Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
(Reuters) -India’s GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals reported slightly higher second-quarter profit on Thursday, led by steady demand for its specialty medicine portfolio. The Indian unit of British drugmaker GSK reported consolidated profit of 2.57 billion rupees ($29 million) in the quarter ended September 30, up 2% from last year. Its revenue from operations decreased 3% to 9.8 billion rupees, down for a second quarter in a row. KEY CONTEXT GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, an industry leader in pediatric vaccines, is making inroads into the adult vaccine market with its shingles vaccine Shingrix, which has boosted earnings. Supply constraints and the transitory impact of GST…
(Reuters) -Drug distributor McKesson raised its fiscal 2026 profit forecast on Wednesday, betting on strong growth in its oncology and specialty drug distribution businesses. Shares of the company rose about 2% in extended trading. Drug distributors in the United States are expanding their presence in the market for specialty medicines, which treat complex conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, due to their high profit margins. McKesson now expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $38.35 to $38.85 for fiscal 2026, compared to its previous outlook of $38.05 to $38.55 per share. Analysts, on average, expect a profit…
By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -Bristol Myers Squibb reached a $239 million settlement of claims that former Celgene shareholders were defrauded about prospects for the psoriasis drug Otezla, and multiple sclerosis treatment now known as Zeposia. A preliminary settlement of the 7-1/2-year-old class action was filed on Tuesday night in the federal court in Newark, New Jersey, and requires a judge’s approval. The former shareholders could receive about $159.3 million after legal fees and costs are deducted, court papers show. Bristol Myers bought Celgene for $80.3 billion in cash and stock in November 2019. In a statement on Wednesday, Bristol Myers…
By Sriparna Roy and Sneha S K (Reuters) -Health insurer Humana’s shares fell more than 7% after it did not provide performance commentary for 2026, disappointing investors even as it reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on higher revenues and in-line medical costs. The company did not provide membership or profit forecasts for 2026 in its quarterly results on Wednesday and at least two analysts said the lack of clarity on next year’s performance could be weighing on sentiment. Lower quality ratings for its Medicare Advantage plans have been a concern for next year as they could cost Humana millions of dollars…
By Padmanabhan Ananthan (Reuters) -Cencora will invest over $1 billion through 2030 to expand its U.S. network, the drug distributor said on Wednesday, after forecasting adjusted profit for next year above Wall Street expectations. The company said it will build a second national distribution center in Harrison, Ohio, and new or enlarged sites in California and Alabama. The investment aligns with the Trump administration’s push to boost domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution, and help Cencora respond to surging demand for medicines that need special handling and refrigeration. The new Ohio hub will span 530,000 square feet and have advanced automation,…
By Sahil Pandey (Reuters) -Zimmer Biomet Holdings cut its 2025 organic revenue growth forecast following weakness in Latin America and emerging markets in Europe, sending shares 15% lower on Wednesday. The medical device maker kept its overall revenue growth forecast stable, aided by foreign currency fluctuations. But it lowered the upper end of its organic growth outlook to 4.0% from 4.5%, while keeping the floor constant at 3.5%. “We saw a last minute cancellation of distributor orders mostly from the Middle East and Eastern Europe,” said CEO Ivan Tornos. The company reported 5% organic sales growth for the third quarter,…
During a back and forth with reporters on Thursday in the Oval Office, President Trump recognized that US consumers are “paying something” for tariffs. “I think that they might be paying something. But when you take the overall impact, the Americans are gaining tremendously,” Trump said. It was among the first acknowledgments from Trump that US consumers are footing at least some of the bill for his tariff regime, the bulk of which faced scrutiny before the Supreme Court this week. In a closely watched case, a majority of the justices — both the court’s three liberal-leaning justices, as well…
Big Tech “Magnificent Seven” stocks were headed for steep weekly losses on Friday morning as investors grew increasingly skeptical of whether the sky-high valuations and spending levels that have defined the AI buildout so far are sustainable. Chipmaking leader Nvidia (NVDA) lost around 3% in the first hour of trading Friday morning, after a Trump administration official said that “there will be no federal bailout for AI” and following comments from CEO Jensen Huang that the US is poised to lose the AI arms race to China. Nvidia is down more than 9.5% over the past five days, on track…
By Sneha S K and Sriparna Roy (Reuters) -Shah Capital, Novavax’s second-largest shareholder, is pressing the biotech’s board to pursue strategic changes, including a potential sale, and warned it could launch a proxy fight if no progress is made in the next four months. In a second letter to Novavax’s board in less than a month, shared exclusively with Reuters on Wednesday, Shah Capital said it has become “increasingly disenchanted” with the company’s weak COVID-19 vaccine sales. “If I don’t see changes happening, and if the company doesn’t follow through in the next four months, then I think that is…
By Rishika Sadam (Reuters) -India’s Biocon expects a 50% drop in costs for developing complex biosimilars as the United States has proposed to ease clinical testing for the drugs that make up more than 60% of its revenue, a top executive said on Wednesday. Biosimilars are copies of costlier biological drugs used to treat major illnesses such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and diabetes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month proposed to simplify drug testing by lowering the requirement for large comparative clinical efficacy trials. Biocon, which aims to cumulatively launch 20 biosimilars by 2030, is focusing on…