Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

(Reuters) -Novartis AG is close to acquiring U.S. biotech Avidity Biosciences for more than $70 per share, Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with the matter who said an announcement could come as early as Sunday. Novartis and Avidity did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the report. Novartis has been actively striking deals in 2025 as it looks to bolster its drug pipeline and drive future growth, and the Financial Times reported in August that the Swiss drugmaker had approached Avidity Biosciences for a potential takeover offer. Novartis said last month it had acquired Tourmaline Bio,…

By Yousef Saba RIYADH (Reuters) -SandboxAQ, a U.S.-based artificial intelligence and quantum technology firm, signed an agreement with Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund on Monday aimed at speeding up the development of drugs and creating biotech assets worth $1 billion. The deal, announced on the sidelines of Saudi Arabia’s flagship investment conference, the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, will see Bahrain’s Mumtalakat license SandboxAQ’s large quantitative models trained on physics, chemistry and biology to accelerate drug discovery and scientific research. “The collaboration will help position Bahrain as a regional biotech hub, with a joint research committee guiding a three-year program aimed…

By Amina Niasse and Sriparna Roy NEW YORK (Reuters) -Some long-term UnitedHealth Group investors are putting their faith in the return of a CEO with a proven track record and a new management team they believe can deliver a turnaround for the historically high-growth Optum health services business and put a tough year behind it. Investors, billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway among them, have reacted favorably to the selection of Stephen Hemsley, who took over in May after the company missed its earnings projections for the first time since 2008. Hemsley, who led UnitedHealth between 2006 and 2017, signed a…

(Reuters) -Medical equipment maker Revvity on Monday raised its annual profit forecast and beat third-quarter estimates on improving demand for its testing kits in the diagnostics unit. However, shares of the company fell 2.7% in volatile premarket trading after third-quarter revenue missed estimates. Quarterly revenue in its diagnostic unit, which provides testing tools, rose 3% to $356.1 million, compared with analysts’ estimates of $350.6 million, according to data compiled by LSEG. Revvity joined peers such as Thermo Fisher in reporting renewed demand for contract research and diagnostics services, as pharmaceutical companies ramp up drug development in the U.S. amid evolving…

By Siddhi Mahatole (Reuters) -Medical equipment maker Revvity on Monday raised its annual profit forecast and beat third-quarter estimates on improving U.S. demand for its testing kits in the diagnostics unit. However, sales of its diagnostics products in key market China declined nearly 6% during the quarter. The company earns more than half of its annual revenues from markets outside the United States. Its shares were down about 3.4% in early trading. Revvity joined peers such as Thermo Fisher in reporting renewed U.S. demand for contract research and diagnostics services, as pharmaceutical companies ramp up drug development in the country…

(Corrects spelling of “Buffett” in bullet-point summary) By Amina Niasse and Sriparna Roy NEW YORK (Reuters) -Some long-term UnitedHealth Group investors are putting their faith in the return of a CEO with a proven track record and a new management team they believe can deliver a turnaround for the historically high-growth Optum health services business and put a tough year behind it. Investors, billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway among them, have reacted favorably to the selection of Stephen Hemsley, who took over in May after the company missed its earnings projections for the first time since 2008. Hemsley, who led…

By Bhanvi Satija LONDON (Reuters) -Swiss drugmaker Novartis on Monday defended its $12 billion deal to acquire Avidity Biosciences ahead of the U.S. firm getting late-stage data for its muscle disorder treatment next year, saying it was “an appropriate risk to take”. On an investor call, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan said the deal size could have been “potentially twice as big” had the firm waited for the data to be released. Novartis announced the cash deal for Avidity at $72 per share on Sunday, representing a premium of 46% to the company’s previous close. The drugmaker’s shares slipped 1.5% on…

By Christine Chen and Rishav Chatterjee SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian biotech CSL has cut its profit outlook and delayed plans to spin off its vaccine division, blaming an unprecedented fall in U.S. flu immunisation rates, which knocked its shares down as much as 16.6% to a near seven-year low. At CSL’s annual meeting in Melbourne on Tuesday, investors frustrated with the former market darling’s tanking share price also rejected executive pay packages for the second year in a row, but the board survived a spill motion. CSL, Australia’s fourth-largest company by market value, told shareholders in August it would spin off…

By Rishav Chatterjee (Reuters) -Australian biotech CSL on Tuesday delayed its planned vaccine division spin-off and cut earnings forecasts due to a bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. flu vaccination rates, sending its shares down as much as 16.6%. The company told shareholders in August that it would spin off CSL Seqirus into a listed entity on the Australian Securities Exchange by next June as part of a broader restructuring plan that also involved cutting 3,000 jobs. At that time, it believed vaccination rates were stabilising in the U.S. following a flu season marked by the highest illness and death rates in…

(Reuters) -Universal Health Services beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Monday, driven by steady demand for medical care services at its hospitals, sending its shares surging 6% in extended trading. Health insurers have flagged elevated demand and rising costs in individual Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and Medicaid plans for low-income individuals, trends that are expected to benefit hospital operators. For the quarter ended September 30, the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based hospital operator reported an adjusted profit of $5.69 per share, beating estimates of $4.84 per share, according to LSEG data. Last week, larger peer HCA…