Health - Azzet - Business news, investments companies & executives

Sign inJoin Now

Health

Health
Eli Lilly opposes White House's new drug pricing laws
Eli Lilly CEO, Dave Ricks, said the company opposes the White House’s proposed “most favoured nation” pricing laws. The company is one of many companies that signed a deal with the Trump administration last year, agreeing to charge similar prices for prescription drugs in the U.S. as in other countries. The deal is expected to eventually increase the number of prescriptions but hurt sales. It also gave Eli Lilly a three-year exemption from tariffs. A concern expressed by Eli Lilly and other critics of the policy is that high U.S. prices are necessary to fund research and development of new drugs. “I think we see a lot of people who would rather reduce prices today and not worry about whether we have any new medicines tomorrow, not worry about whether America will have a robust drug industry and we’ll be able to do research in this country,” Ricks said. “And I worry about those things, so I don’t think that’s a great idea, and we’ve been pretty clear with the administration and the congressional leaders about that.” The development of new drugs can cost billions once regulatory hurdles and failed trials are taken into account. The U.S. also accounts for roughly 40% of the world’s global pharmaceutical revenue.
Health
Weight drug battle heats up as Eli Lilly gets FDA nod
The battle for control of the global weight loss market is about to intensify with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving Eli Lilly and Company's weight-loss pill Foundayo. The decision means the United States-based pharmaceutical giant will go head-to-head with Danish rival Novo Nordisk for the millions of people seeking highly effective GLP-1 (glucagon-Like peptide-1) medicines. Eli Lilly said the once-daily pill would be available from direct-to-consumer platform LillyDirect, with prescriptions accepted immediately and shipping starting on 6 April 6, and from pharmacies and on telehealth platforms “shortly after”. The company will introduce Foundayo, the brand name for the drug orforglipron, only three months after Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill, setting the stage for the next battle between the rival drugmakers in the next frontier for GLP-1 drugs. Novo Nordisk was the first to market GLP-1 drugs with its injectable medicines, including Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity, but Eli Lilly dominates that U.S. market and was first to market with pills through Wegovy. “It’s a big moment,” Eli Lilly Chief Executive Officer David Ricks was quoted as saying by CNBC. He told reporters the d
Health
Eli Lilly deepens AI drug push in Insilico mega-deal
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) has agreed to pay up to US$2.75 billion (A$3.995 billion) for global rights to develop and sell drugs designed by artificial intelligence, striking a licensing and research deal with Hong Kong-listed Insilico Medicine (HK: 3696) that ranks among the largest AI-driven pharma transactions on record. Insilico will pocket $115 million upfront, with the balance tied to regulatory and commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties on future sales. Under the agreement, the Indianapolis-based drugmaker receives an exclusive licence to develop, manufacture and commercialise preclinical oral drug candidates from Insilico's pipeline across selected disease areas, according to a regulatory filing by the company. The Financial Times, which broke the story, reported that among the assets is a GLP-1 drug for diabetes - a category in which Lilly already dominates through its Mounjaro and Zepbound franchises.Not Lilly's first rodeoThe pact builds on an AI-based software licensing agreement the two companies signed in 2023. Insilico has expanded its AI-designed pipeline to 28 candidates, with key clinical milestones including promising Phase IIa data for its lead idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis asset. Insilico CEO A
Health
The Founders: Bringing smiles to the regions
Sibling duo, Claudine and Ned Restom, are on a mission to build one of Australia’s fastest-growing dental groups and fill a gap in regional dentistry. The Australian dental market is worth around A$13 billion, with over 20,000 businesses across the country as of September 2025. Despite this, there is still a short supply of dentists nationwide, particularly in regional areas. There is currently a city-country divide as people in regional and remote areas have more difficulty acquiring dental care. This is where Ned and Claudine’s business, Smile On, comes in.Standing outThe company was first started as a single coastal clinic on Avoca Beach and has since expanded to close to 50 clinics. As part of their business model, the siblings support practice owners to stay independent while benefiting from the support and resources that come with being part of something bigger. “I've worked in regional areas, and I could see a model that regional areas will lack in a lot of support and quality dental care,” Ned tells Azzet. “We teamed up with a lot of practices in those regional areas to create that model, to be able to support them clinically; that model works really well.” Ned also says the partner model makes them
Health
Hims & Hers ditches copycat drugs in Novo truce
Novo Nordisk has dropped its patent infringement lawsuit against Hims & Hers Health after the pair struck an agreement allowing Hims to distribute branded Ozempic and Wegovy - including the new oral Wegovy pill - through its platform at the same price as other telehealth providers. "We have decided to drop the current court proceedings," Novo CEO Mike Doustdar told CNBC, adding that the company reserves the right to refile "if needed". Shares of Hims & Hers jumped more than 36% in Monday morning trading, though they remain well off their 52-week high of around $70. United States-listed shares of Novo Nordisk rose 1.8%.How the loophole opened - and closedThe dispute has its roots in 2022, when the FDA placed semaglutide on its official drug shortage list. That listing authorised compounding pharmacies to obtain the active ingredient and produce their own versions to meet patient demand. Hims & Hers began selling compounded injectable semaglutide in May 2024 under that provision. On 9 February last year, the company ran a Super Bowl commercial called "Sick of the System", which reached an estimated 127 million viewers and promoted its compounded formulation as a lower-cost alternative to branded GLP-1 drugs. Then on 2

Health
Gilead announces US$7.8bn acquisition of Arcellx
Gilead announced it will acquire cancer therapy developer Arcellx in a deal worth US$7.8 billion (A$11.03 billion). This builds upon a preexisting collaboration between the companies to develop and commercialise Arcellx’s lead pipeline candidate, anitocabtagene autoleucel (anito-cel), an investigational BCMA-directed CAR T-cell therapy for patients with multiple myeloma. Anito-cel has shown deep and durable response with a predictable and manageable safety profile in clinical studies. “This agreement reflects our conviction in the potential of anito-cel and our intention to move with speed so we can make the most of that potential for patients with multiple myeloma,” Gilead Sciences chairman and CEO Daniel O’Day said. "Beyond the potential launch this year, anito-cel could become a foundational treatment for multiple myeloma over time, including earlier lines of therapy.” Under O’Day, Gilead has pursued several big deals and partnerships, including its $21 billion acquisition of Immunomedics in 2020. Gilead will pay $115 per share in cash and will also pay Arcellex shareholders $5 per share, contingent upon achieving cumulative anito-cel global net sales of at least $6 ‌billion from launch through the end of 202
Health
Novo Nordisk obesity drug falls short of rival Eli Lilly
Novo Nordisk's stock has fallen by over 15% after its new obesity drug fell short of rival Eli Lilly. Those treated with a dose of Novo Nordisk’s CagriSema in a trial achieved 20.2% weight loss after 84 weeks, compared to 23.6% for Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide. This meant that Novo Nordisk did not meet the primary endpoint of showing non-inferiority to tirzepatide, causing its stocks to plummet over 15% while Eli Lilly’s grew almost 5%. This follows a string of disappointing announcements for Novo Nordisk. The company’s shares have fallen to their lowest level since June 2021. Stock for the Copenhagen company has fallen 58.07% over the past 12 months. Despite the disappointing trial results, Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar remained upbeat about CagriSema’s potential. “We strongly believe that CagriSema has, right now, the best weight efficacy than any product currently in the market,” he said. Novo Nordisk (CPH: NOVO-B) stock tanked 16.48% to 251.40 Danish kroner on Monday. Its market cap is 1.34 trillion Danish kroner. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) stock rose 4.9% to US$1,058.56. Its market cap is US$998.60 billion.
Health
Cochlear lowers guidance amid Nucleus Nexa delays
Medical device company Cochlear has projected that full-year profits will be at the low end of its guidance range due to delays transitioning customers to its Nucleus Nexa hearing implant system, with shares falling by 16%. Cochlear’s revenue for the last half rose 1% year-over-year to A$1.18 billion. Underlying net profit fell 9% to $194.8 million, and statutory net profit dropped 21% to $161.5 million. “Cochlear reached a major milestone in June 2025, launching the Cochlear Nucleus Nexa System, the world’s first and only smart cochlear implant system with upgradeable firmware,” the company wrote. “We expect the business to deliver a strong second half driven by the broad availability of the Nexa System, strong growth in Services and improved momentum for Acoustics. Underlying net profit is expected to be at the lower end of the $435-460 million guidance range provided in August 2025, reflecting the longer than anticipated contracting process for the Nexa Implant System in the first half.” The company’s underlying net profit margin decreased from 18% to 17% last half. Operating expenses rose 1% to $602.2 million, driven by a 9% increase in research and development costs. Sales of its cochlear implants increased 6%
Health
Oncology driving steady upwards tick for AstraZeneca
Fresh financial results from AstraZeneca show that a continued strong demand for cancer treatment drugs has driven steady results for the company. The latest earnings report, released earlier this week, saw profit growth for 2026 expected to remain steady, if oncology demand stays high. AstraZeneca, the biggest drug maker in Britain, has lofty goals to achieve by 2030, including US$80 billion in annual sales "We have a lot of reason to believe we are very much on track to deliver our 2030 ambition," said CEO Pascal Soriot, who has served in the role since 2012. The U.S and Chinese markets are a key target for AstraZeneca, with a US$50 billion manufacturing deal struck with the States last year and an announcement just last month that the company plans to invest $15 billion into China, its second biggest market, up to 2030. This week's earnings report saw that oncology products made up 44% of revenue, and the U.S market was responsible for 43% of revenue when broken down by region.