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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Eli Lilly is aggressively ramping up its manufacturing capacity for tirzepatide as compounding pharmacies continue to challenge an FDA decision to formally end the shortage of the obesity and diabetes drug.
It is not clear what specifically the new facility will produce, though Amgen could be ramping up its manufacturing capacity as it prepares to enter the obesity space with MariTide.
The payment scheme will tie gene therapy payments to improvements in health outcomes—and could potentially boost the uptake of these sickle cell disease treatments.
In recent months Novo Nordisk has invested several billions of dollars to boost its manufacturing capacity—including its highly contested $16.5 billion merger with CDMO giant Catalent.
Eli Lilly topped the list of the 20 biggest pharmas by market cap with a more than 39% improvement year-to-date in its share price. Other companies have not been so lucky.
BridgeBio’s Attruby wins approval for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy while the FDA accepts Alnylam’s application for Amvuttra in the indication; Cassava’s controversial Alzheimer’s drug flunks Phase III; Amgen’s MariTide fails to impress investors, Donald Trump’s controversial nominations continue.
Currently, Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound (tirzepatide) are not on the FDA’s shortage list but compounded pharmacies are still making them. That’s unprecedented.
Wegovy is being made available to Chinese patients five months after its approval in the country. Novo will sell the medicine for about $193.27 for a one-month supply.
Novo Holdings’ acquisition of Catalent has ignited concerns from industry stakeholders, who fear that the consolidation could limit competition, but there is also the possibility that the deal could represent an opportunity for smaller-scale CDMOs to find new partners.
GSK’s departure comes as the industry anticipates the incoming Trump administration and as it continues to grapple with the threat of the BIOSECURE Act and losses of legal challenges to the IRA’s drug price negotiation program.