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☆ Here's why Covid vaccines will still be free for uninsured Americans as public health emergency ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Vanessa Leroy | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBut the vast majority of Americans will not have to pay out of pocket for Covid vaccines even after the federal government's stockpile runs out. Insured Americans will be able to access Covid shots as part of their coverage, without having to pay out of pocket. Under the arrangement, the CDC will continue to purchase Covid vaccines at a discount and distribute them through 64 state and local health departments. That HHS effort will leverage the "public commitments" by drug manufacturers to provide free Covid vaccines and treatments to uninsured people. Pfizer and Moderna have not said whether they would supply free shots to pharmacies.

☆ Americans in most states will no longer receive Covid exposure notifications on phones
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Americans in most states will no longer receive Covid exposure notifications on their smartphones now that the U.S. public health emergency has ended. On Thursday, the organization said "the majority of states" stopped using the exposure notification system after the Biden administration ended the public health emergency on May 11. There is no clear tally of how many Americans activated the exposure notification feature on their phones or downloaded apps over the past three years. Despite these benefits, some Americans have been skeptical of the Covid exposure notification tools. State decisions to end Covid exposure notifications are part of a broader shift in how the country responds to the pandemic.

☆ GOP law cut Big Pharma tax rates by 40%, Senate report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A Republican law has slashed the average tax rates of big pharmaceutical companies by more than 40% since it was enacted in 2017, Senate Finance Committee Democrats said in a report Thursday. That provision allowed U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies to access lower tax rates on their foreign income, the report said. Pharmaceutical companies report 75% of their taxable income overseas, the report said. The report said the average rate fell to 11.6% in 2019 and 2020, which resulted in billions of dollars in tax savings for pharmaceutical companies. Wyden also obtained similar information about other U.S. pharmaceutical companies, including Abbott Laboratories , Amgen , Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck .

☆ Pfizer CEO says Medicare will likely face legal action over drug price negotiations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Thursday said pharmaceutical companies will likely take legal action against Medicare drug price negotiations, which aim to cut costs for older Americans, but will likely reduce company profits. Bourla referred to a provision in the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act that will allow the Medicare program to negotiate prices on the costliest prescription drugs each year. The first negotiations start in September and new prices will go into effect in 2026. Some drugmakers are already preparing to fight Medicare drug negotiations, industry sources told Reuters. Another provision of the Inflation Reduction Act requires Pfizer and other prescription drug companies to refund Medicare through rebates if the prices of their drugs rise faster than the rate of inflation.

☆ Eli Lilly CEO vows not to raise insulin prices again, while Novo Nordisk and Sanofi hedge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the committee's chair, asked Ricks and the CEOs of Novo Nordisk and Sanofi to commit to "never increase the price of any insulin drug again." Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said the Danish company is committed to limiting price increases to "single digits." Net price refers to the amount insurers pay for an insulin drug after discounts and rebates. Sanofi said it plans to cut the price of its most popular insulin drug, Lantus, by 78% and reduce the list price of its short-acting insulin, Apidra, by 70%. At the hearing, Sanders called those actions "good news" and a result of public pressure.

☆ Breast cancer screenings should start at age 40 instead of 50, U.S. panel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Breast cancer screenings typically involve a mammogram, which is an X-ray of the breast. It does not apply to people at high risk of breast cancer, including those who have a family history of the disease. The rate of breast cancer among women ages 40 to 49 increased by 2% each year on average from 2015 to 2019, according to the National Cancer Institute. The panel said the new guidance also aims to ease the disparities in breast cancer death rates between Black women and white women. Other medical groups, including the American College of Radiology and the American Cancer Society, already recommend annual breast cancer screenings before age 50.

☆ Novavax surges more than 25% after company unveils job cuts, positive vaccine data
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A health worker prepares a dose of the Novavax vaccine as the Dutch Health Service Organization starts with the Novavax vaccination program on March 21, 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands. The company's Covid vaccine is its lone marketed product after 35 years in business. The company reported R&D expenses of $258 million and SG&A expenses of $162 million last year. The company raced against Pfizer and Moderna to develop the first Covid vaccine early in the pandemic. Novavax's shot is the first Covid vaccine to use protein technology, a decades-old method for fighting viruses used in routine vaccinations against hepatitis B and shingles.

☆ Kenvue CEO looks to brand, product innovation to drive growth after IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Thibaut Mongon, CEO of Kenvue Inc. a Johnson & Johnson consumer-health business, speaks during an interview with CNBC during his company's IPO at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), May 4, 2023. Kenvue CEO Thibaut Mongon is betting on brand and product innovation to drive growth at the newly spun-out company after its solid debut on the public market Thursday. Kenvue, spun out of Johnson & Johnson , carries a packed portfolio of widely known brands, such as Band-Aid, Tylenol, Listerine, Neutrogena, Aveeno and J&J's namesake baby powder. But Mongon told CNBC that Kenvue's portfolio of brands has "ample opportunity" to grow. Mongon believes product innovation ultimately makes Kenvue's brands "more relevant than ever" to consumers as they better target their needs.

☆ J&J's consumer health spinoff Kenvue opens at $25.53, a 16% jump, in public market debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Thibaut Mongon, CEO and Paul Ruh CFO of Kenvue Inc. a Johnson & Johnson's consumer-health business, pose together during the company's IPO at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 4, 2023. Johnson & Johnson 's consumer health spinoff Kenvue jumped 16% in its market debut on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, marking the biggest U.S. IPO in more than a year. Kenvue sold 172.8 million shares in an upsized deal that raised about $3.8 billion and valued the company at roughly $41 billion. "Millions of consumers around the world this morning wake up with a Kenvue product in their home," CEO Thibaut Mongon, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Thursday morning ahead of the stock's debut. Mongon previously served as J&J's executive vice president and worldwide chair of consumer health.

☆ Moderna posts surprise quarterly profit despite waning demand for Covid vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Moderna on Thursday blew past estimates for first-quarter earnings and revenue, posting a surprise quarterly profit, despite lower demand for Covid vaccines, its only marketable product. The biotech company generated first-quarter sales of $1.9 billion, driven by Covid shot revenue deferred from 2022. Moderna maintained its full-year guidance of around $5 billion in revenue from its Covid vaccine, which will come from signed government contracts for the shot. But Covid shot demand is still falling as the pandemic eases and the U.S. shifts to an annual vaccination schedule rather than repeated booster doses. Moderna in April said it hopes to offer a new set of life-saving vaccines targeting cancer, heart disease and other conditions by 2030.

☆ FDA approves GSK's RSV vaccine for older adults, world's first shot against virus
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved an RSV vaccine produced by GlaxoSmithKline for use on adults ages 60 and older. London-based GSK during an earnings presentation last week said it has "millions" of doses of the RSV vaccine ready to ship. In March, an independent panel of advisors to the FDA recommended GSK's RSV vaccine based on data from a phase three trial on older adults. A 78-year-old woman in Japan was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome nine days after receiving GSK's vaccine, according to an FDA briefing document. The FDA flagged the disorder as a potential safety issue with Pfizer's RSV vaccine for older adults.

☆ J&J's consumer health business Kenvue is going public this week. Here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Johnson & Johnson products on a shelf in a store in New York. Johnson & Johnson 's consumer health business, Kenvue, is expected to go public this week in the largest U.S. IPO in more than a year. Kenvue is expected to set an IPO price Wednesday night and start trading Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "KVUE." Kenvue would be valued at around $40 billion at the proposed share range, based on the 1.87 billion shares expected to be outstanding once the deal closes. J&J would hold nearly all of those outstanding shares, amounting to more than 1.71 billion shares, according to the prospectus.

☆ Pfizer earnings and revenue top expectations despite Covid vaccine sales decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pfizer on Tuesday reported first-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that topped Wall Street's expectations, despite a decline in sales driven by the lower demand for the company's Covid vaccine. Sales of the company's Covid vaccine declined $10 billion, or 75% compared with the same quarter last year. Pfizer also reiterated its full-year adjusted earnings outlook of $3.25 to $3.45 per share. The company reaffirmed its forecast of $13.5 billion in Covid vaccine sales in 2023 and $8 billion in revenue for Paxlovid. Excluding Covid products, Pfizer said it expects 7% to 9% revenue growth this year.

☆ Carl Icahn calls Illumina Q1 results ‘very disappointing,’ slams cost-cutting plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Carl Icahn on Friday called Illumina's first-quarter results "very disappointing" and slammed the DNA sequencing company's new plans to cut costs. "Illumina CEO Francis deSouza seems to believe that he can fool all of the people all of the time," Icahn wrote. Illumina's stock is down more than 9% since the company reported earnings. In that missive, Icahn also took shots at cost-cutting plans Illumina unveiled to improve its shrinking margins. Illumina reported a negative operating margin of 5.7% for the quarter, down from 15% during the same period a year ago.

☆ Merck revenue falls after dramatic drop in sales of Covid antiviral treatment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Merck on Thursday reported first-quarter revenue that fell 9% from the same period a year ago largely due to a steep drop in sales of its Covid antiviral treatment molnupiravir. Sales of molnupiravir plunged to $392 million during the period, down 88% from the $3.2 billion reported in the first quarter of 2022. Merck said the decrease is primarily the result of lower sales in the U.S., U.K., Japan and Australia. The company reported total revenue of $14.5 billion during the quarter, down nearly $1.5 billion from the same period a year ago. But Merck's pharmaceutical unit saw higher sales of the blockbuster antibody treatment Keytruda, which increased 20% to $5.8 billion during the quarter.

Patients who took Eli Lilly 's weight loss drug tirzepatide lost up to 34 pounds on average, or 16% of their body weight, the company said in clinical trial results released Thursday. Eli Lilly plans to complete its application for Food and Drug Administration approval of the drug in the coming weeks and expects regulatory action as early as later this year. The FDA approved tirzepatide for Type 2 diabetes last year, but the drug is not cleared for weight loss. The approval would open "up the opportunity for many more people to benefit from tirzepatide," Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." He added that the drug sets a "new bar for weight loss and people with diabetes."

☆ Illumina CEO touts Grail’s 100% revenue growth amid proxy fight with Icahn
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Illumina CEO Francis deSouza on Wednesday touted the company's controversial acquisition of Grail after revenue from the cancer test developer doubled in the last year. The Grail deal is the focus of a heated proxy fight between Illumina and activist investor Carl Icahn. Antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe have also ordered Illumina to divest the $7.1 billion acquisition Illumina completed in 2021. He added that the Grail deal "makes sense" for Illumina because the company can significantly expand the market for the test. But Icahn, who owns a 1.4% stake in Illumina, has called the Grail deal "disastrous" and "a new low in corporate governance."

☆ Biogen isn't concerned about competing with Eli Lilly in the Alzheimer’s drug space, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Biogen isn't worried about competing with Eli Lilly as they both attempt to bring an Alzheimer's drug to the market, Biogen's CEO said Tuesday. Researchers argue that the accumulation of amyloid plaque is a crucial first step toward the cognitive decline observed in Alzheimer's disease. Eli Lilly didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. He said that will likely require Eli Lilly and Biogen to roll out maintenance doses that will keep plaque levels low. Biogen is banking on the success of its drug leqembi after the disastrous approval and rollout of its old Alzheimer's drug aduhelm last year.

☆ FDA grants accelerated approval for Biogen ALS drug that treats rare form of the disease
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday granted accelerated approval for Biogen 's drug tofersen, which treats a rare and aggressive form of the disease known as ALS. Accelerated approval is an FDA designation that clears drugs faster if they fill an unmet medical need for serious conditions. If a subsequent trial confirms those benefits, the FDA can grant traditional approval for the drug. An independent panel of advisors to the FDA last month similarly voted that tofersen's effect on neurofilament could produce a clinical benefit in ALS patients. Stephanie Fradette, Biogen's head of ALS development, said those SOD1 protein levels are "indirect evidence" that tofersen targets the rare form of ALS.

☆ Illumina unveils plans to cut costs as it faces shrinking margins
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A building on the campus at the world headquarters of Illumina is shown in San Diego, California, September 1, 2021. Illumina on Tuesday unveiled plans to cut costs in a bid to improve the DNA sequencing company's shrinking margins. Among Illumina's plans is to use its NovaSeq X sequencing system to accelerate genomic discoveries. The San Diego-based company said it also plans to save by "enabling activities" in more cost-effective areas around the world. The Grail deal is also the focus of a proxy fight between activist investor Carl Icahn and Illumina.

☆ Johnson & Johnson to price shares of consumer spinoff Kenvue at $20 to $23 in IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Johnson & Johnson will price shares of its consumer-health spinoff Kenvue at $20 to $23 in an initial public offering later this year, the company said in a regulatory filing Monday. J&J said it launched a roadshow for the IPO of more than 151 million shares of common stock. Kenvue estimates the IPO will generate net proceeds of around $3.15 million, the filing said. Kenvue expects to grant underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 22.6 million shares of stock to cover any over-allotments, according to the filing. The company noted it will own 1.7 billion shares of Kenvue's common stock after the IPO, representing 91.9% of the spinoff's total shares.

☆ CNN fires anchor Don Lemon in the wake of sexist comments, reported mistreatment of colleagues
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

CNN on Monday fired anchor Don Lemon in the wake of sexist on-air comments and reports that he mistreated female coworkers during his 17 years at the network. Lemon, who had hosted "CNN This Morning" as scheduled, said his agent informed him about his termination Monday morning. Shortly after Lemon first tweeted that he was fired, the network's CEO, Chris Licht, said the anchor and CNN "parted ways." The report was based on more than a dozen former and current colleagues of Lemon, Variety said. He has served as the prime-time anchor of CNN's "Don Lemon Tonight" for more than eight years, the network's website says.

☆ Johnson & Johnson consumer health unit valued at $40 billion ahead of IPO, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Johnson & Johnson 's consumer health business is valued at $40 billion ahead of its initial public offering later this year, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The soon-to-be spinoff Kenvue aims to raise $3.5 billion or more in the offering, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. Kenvue plans to meet with prospective investors as early as Monday, the sources told the Journal. When asked about the Journal's report, J&J spokesperson Tesia Williams told CNBC, "Unfortunately, I do not have any information to provide." J&J still faces thousands of allegations that its talc baby powder and other talc products caused cancer.

☆ U.S. bankruptcy judge halts 40,000 Johnson & Johnson talc and cancer lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this photo illustration, a container of Johnson and Johnson baby powder is displayed on April 05, 2023 in San Anselmo, California. A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday halted roughly 40,000 lawsuits that allege Johnson & Johnson 's baby powder and other talc products caused cancer. Amid the ongoing legal fights, J&J has continued to deny the allegations that its talc products caused cancer. The suits allege J&J's talc products were contaminated with the carcinogen asbestos, which caused ovarian cancer in thousands of individuals. Some lawsuits link several deaths to J&J's talc products.

☆ DOJ charges 18 people — including doctors — in massive Covid health-care fraud takedowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Other cases involved the alleged manufacture and distribution of fake Covid vaccine record cards. But instead of administering the Covid vaccine, the defendants allegedly destroyed vials of the vaccines intended for patients, the DOJ said. Two people in Utah were also charged with allegedly manufacturing and selling about 120,000 fake Covid vaccine cards. The DOJ said the people charged with distributing fake vaccine cards "intentionally sought to obstruct" the federal government's efforts to roll out a nationwide Covid vaccine program. They also follow similar criminal charges related to Covid fraud schemes in April 2022 and May 2021.

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