Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
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…
Dec 24 (Reuters) – Shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO) jumped nearly 12% premarket on Wednesday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the expanded use of its drug for the treatment of a type of blood disorder. The drug mitapivat is now approved as a treatment for patients with anemia in both non-transfusion-dependent and transfusion-dependent alpha- or beta-thalassemia, the company said late on Tuesday. Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder affecting the body’s ability to produce hemoglobin and healthy red blood cells. The drug, under the brand name Aqvesme, is expected to be available in late January next year,…
By Bhanvi Satija Dec 24 (Reuters) – Sanofi (SNY) will buy U.S. vaccines company Dynavax Technologies (DVAX) for around $2.2 billion (1.9 billion euros), the French drugmaker said on Wednesday, a deal that will give it access to an approved hepatitis B vaccine. Sanofi has made a string of acquisitions this year, as it looks to diversify growth beyond its blockbuster asthma drug Dupixent. It bought UK private biotech firm Vicebio for $1.5 billion in July shortly after finalising an up to $9.5 billion deal for U.S.-based rare disease drugmaker BluePrint Medicines. The company will pay $15.50 in cash per…
Dec 29 (Reuters) – Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has nearly halved prices of its obesity drug Wegovy in some Chinese provinces, local media Yicai reported on Monday. The list prices for the two highest dosages of Wegovy were cut by 48% to 987.48 yuan ($141) and 1,284.36 yuan per month respectively in the southwestern Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, the report said, citing local procurement authorities. Novo did not reply immediately to a request for comment. The drugmaker faces intensifying competition from local rivals in China’s obesity treatment market, as its patent on Wegovy’s active ingredient semaglutide expires in…
By Sneha S K and Sahil Pandey Dec 31 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declined to approve Corcept Therapeutics’ drug for the treatment of a rare hormonal disorder, the company said on Wednesday. Shares of the drugmaker were down 48% at $36.41. The company said the FDA could not arrive at a favorable benefit-risk assessment for the hormone-blocking oral treatment, known as relacorilant, without Corcept providing additional evidence of effectiveness. The company was seeking approval for relacorilant as a treatment for patients with hypertension secondary to hypercortisolism. “FDA’s request for additional data may require additional trials,…
By Maggie Fick and Dan Levine LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Danish obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s head of public affairs in the U.S. has left the company, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters, at a time when the firm is battling to revive its fortunes in its top market. The company, like other drugmakers, is facing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on medicine pricing and is trying to regain lost ground to U.S. rival Eli Lilly in the lucrative and competitive weight-loss market. The departure, previously unreported, sees U.S. public affairs head Jennifer Duck leave the…
Jan 6 (Reuters) – Nimbus Therapeutics said on Tuesday it has entered into a multi-year research and licensing agreement with Eli Lilly (LLY) to develop artificial intelligence-driven new oral treatments for obesity and other metabolic diseases. The U.S. drugmaker will make upfront and near-term milestone payments of $55 million, with an additional $1.3 billion in development and commercial milestones to Nimbus, as well as royalties on global sales if the drug is approved. Drug developers are increasingly adopting AI for discovery and safety testing to get faster and cheaper results, in line with a push by the U.S. Food and…