Locations: Swiss, U.S, Japan

☆ Pro Take: Making Medicines Greener
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Cecilia Butini | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Photo: mohamed hossam/ShutterstockMaking and supplying medicines generates roughly a third of the global healthcare industry’s greenhouse-gas emissions. Photo: Carlos Jasso/Bloomberg NewsBritish drugmaker GSK , for instance, plans to run on 100% renewable electricity by 2025 and to reach net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2045. GSK partnered with AstraZeneca , Merck KGaA, Novo Nordisk , Roche Holding , Samsung Biologics and Sanofi to form the SMI Health Systems Task Force in 2021. Last year, the partnership decided to strengthen their collaboration by focusing on cutting emissions in the near term and transitioning faster toward net-zero health systems. Novartis aims to achieve net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2040.

Persons: mohamed hossam, Carlos Jasso, “ We’ve, ”, Mike Peirce, Aurelio Arias, Arias, Claire Lund, Sanofi, Annabelle Harreguy, IQVIA’s Arias, “ It’s, ” Arias, Cecilia Butini Organizations: Pharmaceutical, Pharma, GSK, Bloomberg News British, Climate Group, Climate, Business, Sustainable Markets, Health Systems, Force, AstraZeneca, Merck KGaA, Novo Nordisk, Roche Holding, Samsung Biologics, Sanofi, SMI, Systems, Novartis, World Health Organization, cecilia.butini@wsj.com Locations: GSK’s, China, India, Novo

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) closed 0.7% higher, tracking overnight gains in Wall Street. Shares of Sage Group Plc (SGE.L) gained 5.1% to a 23-year high after J.P. Morgan upgraded its rating on the stock to "overweight" from "neutral". Shares of chip equipment maker ASML Holding (ASML.AS) rose 2.3% while Nordic Semiconductor (NOD.OL) jumped 6.4%, making technology (.SX8P) among the top European sectoral gainers. Semiconductor shares were in focus after a report stated the U.S. was considering new restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence chips to China. Also boosting the STOXX 600, Roche Holding (ROG.S) gained 1.5% after the U.S. health regulator declined to approve Regeneron's (REGN.O) Eylea drug.

Persons: Christine Lagarde, Jerome Powell, what's, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Morgan, Hewson, Roche, Morgan Stanley, Christian Klein, Matteo Allievi, Subhranshu Sahu, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Alex Richardson Organizations: Sage Group, UBS, CS, . Federal, ASML, Nordic Semiconductor, Semiconductor, Carrefour, Credit Suisse, SAP, Thomson Locations: Wall, U.S, China, Swiss, Gdansk, Amruta, Bangalore

☆ European shares rise as US data soothes economic slowdown fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 28 (Reuters) - European shares climbed on Wednesday after robust U.S. data soothed concerns about a steep economic slowdown, while investors awaited commentary from central bankers at a forum later in the day for further policy direction. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) was up 0.5% by 0810 GMT, tracking Wall Street's gains overnight after data showed a rise in new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods and heightened consumer confidence in June. Investors are keenly watching a panel discussion of central bankers in Sintra, including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda. French supermarket chain Carrefour (CARR.PA) gained 3.1% after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an "overweight" rating. Reporting by Matteo Allievi in Gdansk and Amruta Khandekar in Bangalore; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Christine Lagarde, Jerome Powell, Kazuo Ueda, Morgan Stanley, Matteo Allievi, Subhranshu Sahu Organizations: Roche, Investors, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Carrefour, Thomson Locations: Sintra, Gdansk, Amruta, Bangalore

☆ Regeneron shares fall after FDA rejects high-dose eye disease treatment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A view of the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals headquarters in Tarrytown, New York. Shares of Regeneron fell nearly 9% Tuesday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve a higher-dose version of the company's blockbuster eye disease treatment. Regeneron said the rejection was "solely due to an ongoing review of inspection findings at a third-party filler." That suggests the drug could potentially win approval down the road. But a delay won't help the company fight off threats to its Eylea drug franchise, which is facing competition from Roche Holdings ' eye drug, Vabysmo.

Persons: Regeneron Organizations: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Roche Holdings Locations: Tarrytown , New York, U.S

☆ European shares head for best week since November, inflation data in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Bansari Mayur Kamdar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) was flat by 0915 GMT. For the week so far, it was up 3.4% following a drop in natural gas prices and upbeat economic data. All eyes are on the December euro zone inflation data due at 1000 GMT, with economists expecting prices to have declined year-on-year for a second consecutive month. "Inflation readings in the euro zone were not all good news, and core inflation remains high," analysts at UBS Global Wealth Management said in a note. "Despite the encouraging data (this week), we expect central banks to stick with a hawkish stance at this time."

Earlier, much smaller U.S. studies conducted in the mid-1980's had suggested roughly 60,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each year. The estimated economic cost is $52 billion annually in the United States alone, according to a report of the study published in npj Parkinson's Disease. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research obtain increased funding for research and access to care. A separate study by Beck's team recently put the number of U.S. patients living with Parkinson's disease at nearly 1 million, whereas earlier estimates had been closer to 650,000, he said. "Because the U.S. population is aging, a lot of people are going to be entering the health system with Parkinson's disease," Beck said, "and there are only about 700 neurologists in the country who specialize in movement disorders."

As the COP15 biodiversity summit kicks off in Montreal, businesses and corporate leaders are pushing for an ambitious agreement with strong policies that will provide guidance to companies seeking to change. They are under increasing pressure to show progress in tackling climate change and reducing harm to the environment. The agency has said some $384 billion will be needed each year for nature projects by 2025. "If we take that mindset to nature, it leads to the investment models that would allow us to invest in nature as infrastructure," he said. "Two years ago, all these governments around the world said 'let's put trillions of dollars into nature.'

☆ FDA Takes Tougher Line on Fast-Tracked Drugs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Liz Essley Whyte | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Food and Drug Administration sometimes clears prescription medicines based on preliminary data but asks makers to conduct follow-up confirmatory studies. The Food and Drug Administration is taking a harder line on its program that fast-tracks drug approvals based on preliminary evidence, spurring GSK PLC, Roche Holdings AG and other drugmakers to remake plans for their drugs or pull them from the market. Under the accelerated-approval program, the FDA clears the use of prescription medicines faster than it normally would. The agency relies on preliminary data to make the decision, but asks companies to conduct follow-up studies to confirm that the drug works.

☆ Alzheimer’s Drug From Roche Fails in Late-Stage Trials
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Denise Roland | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An experimental Alzheimer’s drug from Roche Holding AG failed to significantly slow cognitive decline in long-awaited trials, the latest in a long line of setbacks for a field that has seen little progress in decades. The drug, called gantenerumab, slightly reduced cognitive decline in people with early Alzheimer’s compared with a placebo across two large and lengthy trials, but the difference wasn’t statistically significant, Roche said Monday. The trials, which lasted more than two years and involved nearly 2,000 participants, compared scores of cognition and function in areas such as memory, orientation and problem-solving.

Some progress has been made, but it's not enough," Rebecca Marmot, chief sustainability officer at consumer goods company Unilever (ULVR.L), said. While regulators have pushed for more rigorous reporting on the companies' environmental impact and efforts to battle climate change, broader impact on nature and biodiversity has not yet been subject to similar scrutiny. The COP15 talks in Montreal will see countries try to agree a new Global Biodiversity Framework to combat the crisis that threatens over one million plant and animal species with extinction. "Assessment and disclosure are an essential first step to generate action, but it will only have an impact if it is made mandatory," the 330 businesses said in their statement. "Without this information, we are flying blind into extinction," Eva Zabey, executive director at global coalition Business for Nature, said.

☆ Schlumberger evaluates options for Russia staff as Ukraine war escalates -CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Liz Hampton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Oilfield services provider Schlumberger (SLB.N) is evaluating unspecified options for its thousands of Russian employees as the war in Ukraine escalates, Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch told Reuters an interview. Among Western companies that did not exit following the February invasion of Ukraine, Schlumberger is one of the biggest employers in Russia. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in a tweet blasted the firm's Russia presence as contributing to war crimes and genocide. President Vladimir Putin last month issued a decree seeking to add 300,000 troops to the war effort amid high casualties in Ukraine. Le Peuch said Schlumberger "management in the country is pursuing all options to assist employees," without providing details.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Schlumberger faces employee backlash in Russia over cooperation on draft
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Liz Hampton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Human rights groups are watching how the company responds to the concerns. Schlumberger suspended new investments and technology deployment in Russia, but unlike some of its peers and customers, decided to remain. Schlumberger leaves decision-making on Russia employment policies to local managers, the U.S.-based spokesperson said. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre requested information from Schlumberger and other non-Russian companies with operations in the country on their handling of the mobilization. Schlumberger rivals Baker Hughes (BKR.O) and Halliburton (HAL.N) are selling or have sold their oilfield services units in Russia.

☆ Alzheimer’s Blockbuster Might Spur Investor Bonanza, Higher Medicare Costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( David Wainer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Biogen drug is likely to get accelerated approval from the FDA in January due to the positive data. The Alzheimer’s drug data released Tuesday night aren’t only going to be transformative for Biogen which has been struggling to get love from investors after its botched launch of Aduhelm. The results are also breathing new life into a class of anti-amyloid drugs that had been partially written off, increasing investor confidence that drugs from Eli Lilly and Roche Holding also deliver positive results.

☆ Biogen and Eisai's latest clinical trial just crossed the finish line. Here's why analysts say the results could disrupt the future of Alzheimer's care.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It's a complicated, debilitating illness and drug companies have struggled for years to come up with viable treatments. On Tuesday September 27, Biogen and Eisai announced that lecanemab slowed the rate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients by 27%. Analysts say that this positive result could lead to it becoming a blockbuster drug for the companies. Other big drug companies such as Roche Holdings and Eli Lilly are pursuing similar treatments, with results expected to come later this year and early next year, respectively. "I think people's confidence in the amyloid hypothesis would go down even further, but ultimately people would wait to see what those other data events show," he said.

Shares of Biogen and Eisai were halted, but shares of Eli Lilly & Co , which is also developing an Alzheimer's drug, were up 6.7% in after hours trade. Aduhelm was the first new Alzheimer's drug approved in 20 years after a long list of high-profile failures for the industry. Symptomatic brain swelling was seen in 2.8% of those in the lecanemab group and none of the placebo group, they said. Aduhelm's approval was a rare bright spot for Alzheimer's patients, but critics have called for more evidence that amyloid-targeting drugs are worth the cost. Other plaque-targeting antibodies in late-stage development for Alzheimer's patients include Roche Holding AG's (ROG.S) gantenerumab and Eli Lilly's donanemab.

☆ Biogen's latest clinical trial is inching towards the finish line. Here's why analysts say the results could disrupt the future of Alzheimer's care.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It's a complicated, debilitating illness and drug companies have struggled for years to come up with viable treatments. Other big drug companies such as Roche Holdings and Eli Lilly are pursuing similar treatments, with results expected to come later this year and early next year, respectively. "I think people's confidence in the amyloid hypothesis would go down even further, but ultimately people would wait to see what those other data events show," he said. Negative results might give a boost to companies that are exploring alternate ways to treat Alzheimer's disease. And though Biogen's drug is furthest along in development, it's far from being the only treatment being tested for Alzheimer's.

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