Drug Delivery

Analysts will be watching as a generic version of semaglutide—marketed by Novo Nordisk as Wegovy for weight loss—launches in Canada as a test case for future price erosion in the U.S.
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Following Insmed’s decision to hold off on launching a newly approved lung disease drug in Europe, experts anticipate more companies will do the same as they seek to avoid price erosion in the U.S. Will Chinese biotechs fill the void?
If the U.S. can help Japan reform its drug pricing controls, both countries stand to benefit.
Industry groups have identified upfront costs as a barrier to streamlining U.S. drugmaking. The nonprofit API Innovation Center has a proposed answer for how to tilt finances in favor of investments in continuous manufacturing.
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According to the lawsuit, Sanofi has failed to provide partner Regeneron adequate information regarding the sales of Dupixent—including agreements with payers and pharmacy benefit managers that determine pricing and rebates for the drug.
As Eli Lilly ends the year with Zepbound in good supply, TD Cowen analyst Steve Scala asked CEO David Ricks if the company has taken the GLP-1 supply chain too far.
Bristol Myers Squibb clocked $10 million in sales for new schizophrenia drug Cobenfy in the fourth quarter of 2024, with the launch proceeding ahead of expectations.
Wegovy sales increased by more than 100% over 2024. But that wasn’t enough to satiate analysts who want to know why Novo Nordisk can’t access more patients, particularly in the U.S.
IRA
While the former Biden administration showcased the Inflation Reduction Act as a key victory in the fight over high drug prices in the U.S., Trump has so far been mum on how the controversial law could evolve in the coming years.
IRA
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has named Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus as part of the second round of the IRA drug price negotiation program, even as the pharma challenges the program.
The deal follows a $1.06 billion U.S. contract in July 2024 and a $1.24 billion agreement with an Asia-based pharma a few months later.
Biopharma executives shared their thoughts on the potential impacts of the new administration; Annalee Armstrong recaps JPM and her talks with Biogen, Gilead, Novavax and more; Wegovy’s higher dose induces more weight loss; AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Dato-DXd scores its first FDA approval.
Drugmakers will have until the end of February to decide whether they want to participate in the second round of Medicare negotiations or not. CMS has until June 1 to send an initial offer for the adjusted prices.
Boehringer Ingelheim’s trio of late-stage schizophrenia failures on Thursday came a day after the Department of Health and Human Services hit back on the pharma’s legal challenge to the IRA’s drug price negotiation program.