Biotechnology

Novo Nordisk CEO says experimental weight loss pill could become a best in class drug
Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen on Friday said the company’s experimental weight loss pill, amycretin, could eventually become a best-in-class treatment for obesity. The Danish drugmaker is racing to capitalize on the runaway success of its blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy by developing a new generation of treatments for obesity, including more convenient and […]
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Eli Lilly says FDA delays approval of Alzheimer's drug in surprise move
Eli Lilly headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, US, on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Eli Lilly & Co.’s shares climbed in early US trading after its experimental drug for Alzheimer’s slowed the progress of the disease in a final-stage trial, paving the way for the company to apply for US approval. AJ Mast | Bloomberg | Getty […]
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Cigna launches effort to cap employer insurance plan spending on weight loss drugs
Injection pens of Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy are shown in this photo illustration in Oslo, Norway, Nov. 21, 2023. Victoria Klesty | Reuters Cigna on Thursday unveiled a new effort to expand insurance coverage for weight loss drugs by limiting how much health plans and employers spend on the highly popular treatments each year. […]
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Biden says Medicare should negotiate prices for at least 50 drugs each year, up from a target of 20
US President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, US, on Thursday, Dec. 14 2023. Chris Kleponis | Bloomberg | Getty Images President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the federal Medicare program should negotiate prices for at least 50 prescription drugs each year, up from the […]
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Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic slashed the risk of kidney disease progression in trial
This picture taken on October 23, 2023, shows Ozempic medication boxes, an injectable antidiabetic drug, in a pharmacy in Riedisheim, eastern France. Sebastien Bozon | Afp | Getty Images Novo Nordisk‘s blockbuster drug Ozempic cut the risk of kidney disease progression and related health complications in diabetic patients, according to initial late-stage trial results released […]
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Viking Therapeutics emerges as a strong weight loss drug player — or takeover target
Cr | Istock | Getty Images Biotech company Viking Therapeutics has emerged as a strong potential entrant — or takeover target — in the budding weight loss drug market. Viking is just one of several companies racing to join the growing space. Some analysts say the market could be worth $100 billion by the end […]
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Judge rejects AstraZeneca’s challenge to Medicare drug price negotiations
Activists protest the price of prescription drug costs in front of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 6, 2022. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images A federal judge on Friday rejected AstraZeneca‘s legal challenge to Medicare’s new power to negotiate the prices of certain costly prescription drugs with […]
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CVS and Walgreens to start selling abortion pill mifepristone this month
A container holding boxes of mifepristone, the first medication in a medical abortion, are prepared for patients at Alamo Women’s Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, on April 20, 2023. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters CVS and Walgreens will start selling the abortion pill mifepristone this month at certain pharmacy locations in states where it is legal to […]
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Pfizer RSV vaccine maintains protection in older adults over two seasons in trial
Respiratory syncytial virus vial. Manjurul | Istock | Getty Images Pfizer‘s vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus maintained protection for older adults across two full seasons of the disease in an ongoing late-stage clinical trial, the company announced Thursday. The shot’s efficacy declined slightly compared with the levels of protection after one RSV season, but the […]
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Novavax misses quarterly estimates, but vaccine maker narrows losses as it slashes costs
Budrul Chukrut | Lightrocket | Getty Images Vaccine maker Novavax on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter revenue and earnings that missed Wall Street’s estimates and reiterated plans to cut costs as it fights to stay afloat. Still, Novavax narrowed its losses in the quarter from the same period a year ago, even as demand for the biotech […]
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