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☆ Chinese commerce minister in talks with Apple boss Tim Cook
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, March 27 (Reuters) - Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao met Apple (AAPL.O) CEO Tim Cook on Monday and exchanged views on the company's development in China, the commerce ministry said. The two talked about stabilising industrial and supply chains, the ministry said, adding that Wang told Cook China is willing to provide a good environment and services for foreign companies including Apple. Cook was in Beijing over the weekend to attend the government-organised China Development Forum. Wang told Cook that China unswervingly promotes a high-level opening-up of rules, regulations, management, standards and other systems, the ministry added. Reporting by Beijing newsroom Writing by Bernard Orr Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Novartis buoyed by trial success in early-stage breast cancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Swiss firm's shares jumped 5.8% on Monday to a four-week high by 0734 GMT, after it said a panel of independent supervisors recommended stopping the trial early because an interim analysis had shown a clear benefit. Kisqali has been approved to treat hormone-driven breast cancer that has spread to other body parts, where it has taken market share from Pfizer's (PFE.N) Ibrance. Rival drug Verzenio by Eli Lilly (LLY.N) has approval in the early setting for women at high risk of recurrence after surgery. Kisqali, which saw sales gain 31% to $1.2 billion last year, is one of two new drugs with a particularly important role for the group's future sales growth. Detailed trial results will be presented at a medical conference, Novartis said, without identifying the meeting or its timing.

The trial will be the first test of how Zantac cancer claims will fare before a jury. GSK said in a statement it disagreed with the ruling and would defend the case at trial. Originally marketed by a forerunner of GSK, it was later sold successively to Pfizer (PFE.N), Boehringer Ingelheim and finally Sanofi (SASY.PA). While NDMA is found in low levels in food and water, it is known to cause cancer in larger amounts. Analysts said it was not surprising that Grillo ruled differently from the federal court because California's courts are known to be friendlier to plaintiffs.

☆ China approves its first mRNA Covid-19 vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has approved its first Covid-19 vaccine based on mRNA technology, months after the country lifted strict pandemic measures. The vaccine targets the Omicron variant and was tested in China with over 5,500 people, it added. “This is a positive step because there is strong scientific evidence that mRNA vaccines do much better than non-MRA vaccines,” Jin Dong-yan, a professor in molecular virology at the University of Hong Kong, told CNN. Until now, China has approved only inactivated vaccines made by Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm Group, two Beijing-based drugmakers. The inactivated vaccines have been found to elicit lower levels of antibody response compared to ones using the newer messenger RNA technology.

☆ China OKs its first mRNA vaccine, from drugmaker CSPC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, March 22 (Reuters) - China's CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited (1093.HK) said on Wednesday its messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine had received emergency use authorisation from Chinese health authorities, making it the country's first domestically developed mRNA shot. China has declined to use mRNA vaccines from abroad and vaccines available in China are widely considered less effective than the Moderna (MRNA.O) and Pfizer (PFE.N)-BioNTech (22UAy.DE) mRNA shots. The company said its independently developed mRNA vaccine SYS6006 targets some major Omicron variants and its booster dose showed good neutralization effect against Omicron subvariants BA.5, BF.7, BQ.1.1., XBB.1.5 and CH.1.1. The firm got emergency approval to conduct clinical trials of the mRNA shot in April last year, around the same time as CanSino, another China-based company that is testing an mRNA Omicron booster shot. Shares in the company rose as much as 7.7% after the result and the announcement of the mRNA approval.

☆ US declines to force lower price on cancer drug Xtandi
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. government will not force Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Astellas Pharma Inc (4503.T) to lower the price of their prostate cancer drug Xtandi using its emergency "march-in" authority, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Tuesday. Patient group the Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment first filed a petition calling on the NIH to use its authority to lower the drug's price in March 2016. The NIH said in a letter made public on Tuesday that its analyses in response to the petition found the prostate cancer treatment was widely available. "NIH does not believe that use of the march-in authority would be an effective means of lowering the price of the drug," the letter said. Progressive lawmakers in the Democratic Party have been calling on President Joe Biden's administration to use its march-in authority to lower drug prices.

☆ U.S. FDA to soon decide on second round of Omicron-tailored boosters - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The agency continues to closely monitor the emerging data in the United States and globally, and that data will dictate any decision on additional updated boosters, the FDA said in a statement. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would have to recommend the shots after the FDA authorizes the second Omicron-tailored boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N)/(22UAy.DE) and Moderna (MRNA.O) for them to become widely available. Updated boosters have helped prevent symptomatic infections against the new XBB-related subvariants, according to data released by the CDC in January. The FDA authorized the so-called bivalent COVID boosters in August that target the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, along with the original strain of the coronavirus. Rollout of the updated boosters in the United States started the following month.

☆ Moderna expects to price its COVID vaccine at about $130 in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Hannah BeierMarch 20 (Reuters) - Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) expects to price its COVID-19 vaccine at around $130 per dose in the U.S. going forward as purchases move to the private sector from the government, the company’s president Stephen Hoge said in an interview on Monday. Hoge said the government's Medicare health plan for seniors pays $70 per dose for the seasonal influenza vaccine. Sanders, chair of the Senate’s powerful Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has said Moderna should not raise the price of its vaccine because of the government funding it received. He plans to question Moderna Chief Executive Stephane Bancel on the price increase at the hearing on Wednesday. Moderna in February forecast significantly declining 2023 COVID-19 vaccine sales, which reached $18.4 billion in 2022.

☆ SpaceX, Netflix, Boeing to join "biggest-ever" US business mission to Vietnam
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | Thomson Reuters | Francesco Leads A Team Of Reporters In Vietnam That Covers Top Financial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HANOI, March 17 (Reuters) - SpaceX, Netflix and Boeing are among the companies joining the "biggest-ever" U.S. business mission to Vietnam next week to discuss investment and sales opportunities in the booming Southeast Asian nation, the organiser said. More than 50 companies, including defence, pharmaceutical and tech firms, will participate in the mission organised by the US-ASEAN Business Council, an industry body, according to a list seen by Reuters. "This is the biggest-ever mission in Vietnam," said Vu Tu Thanh, the US-ASEAN Business Council's representative in the country, noting that the body had been organising these events for three decades. The majority of the companies joining the business mission already have a business or manufacturing presence in Vietnam, including Apple (AAPL.O), Coca-Cola (KO.N) and PepsiCo (PEP.O), Thanh said, with some planning to expand it. Among them is SpaceX, which is looking to sell its satellite internet services to Vietnam and other countries in the region, Thanh said.

☆ Pfizer to replace migraine drug packaging over child safety concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Pfizer logo is pictured on their headquarters building in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 9, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File PhotoCompanies Pfizer Inc FollowMarch 16 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Thursday it was working on a new child-proof packaging for its migraine drug, Nurtec ODT, after safety concerns led to a recall alert from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Pfizer said it was developing a new packaging for the drug acquired through its $11.6 billion buyout of Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding in 2022. As an interim measure, the company has instructed pharmacists to place the drug packet in a child-resistant vial before dispensing it to patients. The orally disintegrating tablets are used for the treatment of acute migraine and as preventive treatment for episodic migraine in adults.

☆ U.S. FDA advisers vote in favor of full approval for Pfizer's COVID pill Paxlovid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Pfizer Inc FollowMarch 16 (Reuters) - Advisers to the U.S. health regulator on Thursday voted in favor of recommending a full approval for Pfizer's (PFE.N) COVID-19 pill Paxlovid in adults at high risk of progression to severe disease. The Food and Drug Administration's panel of external advisers voted 16-to-1 in favor of the drug's benefits outweighing its risk for some adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. Reporting by Leroy Leo and Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. FDA expands authorization of Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 shots in kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) of the company and its partner BioNTech SE's (22UAy.DE) bivalent COVID-19 vaccine as a single booster dose in certain children. The amended authorization is for children six months through four years of age who have completed their initial three-dose vaccination with Pfizer's original shot. In December, the U.S. health regulator had authorized Pfizer/BioNTech's updated shot as a third dose to those aged six months through four years, who have not completed their primary vaccination series or are yet to receive the third dose. Shots for youngest children in the United States were only approved in June last year, making them the last group to become eligible for vaccination. Reporting by Pratik Jain; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pfizer agrees to revise EU COVID vaccine contract -FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Pfizer company logo is seen at a Pfizer office in Puurs, Belgium, December 2, 2022. Under the revised terms, Pfizer is asking for payment for doses ordered that will never be manufactured, the FT report said. Medzhidiev added that he believed other EU members also would not support the proposed deal in its current form. "The proposed Pfizer amendment to the Pfizer agreement is clearly unacceptable to us given the critical situation of vaccine oversupply in Bulgaria and unjustified financial burden for products destined for destruction," Medzhidiev said. The discussions included the possibility that Pfizer would reduce the up to 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses the EU has committed to buy this year in return for a higher price.

The Food and Drug Administration made its assessment in briefing documents ahead of a meeting of the agency's external advisers on Thursday to discuss full approval to use Pfizer's oral pill for high-risk COVID-19 patients exhibiting mild to moderate symptoms. Paxlovid has been authorized for emergency use since late 2021, and a full approval is likely to allow Pfizer to expand its advertising campaign for the drug. Over 12 million courses have been delivered to pharmacies, and patients have used over 8 million courses of the treatment, according to Federal data. Paxlovid has shown reduction in risk of hospitalization or death by 86% in non-hospitalized, high-risk adult patients in Pfizer' study, which did not include vaccinated participants. Reporting by Leroy Leo and Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sliding bank shares drag Wall Street down in choppy trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( David Carnevali | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But many speculated the central bank could now become less hawkish, and the yield on the 2-year Treasury tumbled. Shares of SVB's peer Signature Bank (SBNY.O), which was also shut down by regulators, were halted. Weighing on the S&P 500, Charles Schwab (SCHW.N) tumbled 11.56% upon resuming trade after the financial services company reported a 28% decline in average margin balances and a 4% fall in total client assets for February. Shares of big U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), Citigroup (C.N), and Wells Fargo (WFC.N) all lost ground. The S&P 500 posted 1 new 52-week highs and 48 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 29 new highs and 526 new lows.

Washington-based Seagen is a pioneer of antibody-drug conjugates, which work like "guided missiles" designed for a targeted destructive effect and spare healthy cells. The Pfizer logo is pictured on their headquarters building in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 9, 2020. The drugmaker expects more than $10 billion in sales from Seagen products in 2030, and another $15 billion from its other recent acquisitions. Pfizer said antitrust regulators could closely review the deal due to its size but eventually approve it. Pfizer rival Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N) and Seagen were in advanced deal talks last year but those reportedly collapsed over antitrust concerns.

But your second thought is, how big was that crisis, how big were the risks that this step had to be taken?" Trading in shares of SVB's peer Signature Bank (SBNY.O), which was shut down by regulators on Sunday, was halted. Shares of big U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) fell between 2.8% and 6.3%. The KBW regional banking index fell 11.2%, while the S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) dropped 7.7%. The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and 44 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 19 new highs and 321 new lows.

Helping futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq gain nearly 1%, U.S. two-year Treasury yields tumbled to more than a month low, while futures for the cyclicals-heavy Dow Jones edged lower. Big Tech and growth companies such as Meta Platforms (META.O), Amazon (AMZN.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) rose between 1% and 2% premarket. Traders' bets are currently equally split between a pause and a 25-basis-point rate hike at the Fed's next meeting in March. The projections of a terminal rate have also receded to just under 5% by June from around 5.5% in September earlier. ET, Dow e-minis were down 48 points, or 0.15%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 5.5 points, or 0.14%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 99.25 points, or 0.84%.

[1/3] A pharmacist holds a bottle of the drug Eliquis, made by Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer, at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S. January 9, 2020. The government will launch the negotiation process in September by naming the first drugs it plans to target. "We couldn't have the other parts of the IRA without this Medicare negotiation," said Sean Dickson, director of the West Health Policy Center, a non-partisan healthcare think tank. Eliquis, which Bristol Myers (BMY.N) shares with Pfizer (PFE.N), Ibrance, and Imbruvica, sold by AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), appear on every list. Pfizer, Novo Nordisk and J&J declined to comment on the likelihood their drugs would be included in the first round of negotiations.

☆ Pfizer’s $43 bln deal is a pricey pipeline fix
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Pfizer (PFE.N) has found a partial, costly replacement for waning sales of Covid-19 vaccines. The $225 billion pharmaceutical giant said Monday it had agreed to shell out $43 billion for oncology specialist Seagen (SGEN.O), inclusive of net debt. Snag is, Pfizer’s return will probably be low, and the deal may not even receive antitrust approval. Add estimated savings of $1 billion and the result is $1.2 billion of operating profit after tax, assuming the statutory corporate rate. That’s about a 3% return on the purchase price, similar to what Breakingviews estimated when news of talks leaked in February.

☆ Pfizer signs $43 bln Seagen deal in cancer drug push
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Manas Mishra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The deal, Pfizer's biggest in a string of acquisitions after a once-in-a-lifetime cash windfall from its COVID-19 vaccine and pill, will add four approved cancer therapies with combined sales of nearly $2 billion in 2022. Pfizer will pay $229 in cash per Seagen share, a 32.7% premium to Friday's closing price. The drugmaker expects more than $10 billion in "risk-adjusted" sales from Seagen in 2030. Pfizer's portfolio of oncology therapies includes 24 approved drugs, including breast cancer treatment Ibrance. Pfizer rival Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N) and Seagen were in advanced deal talks last year but that reportedly collapsed over fears of tough antitrust scrutiny.

☆ Pfizer ready to launch RSV vaccines for older adults, pregnant women in US, Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PUURS, Belgium March 9 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer (PFE.N) is ready to launch its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for both older adults and pregnant women in the U.S. and Europe later this year, executives said on Thursday. Both Pfizer and British drugmaker GSK (GSK.L) have RSV vaccines they hope to launch in the U.S. and Europe this year, pending regulators’ approval. “We are anticipating approval in both the U.S. and Europe in time for rollout in the fall,” Kena Swanson, Pfizer's head of viral vaccines research & development, told a media briefing at the company's biggest manufacturing and packaging site globally. GSK told Reuters on Wednesday that it is also ready to launch its RSV vaccine for older adults in the U.S. this year without supply constraints. GSK last year voluntarily stopped its clinical trial of its own RSV vaccine on pregnant women and is currently only pursuing the use of its vaccine on older adults, a company spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday.

☆ Top 10 things the Club is watching in the stock market Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas raises his price target on Ferrari (RACE) to $310 per share from $280. Pfizer (PFE) started with a neutral (hold) rating. Jefferies downgrades RH (RH), formerly known as Restoration Hardware, to hold, price target to $298 per share on concerns the luxury market is struggling to stabilize. Calls the chipmaker top cloud pick with a $275-per-share price target, ahead of multiple catalysts. General Electric (GE) coverage transferred at JPMorgan, which maintains neutral (hold) rating but increases price target to $88 per share.

☆ The Final Call: JNJ, PFE & OC
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | 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 EmailThe Final Call: JNJ, PFE & OCThe final trades this week. With CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Options Action traders, Carter Worth, Mike Khouw and Brian Stutland.

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Haleon (HLN.L), the world's biggest standalone consumer health business with brands such as Sensodyne toothpaste and Advil painkillers, reported its first full-year results on Thursday which analysts said were in line with expectations. Analysts said on Thursday that Haleon has had a strong start to 2023, and its full-year revenue growth forecast of 4% to 6% was in line or just ahead of consensus estimates. Rivals with consumer health operations, such as Bayer (BAYGn.DE) and Reckitt (RKT.L), have charged higher prices to partly offset broader falls in sales volumes. "Our organic (full-year) revenue growth ... was well balanced between volume and price, with two thirds of the business gaining or holding share," McNamara said. Haleon, which is made up of assets previously owned by GSK and Pfizer (PFE.N) reported organic revenue growth of 9% last year, just ahead of the 8-8.5% increase it predicted for 2022.

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