Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
Dec 18 (Reuters) – Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical said on Thursday its experimental pill for a type of skin disease, developed using artificial intelligence, succeeded in two late-stage studies. More than half the plaque psoriasis patients across the studies showed clear or almost clear skin after 16 weeks of treatment with the once-daily drug, zasocitinib, the company said. Takeda plans to file marketing applications with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory authorities in 2026. If approved, zasocitinib would join a crowded plaque psoriasis market featuring well-established oral rivals like Bristol Myers’ Sotyktu and Amgen’s Otezla, plus injectables including…
Dec 19 (Reuters) – BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN) said on Friday it would acquire Amicus Therapeutics (FOLD) for about $4.8 billion, expanding its presence in rare metabolic diseases. The drugmaker will pay $14.50 per share for Amicus, a premium of 33.1% to the stock’s last close. Shares of Amicus surged 30%, while BioMarin rose nearly 5% in premarket trading. The deal strengthens BioMarin’s portfolio with Amicus’ approved genetic disorder treatments including Galafold, an oral drug for Fabry disease, which is caused by a faulty gene that leads to a buildup of fatty substances in cells. Amicus also markets a combination therapy…
NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) – UnitedHealth said on Friday that audits by outside consulting firms of its health services and pharmacy benefit units would result in operational changes including more automation and increased standardization of internal processes. UnitedHealth Group Inc CEO Stephen Hemsley promised the review of the company’s businesses earlier this year after the company missed its own profit expectations for the first time since 2008. During a first-quarter earnings conference call, executives attributed the shortfall to government reimbursement pressures and an unfavorable mix of new patients in Optum Health. UnitedHealth provides clinical services through Optum Health and…
18-year-old Alex Yang founded an AI startup with students around the world he met online. The team of high schoolers aims to improve Alzheimer’s diagnostics through AI intervention. Their startup launched an AI therapy product to help Alzheimer’s patients with memory recall. My typical morning starts around 3 a.m. I’m instantly met with Messenger notifications from web developers in California, GitHub pings from Florida, and a running document of research papers to read sent from Michigan. By 7:50 a.m. I’m off to class to live my life as an 18-year-old high school senior in Seoul. This solitary ritual has become…
Dec 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss pill on Monday, giving the Danish drugmaker a leg up in the race to market a potent oral medication for shedding pounds as it looks to regain lost ground from rival Eli Lilly. The pill is 25 milligrams of semaglutide, the same active ingredient in injectable Wegovy and Ozempic, and will be sold under the brand name Wegovy. Novo already sells an oral semaglutide for type 2 diabetes, Rybelsus. The approval could help spur a turnaround for Novo after a rocky year of sliding shares, profit…
LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) newly approved weight-loss pill version of Wegovy will be a test case for the fast-growing cash-paying consumer market, with plans for the first highly effective oral treatment to go straight to US self-pay channels in early January. The pill was granted US Food and Drug Administration approval on Monday, a boost for Danish drugmaker Novo as it looks to claw back ground lost to US rival Eli Lilly (LLY). A key part of making it a success will be attracting cash-paying consumers, a stark shift from a business model where drug pricing…
Dec 23 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of an oral version of Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy could potentially expand access to millions of patients and give the Danish company a much-needed fillip in the red-hot market. The first GLP-1 pill specifically for obesity, also branded as Wegovy, is a 25-mg oral formulation of semaglutide, the active ingredient in the blockbuster injectable version. Here’s what we know about this development: HOW DOES THE PILL COMPARE TO INJECTABLE WEGOVY? A 64-week, late-stage study showed participants who took the 25 mg of oral semaglutide once daily lost an…
By Maggie Fick, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Bhanvi Satija LONDON/COPENHAGEN, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Novo Nordisk secured U.S. regulatory approval for its weight-loss pill, giving the Danish drugmaker a shot at reclaiming ground lost to rival Eli Lilly. Booming sales of Wegovy powered the firm to become Europe’s most valuable listed company, but it has lost over $400 billion in market capitalisation since the middle of 2024 as competition from Lilly and copycat rivals intensified. The pill approval, which came late on Monday, could spur a much-needed rebound for Novo after a bruising year of sliding shares, profit warnings and slowing…
HYDERABAD, India, Dec 24 (Reuters) – Global pharma giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are scrambling to cement their lead in India’s booming obesity drug market before cheaper generic versions hit shelves in March next year. Novo’s strategy emphasizes price cuts and accelerated launches, while Lilly’s products benefitted from hitting the market early. Both companies focused on aggressive outreach to doctors, heavier advertising about obesity, tie-ups with clinics, patient incentives and distribution deals with local drugmakers, according to doctors, analysts, medical representatives, patients and distributors who spoke to Reuters. Lilly has even teamed up in India with well-known Bollywood actors…
By Jessica DiNapoli and Waylon Cunningham NEW YORK, Dec 24 (Reuters) – Packaged food makers and fast-food restaurants may be forced to overhaul more of their products next year as newly approved, appetite-suppressing GLP-1 pills become available in January, analysts say. More Americans are expected to try the drugs as a pill rather than as a shot because the medication will be cheaper and many patients are hesitant to inject themselves. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy GLP-1 pill on Monday, sending shares of food companies down on Tuesday. Eli Lilly’s rival medication is expected to…