Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
Dec 1 (Reuters) – Eli Lilly said on Monday it has lowered the price of single-dose vials of its popular obesity drug Zepbound to make the treatment more affordable for U.S. patients, as demand for weight-loss therapies surge. Patients with a prescription can now buy the starting dose of 2.5 mg for $299 per month, down from $349, through LillyDirect, the drugmaker’s online healthcare platform. Price for the 5 mg dose drops to $399 from $499, while higher doses will now be available at $449 per month under Lilly’s Zepbound Self Pay Journey Program, down from $499 previously. The move…
By Dietrich Knauth Dec 1 (Reuters) – Genesis HealthCare said on Monday that an insider bid had won a bankruptcy auction for all of its assets, which would allow the same ownership group to maintain control of the company’s nursing homes while using bankruptcy to slash debts and medical malpractice claims. The winning bid was submitted by CPE 88988 LLC, an affiliate of Genesis’ private equity owner, Pima Capital Partners, according to court documents filed in bankruptcy court in Dallas. The bid includes $40 million in cash, as well as agreements to assume certain debts and bankruptcy expenses incurred by…
By Kamal Choudhury Dec 3 (Reuters) – Excelsior Sciences said on Wednesday it has raised $95 million to develop technology that uses machines and artificial intelligence to accelerate the development and testing of small molecules, aiming to cut years off drug discovery timelines. The company announced a $70 million Series A round co-led by Deerfield Management, Khosla Ventures and Sofinnova Partners, along with a $25 million grant from New York’s Empire State Development. It did not disclose the valuation at which the funds were raised. Small molecules make up the majority of medicines approved in the United States. While treatments…
By Rishika Sadam HYDERABAD, India, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk will launch its blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic in India this month, three sources familiar with the matter said, as it seeks to strengthen its foothold in the world’s most populous nation. India has the second-highest number of people with type 2 diabetes after China and rising obesity rates, making it a critical battleground for drugmakers vying for a share of the fast-growing weight-loss treatment market, which analysts expect to reach $150 billion annually by the end of the decade. Ozempic, a once-weekly injectable approved by the U.S.…
By Rishika Sadam and Abhirami G BENGALURU, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Indian health-tech startup Healthify is in talks to partner with more weight-loss drugmakers to offer health, nutrition and lifestyle coaching, after signing a deal with Novo Nordisk’s India unit, its chief executive said. The deal marks Healthify’s first such partnership with a drugmaker, and it hopes similar agreements will boost its paid subscriber base. Healthify, which provides health metric tracking along with nutrition and fitness advice, launched a patient-support programme this week through which it offers coaching services to users prescribed Novo’s weight-loss therapies. “Our vision is to be…
SHANGHAI, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Eli Lilly’s popular drug Mounjaro will be added to China’s state-run health insurance scheme from January 1 for patients with type 2 diabetes, the National Healthcare Security Administration said in a website notice on Sunday. Inclusion in the national reimbursement list makes drugs more widely available to the public in a country with a population of 1.4 billion, but an increase in sales volume is often mitigated by lower prices. Mounjaro, a once-weekly injectable therapy, was introduced in China in January this year following the launch of Ozempic, a similar diabetes therapy from rival Danish…
Dec 8 (Reuters) – Mirum Pharmaceuticals said on Monday it will acquire Bluejay Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $820 million, adding a late-stage experimental drug for a severe liver disease to its portfolio. Under the agreement, Mirum will pay $250 million in cash and $370 million in stock upfront, plus up to $200 million in potential sales-based milestone payments. “This acquisition fits squarely with what we do best – advancing high-impact medicines for patients with rare diseases,” said Mirum CEO Chris Peetz. The deal will give Mirum worldwide rights to brelovitug, a monoclonal antibody being tested for chronic…
Dec 9 (Reuters) – CVS Health (CVS) on Tuesday forecast 2026 profit above Wall Street estimates and this year’s projected earnings, signalling steady progress in the health conglomerate’s turnaround plan. CVS stock rose more than 3% before the bell on Tuesday. The company in October projected double-digit earnings growth for 2026 after raising its 2025 profit forecast for the third time. “We are closing out 2025 with meaningful momentum across our businesses and we expect another year of strong earnings growth in 2026,” said Chief Financial Officer Brian Newman on Tuesday. The company forecast 2026 adjusted profit to be in…
Dec 9 (Reuters) – Eli Lilly said on Tuesday it will invest more than $6 billion in a new active drug ingredient manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Alabama, to expand U.S. production and bolster medicine supply chains. The site, the third new U.S. facility announced by Lilly, will make small-molecule synthetic and peptide medicines, including orforglipron, its first oral GLP-1 weight-loss drug anticipated to receive U.S. approval early next year. Global pharmaceutical companies have been increasing U.S. investments after President Donald Trump urged the industry to make more medicines domestically rather than importing active ingredients or finished medicines. Earlier this year,…
Paired with high-deductible healthcare plans, health savings accounts help ease healthcare costs. HSAs are a triple tax-advantaged vehicle in the tax code, allowing for pretax contributions, tax-free compounding, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses. However, few owners fund their HSAs to the maximum, and even fewer invest their HSA dollars outside a savings account. Most consumers likely don’t fill their HSAs because they lack the financial means; critics note that the HDHP/HSA combination can be less beneficial for lower-income workers. But even wealthy consumers may decline to fully fund their HSAs. Many HSAs charge account-maintenance fees and extra costs…