Novo Nordisk’s focus on diabetes and obesity shape its business development work, but the company is also exploring other areas. Top Novo Nordisk M&A executive John McDonald discussed his company’s strategy during a session at the BIO conference in San Diego.

The post At BIO, Novo Nordisk’s Top Dealmaker Talks M&A Strategy and What’s Next After GLP-1s appeared first on MedCity News.

GLP-1 agonists are transforming the weight loss market. Experts weighed in on the changes they’re seeing, speaking in a panel discussion during the MedCity News INVEST Conference in Chicago.

The post Navigating Opportunities and Challenges in the GLP-1 Drug Gold Rush appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Holdings’ $16.5 billion planned acquisition of Catalent is facing another delay. Just weeks after Novo decided to resubmit its application to the FTC, the agency is seeking more information about the deal. This move has triggered a second 30-day delay in the antitrust review process.

The post FTC Seeks More Information on the $16.5B Novo-Catalent Deal, Leading to Another Delay appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk’s strategy to grow beyond metabolic diseases includes expanding into adjacent areas such as cardiovascular disease. Acquiring Cardior Pharmaceuticals adds a novel RNA-based therapy that is a potential heart failure treatment.

The post Novo Nordisk Expands Cardio Reach by Buying Heart Drugs Biotech Cardior appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk reported its weight loss pill amycretin led to greater weight loss measured at 12 weeks compared to clinical trial results for its blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy. But these results are from a small Phase 1 study and more testing is needed.

The post Novo Nordisk Obesity Pill Flashes the Potential to Beat Wegovy in Weight Loss appeared first on MedCity News.

Blockbuster Novo Nordisk drug Ozempic now has clinical trial results showing statistically significant reductions in the risk of kidney disease progression. The company said these results support the expansion of the drug’s label to chronic kidney disease.

The post New Novo Nordisk Ozempic Data Build Case for Adding Kidney Disease to Label appeared first on MedCity News.

After Novo Holdings acquires Catalent, it will sell three of the contract manufacturing giant’s sites to Novo Nordisk. Those facilities already make Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 drugs for metabolic conditions, and they will help the company meet projected demand for these products in years to come.

The post Novo Holdings Bolsters GLP-1 Production Capacity With $16.5B Catalent Buyout appeared first on MedCity News.

Insulin prices have long been a pain point for diabetics. The big three insulin manufacturers have cut prices across their product lineups, but potential competition from other biosimilar insulins is still in earlier stages of development.

The post Biosimilar Insulins Promise Patients New Choices, But Competition Is Still Lacking appeared first on MedCity News.

The FDA has found no clear relationship between GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, and reports of suicidal thoughts or actions. But the agency added that it can’t definitively rule out the risk, and its review is ongoing.

The post FDA’s Preliminary Review of GLP-1 Meds Finds No Tie to Suicidal Thoughts, Actions appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk’s planned expansion will more than double the footprint of its France production site, bringing new capacity for manfacturing GLP-1 drugs for metabolic conditions. The location is already one of the company’s largest for making diabetes products.

The post Novo Nordisk Plans €2B Site Expansion as GLP-1 Drug Demand Grows appeared first on MedCity News.

The KBP Biosciences drug Novo Nordisk is acquiring has reached Phase 3 testing as a potential treatment for uncontrolled hypertension and advanced chronic kidney disease. It’s the latest in a string of business deals aimed at expanding the Novo Nordisk pipeline beyond diabetes.

The post Novo Nordisk Strikes Deal for Late-Stage Hypertension & Kidney Disease Drug appeared first on MedCity News.

A study testing Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide in chronic kidney disease is ending early after an interim analysis met efficacy goals. Detailed results are not yet available, but they could support expanding use of the GLP-1 agonist, which is far and away Novo Nordisk’s top-selling product.

The post Novo Nordisk’s Star Diabetes & Obesity Drug Shows Promise in Kidney Disease appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk is paying Valo Health $60 million up front to gain three preclinical cardiovascular disease programs. Milestone payments for those programs and others covered under the artificial intelligence drug discovery pact could reach up to $2.7 billion.

The post Novo Nordisk Turns to Flagship’s Valo Health for AI-Driven Cardio Drug R&D appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk is expanding its cardiometabolic drug pipeline with the acquisition of Embark Biotech, a startup developing drugs for a novel target that can suppress appetite and boost calorie burning in cells. Embark’s science comes University of Copenhagen research on a novel fat cell target.

The post Still Hungry for New Obesity Meds, Novo Nordisk Makes Another M&A Deal appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk isn’t putting all of its weight loss drug hopes in the same basket. Its acquisition of Inversago Pharma for up to $1 billion will bring a biotech whose lead drug candidate has early clinical trial data showing significant weight loss.

The post Novo Nordisk Aims to Succeed Where Sanofi Faltered Drugging a Weight-Loss Target appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk weight-loss drug Wegovy reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events by 20% in a large clinical trial. The company said the results support expanding the drug’s label, but the looming question is whether the data will persuade payers to cover the pricey chronic therapy.

The post Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy Posts Trial Data Supporting the Drug as Way to Lower Heart Risks appeared first on MedCity News.

Employers should be looking at obesity as a chronic condition and focus on weight management solutions over weight loss solutions, said Parin Chikani, medical account director for managed markets at Novo Nordisk. He made these comments Tuesday at the Midwest Business Group on Health conference in Chicago.

The post How One Healthcare Exec Wants Employers To Tackle Obesity appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk can afford the price cuts prices to several branded and non-branded insulins. Flattening revenue for the pharmaceutical giant’s insulin products is offset by demand for diabetes and obesity drugs from its semaglutide franchise, which continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

The post Novo Nordisk Follows Eli Lilly’s Lead, Lowering Insulin Prices up to 75% appeared first on MedCity News.

High prices have drawn other critics, as well, including President Joe Biden. He renewed his call for a broad price cap during his annual State of the Union address. Pharma companies insist they have been part of the solution.

The post California lawsuit targets insulin costs as Biden also takes aim in SOTU appeared first on MedCity News.

The FDA approved a change in Rybelsus’s label, allowing the drug to be used as an initial therapy for type 2 diabetes patients. The once-daily pill has already become a blockbuster product for Novo Nordisk.

The post Novo Nordisk’s Diabetes Pill Rybelsus Gets FDA O.K. as First-Line Therapy appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk is acquiring global rights to a Ventus Therapeutics drug candidate with potential applications in cardiometabolic disorders such as NASH and chronic kidney disease. The small molecule blocks a protein that has become an attractive target for big pharmaceutical companies, such as Roche and Novartis.

The post Novo Nordisk pays $70M for a Phase 1-ready cardiometabolic disorder drug appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk announced that it will buy Forma Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech focused on rare hematologic diseases, in an deal valued at $1.1 billion. The deal is the second billion-dollar sickle cell disease deal the pharmaceutical industry has seen in the last 30 days — Pfizer forked over $5.4 billion in August to buy Global Blood Therapeutics.

The post Novo Nordisk to buy sickle cell disease biotech Forma Therapeutics in $1.1B deal appeared first on MedCity News.

Obese patients are more at risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and mortality than patients who maintain a healthy weight, and obese patient who develop these chronic conditions usually have more complications. That is why providers and payers must integrate more weight loss strategies in chronic condition care, panelists argued at a Tuesday panel hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.

The post Why obesity intervention needs to be a bigger part of chronic disease care appeared first on MedCity News.

The acquisition agreement comes exactly two years after the two companies began a wide-ranging alliance focused on developing RNA interference drug for metabolic disorders. The most advanced therapy from that alliance is on track to reach the clinic in 2022.

The post Novo Nordisk reaches $3.3B deal to acquire RNAi partner Dicerna Pharma appeared first on MedCity News.

Novo Nordisk is paying $100 million up front to acquire an experimental Prothena drug being developed to treat heart problems stemming from a misfolded protein. The deal is part of a broader strategy to expand into drugs for cardiovascular disease.

The post Novo Nordisk cardio push picks up Phase 2-ready Prothena drug in $100M deal appeared first on MedCity News.

Walmart struck a deal with Novo Nordisk to offer a heavily discounted, private-label version of its fast-acting analog insulin. But it still doesn’t solve the pricing problems patients have faced, with insulin costs skyrocketing in recent years.

The post Walmart rolls out discounted insulin, but patients still grapple with high prices appeared first on MedCity News.

Covid-19 showed how technology can upend the old ways of clinical trials. Panelists at MedCity’s INVEST conference said it’s highlighting the importance of improving clinical trial diversity so that tests of new therapies and vaccines reflect the population of patients that they will treat in the real world.

The post Covid-19 serves as catalyst for effort to diversify clinical trial enrollment appeared first on MedCity News.

Clinical tests of drugs from Gilead Sciences and Novo Nordisk have yielded encouraging results in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and the partners now want to see if the drug combinations help patients in a larger mid-stage study. The planned Phase 2b study expands on a 2019 R&D alliance.

The post Gilead and Novo Nordisk advance NASH collaboration to larger clinical study appeared first on MedCity News.

Prominent drug companies have said they want to curb waste and abuse in the 340B Drug Pricing Program. But the top lawyer at HHS is echoing the criticism hospitals have been leveling against the drug companies over access to the program.

The post In fight over drug discounts, HHS lawyer sides with hospitals appeared first on MedCity News.

The lawsuit follows action by at least a half-dozen drug companies to rein in what they see as waste and abuse in the program, overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile, the Hospital plaintiffs have a potentially powerful ally in the person picked to head the department under the incoming Biden administration.

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