Pharma had a year full of firsts

Pharma had a year full of firsts

Soumyabrata Roy | Nurphoto | Getty Images Drugmakers are closing out a year when they achieved several historic firsts that will shape the pharmaceutical industry in 2024 and beyond.  The weight loss drug market transformed into the pharmaceutical industry’s newest gold rush this year, as demand for costly but highly effective treatments from Novo Nordisk … Read more

Buffett’s Berkshire buys more Occidental in endorsement of Permian Basin-related purchase

Buffett’s Berkshire buys more Occidental in endorsement of Permian Basin-related purchase

The Occidental Petroleum Headquarters is seen on December 11, 2023 in The Woodlands, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images News | Getty Images Berkshire Hathaway has purchased more than 10 million shares of Occidental Petroleum this week worth $588 million, signaling confidence in the oil producer’s pending acquisition of CrownRock. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire now owns … Read more

Vertex nonopioid painkiller posts positive midstage trial results

Vertex nonopioid painkiller posts positive midstage trial results

A sign hangs in front of the world headquarters of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston on Oct. 23, 2019. Brian Snyder | Reuters Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals jumped Wednesday after the company’s painkiller, which is being tested as an alternative to opioids, significantly decreased pain in a midstage trial. Those positive results for diabetes patients suffering … Read more

New data on Eli Lilly’s weight-loss drug shows its outlook is bright

New data on Eli Lilly’s weight-loss drug shows its outlook is bright

The launch of Eli Lilly ‘s weight-loss drug Zepbound — a key pillar of our investment thesis in the pharmaceuticals giant — is going swimmingly in the U.S., Jefferies said Friday. Weekly Zepbound prescriptions totaled 7,700 in the week ended Dec. 8, its fourth on the U.S. market, according to Jefferies, which cited data compiled … Read more

SEC charges ex-CEO of Stimwave with fraud, says some devices were fake

SEC charges ex-CEO of Stimwave with fraud, says some devices were fake

The headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen in Washington, D.C., May 12, 2021. Andrew Kelly | Reuters Laura Tyler Perryman, co-founder and former CEO of the medical device startup Stimwave Technologies, was charged with allegedly defrauding investors out of $41 million by making “false and misleading” statements about one of … Read more

Enphase Energy will lay off roughly 10% of workforce as part of restructuring plan

Enphase Energy will lay off roughly 10% of workforce as part of restructuring plan

Igor Golovniov | LightRocket | Getty Images Enphase Energy will lay off 10% of its global workforce as part of a restructuring plan, the solar company disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday. Enphase manufacturers microinverters that convert solar energy into usable electricity. The company’s stock is down 53% this year as high interest rates … Read more

2024 expectations for Wegovy, Ozempic, Zepbound

2024 expectations for Wegovy, Ozempic, Zepbound

George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images Weight loss drugs exploded into the public eye this year, and 2024 will bring more change to the evolving market.  The drugs skyrocketed in popularity in 2023 as they helped patients shed significant weight, despite hefty price tags, mixed insurance coverage and a handful of unpleasant side effects.  … Read more

Moderna, Merck cancer vaccine reduces risk of skin cancer return

An exterior view of Moderna’s clinical manufacturing facility.  David L. Ryan | Boston Globe | Getty Images Moderna and Merck‘s experimental cancer vaccine, when used in combination with Merck’s blockbuster therapy Keytruda, reduced the risk of death or relapse in patients with the most deadly form of skin cancer after three years, according to midstage … Read more