Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

By Deena Beasley (Reuters) -CVS Health, which runs the largest U.S. pharmacy benefit manager, will not add Gilead Sciences’ new HIV prevention drug to its commercial plans for now, a spokesperson told Reuters, despite the medicine’s proven effectiveness. CVS based the decision on clinical, financial, and regulatory factors, spokesperson David Whitrap said in an email. It also will not cover Yeztugo under its Affordable Care Act formularies, since its ACA preventive program follows recommendations and mandates from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Whitrap said. Current HIV prevention recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF),…

By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. technology shares are showing signs of vulnerability after a massive run, which has some investors pointing to overdone AI-driven gains while funds have taken steps to position away from the high-flying sector. Investors are looking to de-risk portfolios or lock in profits during a seasonally difficult period for stocks. Friday’s looming speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the annual Jackson Hole symposium is creating caution, investors said, with the potential for volatility if his comments fail to meet growing market expectations that the central bank is poised to cut interest rates.…

By Anton Bridge and Mariko Katsumura TOKYO (Reuters) -Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami, one of Japan’s best-known business leaders, has resigned from the beverage group following a police investigation into his purchase of a supplement that may have breached the country’s strict drug laws. Niinami, who has served as an adviser to several Japanese prime ministers and was often the face of corporate Japan at Davos and other international events, told Suntory he purchased the supplement believing it was legal, the company said on Tuesday. “I was not aware that it was an illegal supplement. I am innocent,” he told…

How Wall Street gyms compareThibaud MORITZ / AFP JPMorgan is opening a new HQ featuring a sleek gym; monthly costs are unknown. It’s not the only firm with a sweet space where Wall Streeters can work up a sweat. We took a look at five Wall Street gyms, from Goldman to Citigroup. JPMorgan’s new 270 Park Avenue headquarters, opening this year, includes a wellness hub with medical clinics, meditation rooms, and a fitness center run by a company known for training professional athletes. One detail has already stirred grumbling: Employees will have to pay for gym access. The move highlights…

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, maker of weight-loss drug Wegovy, said Wednesday it would cut 9,000 jobs, 5,000 of them in Denmark, in order to strengthen the company’s focus on growth opportunities in obesity and diabetes medications. The restructuring, which would eliminate 11% of the company’s workforce, aimed to reduce organizational complexity and speed up decision-making as the company faces a more competitive market for obesity drugs. The streamlining would save 8 billion Danish krone ($1.25 billion) by the end of 2026, savings that are to be redirected to diabetes and obesity, including research and development,…

(Reuters) -Amazon has teamed up with Fay to provide personalized, insurance-covered dietitian services through the e-commerce giant’s digital health platform, the nutrition care startup said on Tuesday. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT The move makes Fay the first nutrition care provider on Amazon’s Health Benefits Connector, which helps enrolled customers match with digital health companies for health conditions such as diabetes and musculoskeletal issues, as well as mental health support. Fay uses artificial intelligence to match users with registered dietitians based on their goals and health history. The startup did not disclose financial terms of the partnership. CONTEXT Amazon has been expanding…

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon says it’s making a $1 billion investment to raise wages and lower the cost of health care plans for its U.S. fulfillment and transportation workers. The Seattle-based company said Wednesday the average pay is increasing to more than $23 per hour and said that some of its most tenured employees will see an increase between $1.10 and $1.90 per hour. Full-time employees, on average, will see their pay increase by $1,600 per year. Amazon also said it was lowering the cost of its entry health care plan to $5 per week and $5 for co-pays,…

By Samuel McKeith (Reuters) – Optus, Australia’s No. 2 telecom carrier, said on Saturday it would cooperate with official investigations after three people died following a technical failure that disrupted emergency call services for 13 hours. Amid a growing outcry surrounding the embattled company, two of the dead were identified as an eight-week-old boy and a 68-year-old woman, police in South Australia said. The third was a 74-year-old man in Western Australia, media have reported. “I promise that we will fully cooperate with any and all investigations in relation to this,” CEO Stephen Rue told a press conference, his second…

Five months after ending development of its own obesity treatment, Pfizer is accelerating its push into the rapidly growing field with a nearly $5 billion acquisition. The COVID-19 vaccine and treatment maker said Monday that it will pay $47.50 in cash for each share of development-stage drugmaker Metsera. That represents a premium of more than 42% to Metsera’s closing price Friday. Pfizer also could pay an additional $22.50 per share depending on how Metsera’s product pipeline develops. Metsera Inc. has no products on the market, but its pipeline includes four programs in clinical development and one in mid-stage testing. Pfizer…

CVS Health subsidiary Omnicare has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection two months after the long-term care business was ordered to pay $949 million when a federal court found it liable for filing fraudulent claims for some prescription drugs. In 2019 the federal government joined the legal fight against CVS Health that accused Omnicare business of routinely filling prescriptions that had expired or run out of refills. The Department of Justice said that Omnicare’s pharmacies sent drugs to people living in residential facilities based on “stale, invalid prescriptions.” It accused the company of fraudulently billing government-funded programs like Medicaid and…