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☆ Novartis to buy Chinook for up to $3.5 bln in boost to late-stage pipeline
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 12 (Reuters) - Novartis (NOVN.S) has agreed to acquire Seattle-based biotech firm Chinook Therapeutics (KDNY.O) for up to $3.5 billion to boost its late-stage drug development line-up with a new treatment for a rare severe kidney disease. Chinook is also working on zigakibart, another experimental IgAN treatment that is injected, and plans to start a Phase 3 trial in the third quarter of 2023. IgAN is a progressive autoimmune disease that mostly affects young adults and which can lead to dialysis or kidney transplantation. IgAN is the most common cause of kidney failure in Caucasian young adults, the company added. Additional reporting by Miranda Murray; Editing by Kim Coghill and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Swiss drugmaker, Vas Narasimhan, atrasentan, Narasimhan, Kisqali, Soliris, Miranda Murray, Kim Coghill, Sonali Paul Organizations: Novartis, Seattle, Chinook Therapeutics, Chinook, Swiss pharma, Sandoz, Thomson Locations: Swiss, IgAN, United States

☆ Goldman Sachs says these 8 beaten-up stocks will turn profitable this year — and outperform the market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Goldman Sachs has named eight global stocks of companies that will become profitable this year and beat the broader market. In a new research report, the investment bank found that companies that transition from unprofitable to profitable during a market recovery typically outperform the broader market. Goldman Sachs also said stocks of European companies undergoing this transition are already showing signs of outperformance against the Stoxx 600 by 6%. Pan-European classifieds operator Adevinta and Swiss solar power engineering firm Meyer Burger are also expected to turn profitable this year. However, Goldman cautioned that the bank isn't certain the market has reached its bottom, and the trend applies only in a market recovery scenario.

☆ Radioligand therapy, a 'game-changer' for cancer treatment, forces manufacturers to race against a ticking clock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Ash from the eruption disrupted flights across Europe — including a time-sensitive shipment of experimental radioligand therapy that Sartor was expecting from Norway. Radioligand therapy, also called radionuclide or radiopharmaceutical therapy, is a targeted form of cancer treatment that delivers radiation directly to cancer cells. Once the radioactivity decays, it can no longer kill the cancer cells as effectively, which means radioligand therapy has a limited window of viability. Expensive to produce and ship fastNuclear medicine has been used to treat cancer for decades, and radioligand therapy itself is not new. In 2008, he traveled to a medical conference in Toronto where he heard about radioligand therapy for the first time.

Much as he would have liked to significantly increase supplies, Biosca-Reig said he couldn't justify investing millions of euros in new production lines unless he was paid more for the generic drug to cover sharply rising costs. European generic drugmakers say the tender system and regulated prices have fuelled a race to the bottom, and European firms are being undercut by suppliers from Asia. BRUSSELS, WE HAVE A PROBLEMThe European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Union lawmakers acknowledge there is a problem. Half the generic medicines sold in Spain are priced below 1.60 euros per box or bottle, the country's generics manufacturing association said. But companies with smaller market shares, such as Israel's Teva (TEVA.TA), which has 5% of the region's amoxicillin market according to Medicines for Europe, are constrained.

☆ Roche flags 2023 earnings decline on slump in Covid products
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A view of the Roche towers, designed by architects Herzog and de Meuron, the headquarters of the Swiss pharma giant Roche, in Basel. Roche warned of a decline in 2023 earnings, as revenue growth from new drugs including haemophilia treatment Hemlibra and multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus would not make up for a steep demand drop for Covid treatments and diagnostic testing. Sales and core earnings per share were expected to decrease at a "low single-digit" percentage this year, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement on Thursday. Last year, group revenue edged 1% higher to 63.3 billion Swiss francs ($69.78 billion), the company reported, beating market expectations of 63.2 billion francs, while core operating profit gained 1% to 22.2 billion Swiss francs, just shy of the average analyst estimate of 22.4 billion francs. The decline equates to 5 billion Swiss francs, in his estimate.

☆ Pharma CEOs say Mark Cuban's effort to upend the drug industry is 'a really great idea' but will be difficult to pull off
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Biopharma CEOs say his company Cost Plus Drugs could remove costs from the distribution system. Cuban told Insider in an email that he believed the company's pricing transparency was "an absolute positive for patients." The company started its pharmacy services last year and quickly racked up over 1 million accounts, Cuban told Insider recently. Cost Plus Drugs is focused on bringing down the price of generic medications, which no longer have patent protections but can still be expensive. Cuban told Insider that EQRx was in a "different business" than what he's attempting to build out.

☆ Top pharma CEO says Covid likely to become endemic, urges investment in pandemic preparedness
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Novartis said in August that it plans to spin off its generics unit Sandoz to sharpen its focus on its patented prescription medicines. The chief executive of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis on Thursday warned the coronavirus pandemic will likely settle into an endemic phase and renewed calls for policymakers to sufficiently finance pandemic preparedness. "If you look over the last two years, we have populations that have built up immunity, you have a virus that's continuing to make shifts, but I think what we're going to settle into is more of an endemic environment with respect to coronaviruses and the Covid virus specifically," Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis, told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Narasimhan, who has previously warned that future pandemics are bound to happen, made clear that world leaders must learn from the coronavirus crisis to be in a better place for future pandemics. "I think what is really important now is we turn our attention to pandemic preparedness for the future," Narasimhan said.

☆ U.S. FDA grants priority review to Roche's bispecific antibody Glofitamab
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ZURICH, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Roche (ROG.S) announced on Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review to the Swiss pharmaceutical company's bispecific antibody Glofitamab. Glofitamab is intended for patients with relapsed or refractory large b-cell lymphoma. The FDA is expected to make a decision on approval of the cancer immunotherapy by July 1, 2023. Reporting by Noele Illien; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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."

☆ The most expensive drug in the world has a $3.5 million price tag. 2 potential patients share their hopes and fears for the one-time treatment.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The FDA has approved a new gene therapy to treat hemophilia B, a genetic bleeding disorder. The drugmaker CSL Behring set a $3.5 million price for the one-time treatment. Lackey is learning to live with a severe case of hemophilia B, a rare genetic condition that keeps blood from clotting properly. But a critical unknown in judging CSL's $3.5 million price is the durability of the treatment. Lojewski said the $3.5 million price wasn't guided by other gene-therapy prices.

☆ The most expensive drug in the world just got approved at $3.5 million, and hemophilia patients are conflicted: 'Compared to what we pay, it doesn't seem too terrible.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The FDA has approved a new gene therapy to treat hemophilia B, a genetic bleeding disorder. Hemophilia patients told Insider they're excited about the new drug but worried about the price. Lackey is learning to live with a severe case of hemophilia B, a rare genetic condition that keeps blood from clotting properly. While the treatment breaks ground as the first approved gene therapy for hemophilia, its price is also unprecedented. Lojewski said the $3.5 million price wasn't guided by other gene-therapy prices.

☆ Outperforming asset manager picks the stocks set to win as margins get squeezed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"Consumers are going to have their purse strings pulled by utility bills, higher mortgage costs, higher petrol prices, and there's going to be margin squeeze." He said wage pressure and higher commodity prices were particularly challenging and could eat into companies' margins. Luxury Luxury stocks are another favorite for Armstrong. Moreover, the "massive" profit margins of luxury companies are also insulated from increases in input prices, he added. Within the space, Armstrong's fund owns French luxury goods companies LVMH and Hermes , given their "defendable margins" and the ability to be price setters.

☆ A top Wall Street analyst names 6 major events that could send biotech stocks soaring between now and the end of 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Cantor Fitzgerald analysts named six big events to mark on your calendar. While the majority of the expected events are set to come from smaller biotech companies, bigger companies — like Roche, Gilead, and Alnylam — have their own events coming through the pipeline. Here are the six major events from big biotech companies that could send stocks soaring:1. Cantor Fitzgerald analysts give Gilead's stock a neutral rating and they have an overweight rating on Arcus. Lenacapavir "could become a much bigger piece of the HIV growth narrative over the next few years," according to Cantor Fitzgerald analysts.

☆ Novartis to cut its Irish workforce by up to 25%
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBLIN, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Novartis (NOVN.S) said on Thursday that it would cut up to 400 jobs in Ireland, or about a quarter of its workforce there, as part of a previously announced restructuring programme that will cut 8,000 jobs globally. read moreThe changes could potentially impact around 400 staff at its global service centre in Dublin, Novartis said in a statement. It currently employs 1,500 people in Ireland, including 1,000 in the Dublin operation that it said will continue to play a critical role. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"Ireland is an important location for Novartis due to its unique eco-system of highly educated, skilled and adaptable workforce which is critical in the knowledge-intensive, high-science, pharma sector," Novartis AG said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Here's why Biogen's promising Alzheimer's drug data is also good news for Eli Lilly
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The move helped Eli Lilly notch a fresh 52-week high Wednesday, the only stock in the S & P 500 to do so. Bottom line Biogen's topline data appears to be encouraging, suggesting the Alzheimer's drug helped slowed cognitive decline. Plus, we think Eli Lilly has more going for it overall than Biogen, making it a more attractive investment. Drug background Like Biogen's Alzheimer's drug lecanemab, Lilly's donanemab is an antibody that tries to reduce buildup on the brain of the amyloid beta protein . The Eli Lilly logo is shown on one of the company's offices in San Diego, California, September 17, 2020.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSwiss drugmaker Novartis' logo is seen at the company's plant in the northern Swiss town of Stein, Switzerland October 23, 2017. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterIt ranked 10th in the U.S. market last year, the company added. Novartis also said it would focus in future on five areas for investment: cardiovascular, immunology, neuroscience, solid tumors and hematology medicine. The company last month said it planned to spin off Sandoz to sharpen its focus on its patented prescription medicines. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEditing by Mark Potter and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Why a top Roche scientist is leaving after 25 years to join a rising biotech startup using fungi to make new drugs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

After 25 years at the pharma giant Roche, the drug hunter Martin Stahl is leaving to join a biotech. CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts — A longtime drug-hunting veteran is leaving one of the largest drugmakers to lead the science division at the biotech startup LifeMine Therapeutics, Insider has learned. FogPharmaThe big draw for Stahl was LifeMine's approach to discovering drugs. With its genetic-database approach, LifeMine hopes to greatly speed up how long it takes to develop fungi-derived drugs. Stahl said LifeMine's approach leaned on nature, rather than medicinal chemists, to design the drugs.

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