DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ People Can't Get Ozempic, New Weight-Loss Drugs Because of Broken Healthcare System
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Wegovy is just one of a wave of revolutionary weight-loss drugs, which also includes the buzzy Ozempic, that represents a watershed moment for obesity treatment. Demand for weight-loss drugs is surgingDoctors and healthcare professionals searched for a healthy, safe, and effective weight-loss solution for years before the drugs, known collectively as GLP-1 agonists, exploded on the scene. If there is one key that could unlock access to expensive weight-loss drugs for Americans, it's Medicare. Expanding coverage for Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs for just a small segment of the population could cost Medicare up to $26.8 billion a year. Patients lose outYears from now, patients may have an easier time getting their hands on weight-loss drugs.

☆ The 13 startups to watch in the $100 billion market for buzzy new weight-loss drugs like Ozempic
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Healthcare startups are launching to prescribe weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic. They're chasing what's projected to be a $100 billion market for the drugs. Venture-backed health startups are vying for a piece of the booming market for new prescription drugs designed to help with weight loss. Many startups offering weight-loss drugs have flooded social media platforms with ads for the shots. Insider rounded up 13 venture-backed startups competing for customers in the lucrative GLP-1 weight-loss market, listed from least to most funding raised.

☆ 3 reasons digital-healthcare pioneer Hims is staying out of the latest weight-loss craze for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

'As startups dive into prescribing hot new weight loss drugs, Hims & Hers is taking a backseat. Its CEO said Hims wants to offer GLP-1s for weight loss, but thinks it's too early. He cited challenges in the young market like insurers refusing to cover GLP-1s and drug shortages. After Hims & Hers' first profitable quarter ever, the startup is thinking about getting in on telehealth's weight-loss craze. An 'inconsistent' supply chainExploding demand for the new weight-loss drugs has also resulted in shortages, which affect all patients prescribed GLP-1s, not just those using the drugs for weight loss.

☆ I tried intermittent fasting like Elon Musk. I felt bad when I broke my fast, but food had never tasted so good.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I tried intermittent fasting for a month, and I felt less tired and more productive at work. I talked to the fitness coach Farren Morgan, who explained that intermittent fasting focuses on when — not what — you eat. "Most people find it easy to stick to this particular fasting plan because it's achievable and sustainable long-term," he said. He advised anyone considering intermittent fasting to first consult their doctor, especially if they have a preexisting medical condition. A study published in the National Library of Medicine actually found that, for some people, intermittent fasting reduced fatigue.

☆ 13 startups vying for a slice of the $100 billion market for buzzy new weight-loss drugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

☆ Why Novo Nordisk's Drugs are Anti-Obesity Game-Changers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhy Novo Nordisk's Drugs are Anti-Obesity Game-ChangersWeight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are getting all the buzz lately — discussed on social media, whispered about at dinner parties and endorsed by celebs and tech billionaires. All good news for Danish biopharma Novo Nordisk, which manufactures both medications and has seen sales skyrocket in response to strong global demand.

☆ Explainer: After COVID and drug shortages, EU revamps drug laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Commission aims to publish a draft - the biggest overhaul of existing medical laws in two decades - on April 26. A Commission spokesperson said: "The Commission will put forward a balanced and patient-centred proposal, whilst fully supporting an innovative and competitive industry." If the EU health regulator approves a new use for the medicine, they get another year, bringing the total to 11. Fourteen member states have written to the Commission, criticising the idea as costly and harmful for consumers as it could disrupt the generic drugs market. Once the Commission publishes the draft, the European Parliament, Commission and member states will thrash out final details.

☆ EU backs use of Novo Nordisk's weight loss drug in adolescents
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 31 (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency said on Friday its committee has recommended expanding the use of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) weight loss drug in adolescents aged 12 years and older. Novo's Wegovy, a semaglutide-based drug, activates GLP-1, a hormone that triggers the feeling of fullness in the body after eating. It has been approved in the U.S. and European Union for treatment of obesity in adults. The company did not indicate a timeline for its plans to launch the drug, already available in Denmark and Norway, in other EU countries. Earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics also recommended use of weight-loss drugs in children aged 12 years or older.

☆ As weight-loss drugs hit the U.S. market, doctors debate how to use them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] The American Medical Association logo is seen at their office in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/March 30 (Reuters) - As powerful new obesity drugs enter the U.S. market, medical associations are keen to advise their members on how to best use them for patients. "These new compounds are game changers, there's no doubt about it," said Anthony Comuzzie, chief executive of The Obesity Society. The group last provided obesity treatment guidelines in 2013 alongside the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. OBESITY AS A DISEASEThe American Medical Association, the nation’s largest medical group, recognized obesity as a disease in 2013.

REUTERS/Daniel BecerrilLONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Drugs that combat obesity could for the first time be included on the World Health Organization's "essential medicines list," used to guide government purchasing decisions in low- and middle-income countries, the U.N. agency told Reuters. A panel of advisers to the WHO will review new requests for drugs to be included next month, with an updated essential medicines list due in September. The request to consider obesity drugs was submitted by three doctors and a researcher in the United States. The majority – 70% - live in low- and middle-income countries. EXPANDING ACCESSIncluding obesity drugs among the WHO's essential medicines could have great significance for that population.

☆ People taking obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy gain weight once they stop medication
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Patients taking blockbuster obesity drugs Ozempic or Wegovy will pack the pounds back on after they stop taking the medications. Studies have similarly shown weight rebound in people who stop taking Ozempic. So has Ozempic, which was first authorized to treat diabetes and is now being used off-label for weight loss. The shortage and other factors like out-of-pocket costs without insurance or unpleasant side effects have forced some people to stop taking Ozempic or Wegovy. Conde-Knape said so far data indicate that weight loss is maintained with long-term use of the drugs.

☆ Viking joins obesity drug race after promising early trial data
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Mariam Esunny | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 28 (Reuters) - Viking Therapeutics Inc's (VKTX.O) experimental obesity drug helped reduce weight and was safe in an early-stage study, the company said on Tuesday, sparking a 60% rise in its shares. While Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) already has its obesity drug, Wegovy, in the market, Eli Lilly is expecting approval for its treatment later this year. That could also make Viking a potential acquisition target, Laidlaw & Company analyst Yale Jen said. Viking said it was planning to test higher doses of the drug over a longer treatment window in a mid-stage trial, versus a shorter limit in the current, early-stage trial. Shares of Viking were trading at $14.15, bringing the drugmaker closer to a market capitalization of $1 billion.

☆ 'Sell into rallies': Morgan Stanley names the stocks to navigate current European banking jitters
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In the wake of recent market volatility and steep share price falls, Morgan Stanley cautioned that the European banking sector is "not as attractive as it was." Morgan Stanley strategists cautioned that although the banking sector is now cheaper, news flow surrounding earnings upgrades and cash return expectations may fade or reverse. On a top-down basis, Morgan Stanley recommended the following overweight-rated (a buy equivalent rating) stocks to navigate this environment with a defensive exposure. Stocks in traditionally defensive sectors, such as health care and utilities, are being recommended by Morgan Stanley. However, Morgan Stanley said the banking sector's problems have shifted this perspective, as the outperformance of European banks has been closely tied to the broader European market.

☆ The Fed hiked rates further but Wall Street is already pointing to tighter conditions on the ground
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jason Ma | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Between fighting inflation or the bank crisis, the Federal Reserve leaned toward the former. Wednesday's move comes despite the bank crisis, which previously led investors to price in a series of Fed rate cuts starting this summer. Indeed, Wall Street has started pointing to the facts on the ground when it comes to financial conditions. The banks are still tightening credit conditions and … non-bank lenders are as well," he told Bloomberg TV hours before the Fed meeting. Billionaire investor Mark Mobius says he is "very, very skeptical" of investing in bank stocks.

☆ Drug developer 89Bio soars as NASH drug succeeds in mid-stage study
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 22 (Reuters) - Drug developer 89Bio Inc <ETNB.O> said on Wednesday its experimental treatment for liver disease NASH met the main goals of a small mid-stage study, sending its shares 30% higher. The drug, pegozafermin, helped reduce liver scarring known as fibrosis as measured on two different scales in patients with NASH, or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, trial data showed. 89Bio said the drug, administered both weekly and every two weeks in the trial, had a safety profile similar to older trials. In the trial, the drug helped significantly reduce fibrosis or liver scarring without the worsening of NASH, compared to a placebo. NASH, a form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, is characterized by the organ developing fibrosis or scarring, which can progress to cirrhosis and liver failure.

March 21 (Reuters) - Altimmune Inc's (ALT.O) experimental obesity drug helped reduce weight by over 10% on average in a mid-stage trial, the company said on Tuesday, but safety concerns sent its shares tumbling more than 50%. Wolleben added that the drug showed " a little bit worse" tolerability than previous data. Patients who received a 2.4 milligram dose of Altimmune's experimental drug, pemvidutide, achieved average weight loss of 10.7% at the end of week 24, the company said. The data looked competitive to mid-stage data from Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) obesity drug Wegovy and Eli Lilly's (LLY.N) candidate for the condition, most analysts said. While Novo Nordisk's drug Wegovy is already available, Lilly expects approval for its obesity drug candidate, tirzepatide, this year.

☆ Morgan Stanley's case for six Club names, including Alphabet and Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In a research note Tuesday, Morgan Stanley identified its "best long-term picks" for 2025, in line with our approach for assessing companies. Six names on Morgan Stanley's list were Club holdings, all of which the firm rated a buy. Alphabet (GOOGL): Morgan Stanley analysts think artificial intelligence (AI) will create a new growth opportunities at Google parent Alphabet in its core products, including its search engine, YouTube and cloud offerings. Morgan Stanley has price target of of $135 per share on the stock. Eli Lilly (LLY): The pharmaceuticals giant is well-positioned within the U.S. due to its strong pipeline of drugs and "robust new product cycles," Morgan Stanley analysts argued.

☆ Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic back in supply in US after months of shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 17 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) best-selling diabetes treatment drug Ozempic is back on the shelves in the United States after months of shortage, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website showed on Friday. The main active ingredient in Ozempic is semaglutide, also the key ingredient in Novo's obesity drug Wegovy, which has been seeing supply shortage due to high demand. The company said the 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and the 1 mg doses of Ozempic are available for patients. The 2 mg dose, however, has limited availability until the end of this month, largely due to the demand coupled with overall global supply constraints. "While product continues to be manufactured and shipped, patients in some areas of the country will experience delays with the 2mg dose," Novo Nordisk said.

☆ Sanofi to cut price of its most-prescribed insulin by 78% in US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - Sanofi SA (SASY.PA) said on Thursday it would cut U.S. list prices by 78% for its most-prescribed insulin product starting next year, following rivals Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) and Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.N). The move comes as U.S. President Joe Biden has pushed to extend to most Americans the $35 cap on out-of-pocket insulin costs made available to Medicare recipients by the Inflation Reduction Act. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly bowed to political pressure earlier this month to make these life-sustaining diabetes treatments more affordable. Reporting by Patrick Wingrove in New York, Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Novo Nordisk suspended from UK lobby group
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Natalie Grover | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABPI's statement linked to a website of a self-regulatory body run by the association that pointed to a complaint alleging that Novo Nordisk had sponsored courses on weight management on LinkedIn for health professionals, without making clear the company's involvement. The move amounted to "bribing health professionals with an inducement to prescribe," the complaint alleged. In response, Novo said that it had agreed to provide sponsorship to ensure that health professionals would receive training from a reputable provider, but that it had supported the activity at "arms length". Novo is the market leader in the rapidly growing area of weight loss through medicinal treatment rather than only dieting or exercising. Novo has since developed a more effective obesity treatment called Wegovy, which has been in great demand globally and is being lined up for its UK launch.

☆ Sanofi to cut US price of its most-prescribed insulin by 78%
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In addition to Lantus, Sanofi said it will cut by 70% the list price for its fast-acting insulin, Apidra. The branded list price of Lantus is $438.07 for the pre-filled pens and $292.07 for a 10 ml vial. Rival Novo Nordisk on Tuesday said it would cut U.S. list prices for several insulin products by up to 75% next year. That followed Lilly's March 2 decision to cut list prices by 70% for Humalog and Humulin, its most commonly prescribed insulin products. Most Americans with insurance do not regularly pay list price for insulin, but they may have an insurance co-pay based on the drug's list price or pay full price up to a certain amount of money spent.

☆ Facing political pressure, Sanofi follows Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk in slashing insulin prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sanofi already offers a $35 monthly cap on insulin for uninsured diabetes patients. The company is the last major insulin manufacturer to try to head off government efforts to cap monthly costs by announcing its own steep price cuts for the lifesaving hormone. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk made similar sweeping cuts earlier this month after years of political pressure and public outrage over the high costs of diabetes care. President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act capped monthly insulin costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $35, but it did not provide protection to diabetes patients who are covered by private insurance. Approximately 8.4 million diabetes patients rely on insulin, the American Diabetes Association said.

☆ As markets turn rocky, these global stocks look resilient and are expected to rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Stocks slid, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its fifth straight day of declines on Monday, while the 2-year Treasury yield tumbled . The screen threw up a mix of health care, consumer, utility and even some financial stocks. Canadian financial services firm Fairfax Financial Holdings and Japanese natural gas provider Tokyo Gas got among the highest expected earnings growth for this year – at more than 150% each. British bank HSBC also made it to the list, with nearly 50% expected earnings growth and 23% average upside. Italian luxury sports car maker Ferrari made the screen, with 21% expected earnings growth and around 20% upside.

☆ How GSK plans to replenish its depleted medicine cabinet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

GSK has since suffered a series of clinical trial setbacks in its cancer drugs portfolio, most recently last year involving ovarian cancer drug Zejula and blood cancer drug Blenrep. BLOCKBUSTER POTENTIALAnalysts say that despite a string of strong quarterly earnings, lingering concerns over the company's drug pipeline reflect in GSK's share price. The investor said he does not see enough GSK drugs, either on the market or in development, with potential to be a so-called "blockbusters" with annual sales exceeding $1 billion. But Wood said the overhauled R&D department has put GSK in a strong position to meet growth targets. U.S. regulatory approval on GSK's vaccine, and a rival vaccine developed by Pfizer, is expected in May.

Although insulin list prices are high in the U.S., drugmakers typically pay substantial rebates to private insurers and government programs, resulting in lower prices for most Americans with insurance. U.S.-listed Novo Nordisk shares rose as much as 1.7% to $142.95, while Denmark-listed shares closed marginally higher on Tuesday. Eli Lilly shares were down slightly. "I think it is a relatively natural consequence of what we have seen their competitor Eli Lilly do. Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk make up 90% of the U.S. market for insulin.

Search resuls for: "nordisk"

25 mentions found