Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
Feb 4 (Reuters) – Eli Lilly forecast 2026 profit above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, betting on surging demand for its obesity drugs as the world’s most valuable drugmaker prepares to launch its oral weight-loss pill later this year. Shares of the company rose nearly 7% in premarket trading. Lilly last year became the first pharmaceutical company to hit a $1 trillion valuation, driven by the popularity of its blockbuster weight-loss drug, Zepbound, and a rapidly expanding obesity market that is shifting toward cash-pay options and telehealth channels. Lilly’s upbeat outlook stands in sharp contrast to that of rival Novo…
By Sriparna Roy and Padmanabhan Ananthan Feb 4 (Reuters) – Wall Street is hoping dental-product makers will offer a brighter 2026 outlook, but analysts say a full industry rebound may still be some time away. From Henry Schein and Invisalign maker Align Technology to Envista and Dentsply Sirona, major companies contended a choppy 2025 marked by uneven dental visits throughout the year. While there appears to be some green shoots in demand, last year’s volatility has left investors cautious, analysts said. “The general expectations are for steady messaging and better/less bad results,” Leerink analyst Michael Cherny said, noting that while…
The Wegovy pill, from Novo Nordisk. (Michael Siluk / UCG / Universal Images Group via Getty Images) · Michael Siluk Novo Nordisk said Wednesday that demand for its Wegovy pill got off to a strong start after it launched in the U.S. in early January. By Jan. 23 — less than three weeks after it became available — about 50,000 prescriptions were being filled each week, according to the drugmaker. In total, more than 170,000 people are taking the drug. Roughly 9 in 10 of those prescriptions were paid for out of pocket, rather than through insurance. Most of the…
Feb 4 (Reuters) – Cigna Corp’s Express Scripts has settled the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s claims its insulin pricing practices violated antitrust and consumer protection laws, and agreed to changes aimed at lowering costs for patients, insurers and small pharmacies, according to a copy of the settlement seen by Reuters. The Trump administration has taken aim at high drug costs, and secured agreements with pharmaceutical companies to slash prices. The settlement fits with that goal, and allows the FTC to pare down a case brought by the former Biden administration against Cigna’s Express Scripts, UnitedHealth Group Inc’s Optum unit and…
Feb 4 (Reuters) – Drug developer Eikon Therapeutics said on Wednesday it had raised $381.2 million in its U.S. initial public offering, selling about 21.2 million shares priced at $18 apiece. This was at the high-end of the Roger Perlmutter-led company’s targeted range of $16 to $18 a share. The offering comes as IPO activity shows signs of picking up in 2026, following a government shutdown in October of the previous year that forced many companies to delay their listing plans. Biotech offerings are also seeing a resurgence early this year, with drug developers including SpyGlass Pharma and AgomAb Therapeutics…
Minute Maid helped make orange juice a year-round morning staple in 1946, when it started shipping cans of frozen juice around the U.S. But 80 years later, the brand’s parent company is halting sales of frozen juice concentrates in the U.S. and Canada, saying it wants to focus on the fresh juices that customers now prefer. “We are discontinuing our frozen products and exiting the frozen can category in response to shifting consumer preferences,” The Coca-Cola Co., which owns Minute Maid, said Wednesday in a statement. Minute Maid’s frozen juices – including several varieties of orange juice, lemonade and limeade…
Feb 5 (Reuters) – Cardinal Health on Thursday raised its expectations for annual profit after surpassing Wall Street estimates for quarterly results, as it bets on robust demand for specialty medicines and strong performance across its segments. Shares of the Dublin, Ohio-based company rose more than 3% in premarket trading. Drug distributors such as Cardinal Health, Cencora and McKesson are riding the wave of surging demand for high-margin medicines that treat complex conditions like cancer and autoimmune diseases, while riding biosimilar tailwinds from patent cliffs on blockbuster drugs. The companies are also expanding their presence in the specialty medicines market…
By Atharva Singh and Arasu Kannagi Basil Feb 5 (Reuters) – Drug developer Eikon Therapeutics, headed by Merck veteran Roger Perlmutter, was valued at about $860.3 million after its shares opened 5.3% below their offer price in their Nasdaq debut on Thursday. The Millbrae, California-based company’s shares opened at $17.05 apiece, compared with the $18 offer price. Eikon sold roughly 21.2 million shares in an upsized IPO at the top end of its marketed range of $16 to $18 to raise $381.2 million. Eikon’s debut comes amid a busy start for biotech IPOs this year following a subdued 2025, when…
FRANKFURT, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Bayer said on Thursday its experimental blood thinner cut the risk of stroke recurrence by 26% in a late-stage trial, in a fresh boost for CEO Bill Anderson’s turnaround efforts. The German group said the read-out came from a Phase III study comparing a combination of standard antiplatelet therapy and Bayer’s asundexian with antiplatelet therapy alone in patients who had previously suffered a stroke or similar blocked blood vessels in the brain. The study, known as Oceanic-Stroke, on the prevention of blood clotting, or thrombosis, involved more than 12,000 patients. The results, which included reassuring…
Feb 5 (Reuters) – CVS Health said on Thursday it would swap out Amgen and Eli Lilly’s bone disease treatments for lower-cost alternatives in some of its preferred drug lists, starting April 1. Its pharmacy benefit management unit, Caremark, will add biosimilar versions of Amgen’s Prolia such as Ospomyv, sold by CVS unit Cordavis, and Celltrion’s Stoboclo. It will also add generic versions of Lilly’s Forteo, including Bonsity and Tymlos, to major national commercial formularies. The shift would lower costs by more than 50% per prescription compared with branded drugs, CVS said, adding that its biosimilar formulary strategy has generated…