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While Novartis secured the biggest deal of the fourth quarter, a handful of riveting tales emerged from the bottom of the M&A list, including a zombie buyout and a bidding war. And no, we’re not talking about Metsera.
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In this episode, Lori and guests continue their exploratory discussion on AI and focus on the challenges of globalization and return on investment.
While the companies did not reveal the financial details of the deal, Novo Nordisk will provide funding for two Evotec sites in Germany and Italy to support the development of next-generation cell therapies.
Based on new safety signals, Pfizer on Wednesday announced that Oxbryta’s overall benefit “no longer outweighs the risk” in patients with sickle cell disease. Guggenheim Securities analysts said the setback increases investor frustrations with the company’s business development track record.
In a Tuesday Senate hearing on Novo Nordisk’s drug pricing, CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said he would be willing to sit down with the three largest pharmacy benefit managers who committed that they would expand coverage of Ozempic and Wegovy if Novo lowers its list prices for the blockbuster drugs.
IRA
Many Big Pharma companies including Pfizer, Merck and BMS make the drugs that some researchers expect to be selected by CMS for next year’s Medicare price negotiations alongside analysts’ top pick, Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic.
New revelations from the showdown between Novo Nordisk’s CEO and Bernie Sanders’ Senate health committee Tuesday; PhRMA’s legal victory in IRA case; the federal interest rate cut and anticipated approval for schizophrenia.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are expected to rule the obesity market for a few more years without much challenge. To ensure they stay there as competition enters, the companies are spending billions in licensing and M&A deals.
About a month after reporting it’s had a tough time starting enough patients on its treatments, bluebird bio announced it will lay off about 25% of its employees, over half of whom work in R&D.
Flagship Pioneering–backed Generate:Biomedicines has signed its second major Big Pharma partnership, bringing in $65 million upfront to use its AI platform to discover novel protein drug candidates.
As technology continues to evolve, companies should have strategies that incorporate an understand of where they are now, where they want to be, and do they have the talent to get there.