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☆ Biocon Biologics is well-placed to take advantage of opportunities in the biosimilars space: CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBiocon Biologics is well-placed to take advantage of opportunities in the biosimilars space: CEOShreehas Tambe of Biocon Biologics discusses why he is optimistic about the prospects for the company.

Persons: Shreehas, Biocon Biologics

☆ Congress's UFO hearing shows the hardest part of discovering alien life may be announcing it. Here's how NASA might break the news.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

An illustration of the CoLD scale for determining confidence in a detection of alien life. The discovery of extraterrestrial life is likely to be a slow build-up, rather than an explosive eureka moment. The president or other countries could be involved in announcing extraterrestrial life existsPresident Joe Biden speaks at Delaware State University. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesAnnouncing the existence of alien life would be an "administration-level" affair, Glaze said, referring to the US presidency. Needless to say, any discovery of alien life would likely lead to chaos — at least in public discourse.

Persons: NASA isn't, David Grusch, Randall Hill, UAPs, Elon Musk, John Locher, Karine Jean, Pierre, we've, Lori Glaze, Glaze, James Webb, Jean, Philippe Arles, It's, Aaron Gronstal, Mary Voytek, Joe Biden, Anna Moneymaker, Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Stephen Hawking, I'm, we're Organizations: Service, NASA, Beijing, Reuters, Department of Defense, Associated Press, AP, White House, Navy, US Department of Defense, JPL, Caltech, Delaware State University Locations: Wall, Silicon, South Carolina, Surfside Beach , South Carolina, US, Alaska, Canada, Lake Huron, Rachel , Nevada, Bugarach, France

In a filing to Shanghai's stock exchange, CanSino said it would manufacture and supply unspecified mRNA products to AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca said the deal would support investigational mRNA vaccines in its early pipeline. The country approved in March its first homegrown mRNA vaccine against COVID, developed by CSPC Pharmaceutical Group (1093.HK). CanSino has been working on its own mRNA COVID vaccine, and said in February it was in discussion with Chinese regulators around the protocol for a late-stage study for its COVID mRNA booster vaccine, CS-2034. It also comes after vaccine maker Moderna (MRNA.O), which has said that it was keen to sell its mRNA vaccine to China, announced a deal last month to develop and manufacture mRNA medicines in the country.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Biologics, CanSino, Wang Wentao, Casey Hall, Ludwig Burger, Miyoung Kim, Mark Potter, Himani Organizations: AstraZeneca, REUTERS, HK, CSPC Pharmaceutical, CS, Communist Party, China's Commerce, Moderna, Thomson Locations: Swedish, China, Frankfurt

☆ Bernstein picks recession-beating global stocks for ‘value, growth and quality’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Investment bank Bernstein picked a raft of Chinese and Indian stocks in sectors including tech, pharma and IT, naming them on a list of "opportunities for value, growth and quality." "We believe that it is time to increase risk exposure in China by adding more high volatility stocks," the analysts wrote. "GPT can accelerate development of its business and give the company the tailwinds to reshape its strategy," the analysts wrote. Indian stock picks Indian drug company Sun Pharma is also on Bernstein's list of outperform-rated stocks. In India … they have outperformed the market," the analysts wrote, and they also praised Sun's specialty drug portfolio in the U.S.

Persons: Bernstein, Rupal Agarwal, India … Organizations: pharma, " Pharma, Wuxi, Baidu, Sun Pharma, U.S, Infosys, Reliance Industries, New Locations: Asia, China, Wuxi, India, Bangalore, New Commerce

☆ What is a UAP? What the acronym means, why they're different from UFOs, and what a Congressional hearing revealed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Recent testimonies before Congress and meetings with NASA have renewed interest in UAPs and UFOs. There are differences between UAPs and UFOs, especially related to potential proof of alien life. Here's everything you need to know about UAPs and UFOs — including what they stand for. The transition from using UFO to UAP was to better encompass a variety of phenomena and strange sightings. Bettmann/Getty ImagesUAP vs. UFOUFO — which stands for "unidentified flying object" — was coined by the Air Force in 1952.

Persons: David Grusch's, Kenneth Arnold, Nev, John Locher, David Fravor, Ryan Graves, Graves, Fravor, UAPs, — Organizations: NASA, Service, Air Force, UAP, CNN, Department of Defense, Pentagon, Getty, Military, Navy, Force, AP, New York Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, San Diego, Roswell , New Mexico, Rachel

☆ The ex-intel officer who testified the US has proof of aliens previously made the wild claim that the Vatican was part of a UFO cover-up
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An ex-intelligence officer told Congress this week that the US has evidence of "non-human" life. The whistleblower previously made a shocking claim that the Vatican was part of a 90-year cover-up. The Department of Defense has denied that a top-secret program with evidence of alien life exists. Then, shockingly, Grusch said Pope Pius XII "backchanneled that" and the Vatican "told the Americans what the Italians had and we ended up scooping it." He told NewsNation that he's coming forward now because the American people have a right to know that they are being lied to.

Persons: David Grusch, Grusch, that's, NewsNation, Benito Mussolini, Pope Pius XII, Ross Coulthart Organizations: Department of Defense, Service, Air Force, Department of, UAP, Force, Associated Press, NewsNation, Catholic Church, Vatican Locations: Wall, Silicon, Italy

☆ Nvidia invests $50 million in biotech company Recursion for A.I. drug discovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Chipmaker Nvidia will invest $50 million in Recursion Pharmaceuticals to speed up the development of the biotech firm's artificial intelligence models for drug discovery, the companies said Wednesday. AI models usually require vast amounts of data, typically measured in terabytes, to train them. Nvidia can then potentially license those AI models on BioNeMo, the company's cloud service for generative AI in drug discovery that it rolled out earlier this year. A month later, Google Cloud launched two new AI-powered tools that aim to help biotech and pharmaceutical companies accelerate drug discovery. The company in May acquired two companies in the AI-driven drug discovery space for $87.5 million.

Persons: Roche, Chris Gibson, Nvidia's, drugmakers, Exscientia, AbCellera Biologics, — CNBC's Benjamin Taubman Organizations: Nvidia, Pharmaceuticals, Bayer, NVIDIA, Moderna, Google Cloud Locations: Salt Lake City , Utah

☆ Coloplast buys fish skin woundcare firm for up to $1.3 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COPENHAGEN, July 7 (Reuters) - Coloplast (COLOb.CO) has agreed to buy Iceland-based Kerecis, a biologic wound care firm that uses fish skin to develop tissue-transplant products, for up to $1.3 billion, the Danish medical equipment maker said on Friday. "Kerecis represents an attractive opportunity to strategically strengthen Coloplast's presence in the advanced wound care market by entering the high-growth, U.S.-centric biologics segment," the Danish firm said in a statement. Coloplast said it expected the acquisition to be marginally dilutive to earnings in the short term but increasingly accretive from 2026-2027 onwards. As a result of the deal, Coloplast raised its long-term organic growth guidance to 8-10% from 7-9% previously, it said. Kerecis has developed and patented a technology platform based on intact fish skin from wild Atlantic cod, which is being used to treat burns and other complex acute and chronic wounds including diabetic, venous, trauma, and surgical wounds.

Persons: Coloplast, Kerecis, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Anna Ringstrom, Mark Potter Organizations: Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, Iceland, Danish, U.S

☆ Novavax to receive $350 million from Canada for unused COVID shots
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Novavax Inc FollowJuly 7 (Reuters) - Novavax Inc (NVAX.O) said on Friday Canada will pay $349.6 million to settle the forfeiting of certain doses of its COVID-19 vaccine previously scheduled for delivery. The U.S. vaccine maker also reached a deal with the country's public works and government services department to amend the advance purchase contract after a sharp decline in global demand left a raft of COVID-19 doses unused. The number of vaccine doses due for delivery has been reduced and the schedule for remaining doses to be shipped revised under the amended terms, the company said. The payment will be made in two equal installments in 2023 and the original value of the contract remains unchanged. Novovax – which has its COVID-19 vaccine as the only marketed product after 35 years in business – has raised doubts about its ability to remain in business, flagging uncertainties around its revenue and funding crunch.

Persons: –, Khushi, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Novavax, Canada, Biologics, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Samsung Biologics unveils $920 mln manufacturing deals for Pfizer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, July 4 (Reuters) - South Korea's Samsung Biologics (207940.KS) announced on Tuesday two deals with Pfizer (PFE.N) worth around a combined 1.2 trillion won ($921.38 million) to manufacture products for the U.S. pharmaceutical giant. The latest orders bring this year's combined tally of orders from Pfizer to $1.08 billion, Samsung Biologics said in a statement. Tuesday's announcements include a 922.7 billion won contract, as well as an additional 254.3 billion won order that is a follow-up to a deal previously announced in March. Samsung Biologics welcomed the orders as an expansion of a strategic partnership, adding that it had won total contracts worth 1.93 trillion won so far this year, surpassing last year's annual contract volume. Earlier this year, Samsung Biologics signed deals with Eli Lilly Kinsale and GlaxoSmithKline (GLAX.NS).

Persons: Samsung Biologics, Eli Lilly Kinsale, 1,302.4000, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies Organizations: Samsung, Pfizer, Samsung Group, GlaxoSmithKline, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea

☆ Samsung Biologics unveils $897 mln manufacturing deals for Pfizer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, July 4 (Reuters) - South Korea's Samsung Biologics (207940.KS) announced on Tuesday two deals with Pfizer (PFE.N) worth a combined $897 million to manufacture products for the U.S. pharmaceutical giant. The latest orders bring this year's combined tally of orders from Pfizer to $1.08 billion, Samsung Biologics said in a statement. Samsung Biologics welcomed the orders as an expansion of a strategic partnership, adding that its total contracts so far this year had already surpassed last year's annual contract volume. Earlier this year, Samsung Biologics signed deals with Eli Lilly Kinsale and GlaxoSmithKline (GLAX.NS). In March, Samsung Biologics announced a plan to invest 2 trillion won ($1.54 billion) through September 2025 to build a new factory in South Korea.

Persons: Samsung Biologics, Eli Lilly Kinsale, 1,302.8100, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies Organizations: Samsung, Pfizer, Samsung Group, GlaxoSmithKline, Samsung Biologics, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea

☆ Coherus BioSciences launches biosimilar version of AbbVie's blockbuster Humira
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 3 (Reuters) - Coherus BioSciences (CHRS.O) said on Monday it has launched a copycat version of AbbVie's (ABBV.N) Humira in the United States at a discount of more than 85% to the blockbuster arthritis drug. Coherus is the latest to launch a biosimilar to Humira in the U.S. market this month after Boehringer Ingelheim, Sandoz and Organon (OGN.N). Coherus said last month it would sell the biosimilar, branded as Yusimry, at $995 per carton, compared with the current list price of Humira of $6,922 per carton. The company has also partnered with billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban's pharmaceutical startup to sell the biosimilar at $569.27 plus dispensing and shipping fees. Usually prices fall, often dramatically, when multiple copycat versions of a widely-used medication enter the market.

Persons: Coherus, Boehringer Ingelheim, Mark, Sriparna Roy, Leroy Leo, Shounak Dasgupta, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Coherus BioSciences, Sandoz, Thomson Locations: United States, Humira, U.S, Organon, Bengaluru

☆ A portfolio manager at a $179 billion asset manager breaks down how he picks stocks that can endure a volatile economy — and shares 6 of his favorite names to buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Portfolio manager Elias Erickson focuses on finding stocks that can withstand market fluctuations. With the bull market still flourishing, current stock market conditions are a far cry from where they began the year. Coming off last October's market lows, a series of macroeconomic factors have given equities plenty of whiplash this year. "We're trying to buy businesses that will be adaptable to a variety of different macroeconomic environments," Erickson explained to Insider in an interview. Constellation Software, a Canadian-based acquirer of vertical market software, also makes up one of Erickson's largest positions.

Persons: Elias Erickson, Roger Altman, Paul Krugman, Elias Erickson isn't, Erickson, That's, Hermès, they've, Sartorius Organizations: SAP, Constellation Software, Constellation, Mastercard Locations: Canadian, Lonza

☆ Disease prevention is very important
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDisease prevention is important, not just for children or the elderly: CanSino Biologics chairmanYu Xuefeng, Chairman of CanSino Biologics discusses post-pandemic future for the wider healthcare sector and defends fall in the firm's stock price.

Persons: CanSino, Yu Xuefeng, CanSino Biologics

☆ U.S. regulators approve sale of cell-cultured chicken by two startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Proponents of cultured meat say it's healthier and more environmentally friendly than traditional meat. As a result of the decision, the USDA will inspect cultured meat facilities, just as it does traditional meat processing plants and slaughterhouses. The meat produced by Upside Foods and Good Meat will be labeled as "cell-cultivated chicken" when sold to consumers. Chef Jose Andres has placed the first order to sell Good Meat's cultured chicken to serve it in an undisclosed Washington, D.C., restaurant, the company said. Even armed with cash and regulatory approval, cultured meat startups face many hurdles before their products can become mainstream.

Persons: we're, Josh Tetrick, Joinn Biologics, Chef Jose Andres, Dominique Crenn, Uma Valeti Organizations: U.S . Department of Agriculture, USDA, Eat, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Foods, D.C, Companies, McKinsey Locations: U.S, Singapore, United States, Washington, San Francisco

☆ Eli Lilly CEO says Medicare price negotiations could harm drug development
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks on Tuesday said Medicare price negotiations, which aim to cut costs for older Americans, could potentially harm drug development. "I'm really worried about the harm this will do to new cures and possibilities in medicine," Ricks said in an interview on CNBC's "The Exchange." He's the latest pharmaceutical executive to publicly blast the provision and law at large, which will likely reduce company profits. Global drugmaker Merck last week sued the Biden administration over Medicare price negotiations in a bid to weaken the program. Under the IRA provision, Medicare can start negotiating prices on small-molecule drugs as early as nine years after they receive Food and Drug Administration approval, compared with 13 years for biologics.

Persons: Eli Lilly, David Ricks, I'm, Ricks Organizations: Biden, Global drugmaker Merck, Drug Administration

The company reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss and cut its annual revenue forecast for the second time, but strength in its biologics unit drove quarterly sales past tempered Wall Street estimates. Catalent's "results cleared an admittedly low bar", Stephens analyst Jacob Johnson said. "After a number of shoes dropping and a lot of noise recently, today was a good first or second step." Catalent reported a third-quarter loss of 9 cents per share, compared with Wall Street estimates for a loss of 3 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The company will also amend its 2022 results filing with a $26 million deduction caused by a revenue recognition error at its Bloomington plant.

Persons: Stephens, Jacob Johnson, Alessandro Maselli, Maselli, Catalent, Bhanvi Satija, Sriparna Roy, Devika Organizations: Novo Nordisk's, Thomson Locations: Maryland, Brussels, Indiana, Bloomington, Bengaluru

☆ TipRanks reveals the top 10 health care sector analysts of the past decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

TipRanks leveraged its Experts Center tool to recognize the ones with a high success rate. We also analyzed each stock recommendation made by health care sector analysts in the past decade. TipRanks' algorithms calculated the statistical significance of each rating, average return and the analysts' overall success rate. The buy recommendation generated a return of 397.9% from May 12, 2020 to May 12, 2021. Boris Peaker - TD CowenBoris Peaker has the 10th spot on the list, with a success rate of 47%.

☆ Citi names its top biotech and pharma stock picks, giving one nearly 90% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The healthcare sector outperformed in Europe, India and China last month, according to Citi, which named its top picks worldwide. It gave Amylyx a price target of $53, giving it upside of around 88% from current levels. It gave Beam a price target of $60, implying upside of around 67%. Other European picks from Citi include Swiss healthcare company Roche and British pharma and biotech firm AstraZeneca . Asia stocks In Asia, Citi named Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo , South Korean biotech firm Samsung Biologics and China's Wuxi Biologics as top picks.

The buyout consortium has turned to other private equity firms to help fund the deal as direct lenders, one of the sources added. There is no certainty that Warburg Pincus and Advent will successfully complete negotiations to acquire the unit and Baxter may still opt to sell to another bidder or keep the business, according to the sources. Baxter, Warburg and Advent did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Baxter's biopharma solutions unit supports drugmakers in the formulation, development and commercialization of drugs typically given by infusion or injection, such as biologics and vaccines. The company said dialysis operations, which are a part of Baxter's renal care unit, had become a drag on its margin.

☆ A drug company abandoned a treatment for ‘bubble boy disease.’ After a 5-year fight, this little girl is about to get it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Elizabeth Cohen Lauren Mascarenhas | Elizabeth Cohen | Lauren Mascarenhas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +29 min

The Sulacks weighed their options: Have a transplant with a match that was less than ideal – far less – or wait for gene therapy to become available. The news release didn’t say anything else about the SCID gene therapy. Or was the company abandoning its plans for SCID gene therapy altogether? In February, 2021, the parents of more than 20 children who were waiting for the gene therapy treatment, including the Sulacks, wrote a letter to Gaspar. Insurance companies have sometimes balked at paying for gene therapy, which is typically given in one treatment.

☆ Il Makiage parent Oddity buys biotech startup Revela to design new molecules for beauty products
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oddity is buying startup Revela for $76 million, its largest acquisition to date, and is putting another $25 million toward building Oddity Labs in Boston. The merger will bring to Oddity a team of scientists tasked with creating brand-new molecules, using artificial intelligence, that can be used in its cosmetics brands and future lines. AI-based molecule discovery is a common tool used in the pharmaceutical industry to create new drugs, but it isn't widely used in the beauty and wellness industry. Legacy brands have long relied on building products using proprietary formulations with a similar set of active ingredients, such as retinol, hyaluronic acid and peptides. "With this acquisition, we are using biologics to bring game-changing, science-backed beauty and wellness products to the market and to our users.

☆ US FDA to take steps to help gene therapies get accelerated approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is moving to optimize the development of gene therapies, including encouraging the use of biomarkers to help get accelerated approval of therapies for serious conditions, an agency official said. The FDA will support using biomarkers as substitutes for other biological indicators in gene-therapy clinical trials to help clinch "accelerated approval", the agency's Peter Marks said on Monday. The U.S. health regulator grants the so-called accelerated approval mainly for drugs and therapies targeted at rare diseases or small patient populations that have had no effective treatments available to them. "The FDA views gene therapy as an excellent opportunity to expedite the delivery of potentially life-saving therapies to patients with rare diseases," said Marks, who heads the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in a statement. The company is seeking approval for its gene therapy under the FDA's accelerated pathway.

March 20 (Reuters) - U.S. scientific instruments maker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (TMO.N) and South Korea's Celltrion Inc (068270.KS) are among those competing to acquire the biopharma solutions business of medical device maker Baxter International Inc (BAX.N), according to people familiar with the matter. Baxter, which has a market value of $19 billion, had total debt of $16.6 billion as of the end of December. Private equity firms, including KKR & Co (KKR.N) and Carlyle Group (CG.O), have also expressed interest in the Baxter business, the sources said. Baxter said in January it was exploring alternatives for its biopharma solutions business and would also spin off its kidney care units. Baxter's biopharma solutions unit supports drugmakers in the formulation, development and commercialization of drugs typically given by infusion or injection, such as biologics and vaccines.

☆ FDA authorizes Pfizer's Covid omicron booster as fourth shot for kids under 5
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized Pfizer's omicron booster shot for kids under five years old who were previously vaccinated with three doses of the company's original vaccine. The new shot is bivalent, meaning it targets the original Covid strain as well as omicron BA.4 and BA.5. Pfizer's primary series for young children consists of three doses, while rival drugmaker Moderna's primary series for that same age group is only two. Since December, children in that age group who completed two doses of Pfizer's original vaccine have been eligible to receive the omicron booster as their third shot, or last dose in their primary series. One month after the children received the omicron booster, they demonstrated an immune response to both the original Covid strain and omicron BA.5 and BA.5

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