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☆ Merck scraps third prostate cancer study as Keytruda therapy disappoints
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Bhanvi Satija | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The setbacks were likely to put Merck further behind in its quest to develop a treatment for advanced forms of the most common cancer type in the United States. It had in January stopped a late-stage study of the drug in some prostate cancer patients. An interim analysis showed the combination therapy did not extend survival or help extend the time a patient lives without the disease worsening compared to placebo, Merck said. Merck was testing its blockbuster immunotherapy in combination with androgen deprivation therapy and Xtandi, made by Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Astellas Pharma Inc (4503.T), in patients with an advanced form of treatment-resistant prostate cancer. Additionally, Merck said another combination treatment with Keytruda did not meet the main goal in a separate late-stage study for a type of lung cancer that can spread to other parts of the body.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Beyond Meat, Live Nation, Yeti, Boeing and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Live Nation — The ticker seller fell 9%, despite reporting fourth-quarter revenue of $4.29 billion, up about 60% year over year and topping StreetAccount's estimate of $3.6 billion. EOG Resources — The energy company dropped 5.1% after reporting fourth-quarter earnings, excluding items, that were short of analysts' expectations, according to StreetAccount. Etsy — Etsy slipped 4.8%, a day after gaining more than 2% on its fourth-quarter earnings beat. The company also offered cautious guidance for its first quarter, anticipating $2.95 billion to $3.15 billion in gross merchandise revenue. However, Autodesk beat fourth-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines, according to Refinitiv.

☆ Moderna CEO to testify in senate on proposed vaccine price hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Senator Bernie Sanders said on Wednesday Moderna Inc's (MRNA.O) chief executive officer Stéphane Bancel will testify next month in front of the senate on the drugmaker's plans to raise the price of its coronavirus vaccine. In January, Sanders had written to Bancel to refrain from quadrupling the price of COVID-19 vaccine, after Moderna said it was considering pricing its vaccine at $110 to $130 per dose in the United States, when it shifts from government contracting to commercial distribution. Moderna also added that uninsured patient can buy the vaccine through Moderna's patient assistance program at no cost. Sanders, chairman of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, has railed against high drug prices and backed Medicare-for-all. Reporting by Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The company also predicted a return to growth in China, one of its key markets, after reporting a second consecutive quarter of growth even as prices remain under pressure. Sales of its best-selling cancer drugs — Tagrisso, Imfinzi and Lynparza — came in just below estimates from Cowen analysts. Sales started to pick up in the second half of 2022 and in the fourth quarter grew by 3% at constant currency rates. Of key interest to investors is the experimental cancer drug, datopotamab deruxtecan, being evaluated in a keenly anticipated late-stage trial involving lung cancer patients. Partner Daiichi Sankyo (4568.T) this month said results of that study have been delayed to the second quarter from the first quarter of 2023.

☆ Morning Bid: Lights, camera, action
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Investors are pricing in a quarter-of-a-percentage-point increase in the Fed's benchmark interest rate, which would mark the smallest hike since U.S. central bankers kicked off their tightening cycle 10 months ago with one the same size. But the forecasts still risk lagging behind policymakers' guidance on how high rates will go. The Bank of England is also expected to raise its interest rates by half a percentage point to 4% on Thursday. For today, European markets will focus on euro zone January flash PMI data, while results are due from Vodafone (VOD.L), GSK (GSK.L) and Novartis (NOVN.S). Germany and Italy figured among the biggest euro zone countries that recorded negative growth rates for the quarter but France and Spain expanded.

LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - GSK (GSK.L) chief executive Emma Walmsley on Wednesday made replenishing the drugmaker's pipeline of vaccines and therapies her number-one priority. But analysts say there is not enough in the medicine cabinet to keep the momentum going even beyond the next few years. Meanwhile, analysts say the market for Shingrix will eventually become saturated, further limiting the company's growth prospects. GSK shares lagR&D SPENDGSK's spending on R&D has long lagged behind its peers, something activist investor Elliott highlighted in a 2021 letter pressuring the company to make sweeping changes. Lucy Coutts, investment director at wealth management firm JM Finn, which holds GSK shares, there is hope the company will eventually deliver a streamlined and specialist portfolio of blockbuster drugs.

☆ Futures drop as earnings roll in, Fed rate decision in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Fourth-quarter earnings season took center stage, with Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) down 2.6%, as the heavy equipment maker reported a drop in quarterly profit on higher manufacturing costs. Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) slid 3.2% after the drugmaker's full-year revenue outlook for its COVID-19 products fell short of expectations. As many as 140 S&P 500 companies had reported earnings for the fourth-quarter by Monday. ET, Dow e-minis were down 111 points, or 0.33%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 11 points, or 0.27%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 50.25 points, or 0.42%. (This story has been corrected to say Caterpillar reported a drop in quarterly profit, not missed analysts' estimates, in paragraph 2)Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

FRANKFURT, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A top-10 shareholder of Bayer (BAYGn.DE) on Tuesday called on the group's supervisory board head to replace chief executive Werner Baumann quickly, adding to investor pressure to restore trust and revive the German drugmaker's sagging share price. But shareholders have also cited a lack of market trust in its top management as a growing burden. "When it comes to CEO succession we say: the sooner the better," Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at Union Investment, one of Bayer's 10 biggest shareholders, told Reuters. Union Investment's Manns cautioned that the non-executive supervisory board may need time to find a qualified candidate. A Bayer spokesperson said the company was always open to a constructive dialogue with shareholders and declined to comment further.

Jan 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes were set to open higher on Tuesday after wage growth data pointed to easing inflation ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates. U.S. labor costs increased less than expected last quarter as wage growth slowed, suggesting that the central bank's aggressive approach to taming inflation was taking hold. "Labor costs are still high, but this means costs have come down, and that's a key factor for future wage inflation." The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell after the labor costs data, and was last at 3.50% compared to 3.55% on Monday. The world's largest parcel delivery firm United Parcel Service(UPS.N) also added 1.9% on strong quarterly earnings.

☆ Pfizer expects 2023 sales to decline by as much as 33% compared with record-breaking 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pfizer on Tuesday issued sales guidance of $67 billion to $71 billion for 2023, a decline from its record-breaking 2022 results. The pharmaceutical company booked $100.3 billion for full-year 2022, an all-time high driven by more than $50 billion in Covid vaccine and antiviral sales. Pfizer expects revenue for 2023 to decline up to 33% compared with 2022 as the pandemic eases and demand for its Covid portfolio slides. The company expects $13.5 billion in Covid vaccine sales in 2023 and $8 billion in revenue for Paxlovid. The company booked net income $31.4 billion in 2022, a 43% increase over 2021.

U.S. labor costs increased at their slowest pace in a year in the fourth quarter as wage growth slowed, bolstering expectations of the Fed slowing the pace of its interest rate increases. "As the Fed meeting begins today, they'll be looking at every index that could give them a better judgment on inflation and this is one of them," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities LLC. "Labor costs are still high, but this means costs have come down, and that's a key factor for future wage inflation." United Parcel Service (UPS.N) jumped 4% on strong quarterly earnings, boosting the Dow Jones Transport Average index (.DJT). The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 32 new highs and 14 new lows.

☆ Merck scraps Keytruda trial for prostate cancer after dismal interim data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 25 (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N) said on Wednesday it was discontinuing a late-stage trial of its blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda in some prostate cancer patients after interim data showed it was unlikely to meet the study's main goals. The interim analysis showed the therapy did not extend survival or help extend the time a patient lives without the disease worsening, the U.S. drugmaker said. The trial had enrolled 1,251 patients who received the combination therapy with Keytruda or a placebo. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the United States with nearly 270,000 new cases and 34,500 deaths in the country in 2022, according to government data estimates. Separately, Merck said Keytruda in combination with a chemotherapy showed significant improvement in overall survival in patients with an advanced type of bile duct cancer.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Netflix, Alphabet, Nordstrom, PagerDuty and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Separately, Barclays upgraded shares of PVH , which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein brands, to overweight. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals — The pharmaceutical giant gained 1% in the premarket after being upgraded to overweight from neutral by JPMorgan. Nordstrom — Shares of the retailer fell 7% in premarket trading after Nordstrom announced that its holiday sales fell 3.5% year over year. Macy's — Retail stocks such as Macy's declined following disappointing holiday sales from Nordstrom. Correction: Nordstrom reported disappointing holiday sales numbers, not its latest quarterly figures.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Netflix, Coinbase, Alphabet, SVB Financial & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

SVB Financial — Shares surged 16%, a day after Wells Fargo said SVB Financial seems like the "deal of the century" and said the bank "remains the trusted partner of the innovation economy." SVB Financial also reported an earnings miss Thursday, but its fourth-quarter net interest of $1.05 billion beat StreetAccount's estimate of $1.01 billion. PPG Industries — Shares of PPG Industries climbed 5.2% after the company reported earnings that were in line with analyst estimates. PagerDuty — The software stock jumped more than 5% after being upgraded to overweight from equal weight by Morgan Stanley. Ally Financial — The financial stock rallied a whopping 19% after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

The law targets fraud and abuse, such as bribery, in federal healthcare programs including Medicare, which provides coverage for the elderly and disabled. Pfizer contends the government's interpretation of the law was blocking access to critical medical care. New York-based Pfizer's medication, also known as tafamidis, treats a rare heart condition known as transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy that can lead to progressive heart failure. Given the drug's high price, patients would need to bear yearly co-payments of roughly $13,000, with Medicare covering the rest. Pfizer's proposal sought to assist "middle-income" patients who do not qualify for low-income co-pay support but might still be deterred by its cost.

☆ Eli Lilly has spent years and billions of dollars in search of an effective Alzheimer's drug. But success is not all or nothing for the stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +22 min

Eli Lilly (LLY) has spent decades researching Alzheimer's disease without successfully bringing to market a treatment that slows the memory-destroying condition. For Eli Lilly as a company, an Alzheimer's drug is an important pursuit. Lilly's Alzheimer's history Eli Lilly's "first real foray" into Alzheimer's came in the 1990s, according to Dr. John Sims, Eli Lilly's head of medical development for donanemab. Financial implications for Lilly LLY mountain 2021-10-08 The Club started a new position in Eli Lilly (LLY) in October 2021. The Eli Lilly logo is shown on one of the company's offices in San Diego, California, September 17, 2020.

☆ A columnist easily tricked Elon Musk's new Twitter verification system by posing as a US senator
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Posing as US Senator Ed Markey, he paid $8 for a Twitter Blue account. Instead, he wanted users to be able to pay for verification through Twitter Blue. At that time, Fowler created his first fake verified Markey account, saying it took mere "minutes." In November, Twitter put Twitter Blue on hold, with Musk saying the platform needed more time to safeguard against impersonation with "high confidence." To help ensure the credibility of paid users, Twitter now asks them to connect a phone number to their accounts, among other requirements.

In 2022, drugmakers raised prices on more than 1,400 drugs according to data published by 46brooklyn, a drug pricing non-profit that is related to 3 Axis. The median drug price increase was 4.9% last year, while the average increase was 6.4%, according to 46brooklyn. Antonio Ciaccia, president of 3 Axis, said that drugmakers have focused on launching their drugs at higher prices because of the attention paid to annual price increases. More drug prices are likely to be announced over the course of January - historically the biggest month for drugmakers to raise prices. Sanofi plans to raise prices on 14 of its drugs or vaccines.

Companies Pfizer Inc FollowDec 16 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday tossed a lawsuit by a group of medical professionals alleging a fellowship program established by Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) to improve diversity within its higher ranks discriminates against white and Asian-American applicants. Do No Harm, a group opposed to what it calls "radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideologies" in healthcare, alleged the drugmaker's Breakthrough Fellowship Program was discriminatory because only Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans could apply. Pfizer in a statement welcomed the ruling, saying it was "proud of its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion." Pfizer launched the fellowship in 2021. Fellows receive two years of full-time jobs, fully funded master's degrees, and employment at New York-based Pfizer after completing the program.

☆ China Meheco Group shares jump after agreement to import Pfizer's COVID treatment paxlovid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Shares of China Meheco Group (600056.SS) surged after the Chinese drug seller signed an agreement with Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) to import and distribute the U.S. drugmaker's oral COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid in mainland China. Meheco shares opened up 10% in Shanghai. Reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] People line up next to a medical worker in a protective suit, at a fever clinic of a hospital amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Beijing, China December 15, 2022. The pivot away from President Xi Jinping's signature "zero-COVID" policy followed unprecedented widespread protests against it. But, WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan said COVID-19 infections were exploding in China well before the government's decision to phase out its stringent regime. There are increasing signs of chaos during China's exit from the zero-COVID policy - with long queues outside fever clinics, runs on medicines, and panic buying across the country. China Meheco Group Co Ltd (600056.SS) said on Wednesday it signed a deal to import the U.S. drugmaker's treatment.

☆ China Meheco to distribute Pfizer's COVID treatment in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Alessandro DiviggianoHONG KONG, Dec 14 (Reuters) - China Meheco Group Co Ltd (600056.SS) said on Wednesday it signed an agreement with Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) to import and distribute the U.S. drugmaker's oral COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid in mainland China, as the country braces for a surge in COVID patients after scaling back its "zero COVID" policy. The agreement is valid between Dec. 14 and Nov. 30, 2023, China Meheco said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange. Pfizer last year said it could produce up to 120 million courses of Paxlovid this year. As of Nov. 30, Pfizer had shipped almost 37 million courses of Paxlovid to 52 countries around the world, it said in a statement. The U.S. government announced a deal on Tuesday to buy an additional 3.7 million Paxlovid courses for nearly $2 billion, supplementing the 20 million courses already purchased by the United States.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket: Oracle, Boeing, Moderna and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Peter Schacknow | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Boeing (BA) – Boeing rose 2.2% in premarket action after United Airlines (UAL) announced a 200-jet order that includes 100 787 Dreamliners and 100 737 Max jets, with options for further purchases. Moderna (MRNA) – The drugmaker announced that its experimental melanoma vaccine combined with Merck (MRK) cancer treatment Keytruda cut the risk of skin cancer recurrence by 44% compared with a treatment of only Keytruda. First Solar (FSLR) – First Solar rose 1.1% in premarket trading following news that it will replace Fortune Brands Home & Security (FBHS) in the S&P 500. Mirati Therapeutics (MRTX) – Mirati Therapeutics surged 8.6% in premarket trading after the drugmaker's new lung cancer treatment adagrasib received Food and Drug Administration approval. Fiverr (FVR) – Fiverr added 1.1% in premarket trading after Citi initiated coverage of the stock with a "buy" rating.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket: Horizon Therapeutics, Coupa Software, Rivian and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Peter Schacknow | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Coupa Software (COUP) – Private-equity firm Thoma Bravo agreed to buy Coupa, a specialist in business spending management software. Accenture (ACN) – Accenture fell 1.7% in the premarket after Piper Sandler downgraded the consulting firm's stock to "underweight" from "neutral." Best Buy (BBY) – The electronics retailer's stock added 1.6% in the premarket after Goldman Sachs upgraded it to "neutral" from "sell." Gap (GPS), Tapestry (TPR), Levi Strauss (LEVI) – Goldman Sachs upgraded Gap and Tapestry to "buy" from "neutral" while downgraded Levi Strauss to "neutral" from "buy." Gap added 2.7% in the premarket, with Tapestry up 2% and Levi Strauss losing 1.2%.

☆ GSK to stop selling blood cancer drug Blenrep in United States
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Pushkala Aripaka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GSK said access to Blenrep in other countries where it is marketed is unaffected, including across the European Union. The company is still discussing the latest clinical data with EU health authorities, a GSK official said. The drug was given speedy approval by the FDA in 2020 and approved for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who received at least four previous therapies. Last year the drug achieved 89 million pounds ($105 million) in global sales, about two thirds of which was from the United States. Blenrep belongs to a category of treatments called antibody drug conjugates, which are engineered antibodies that bind to tumour cells and then release cell-killing chemicals.

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