Wednesday, May 6, 2026

 

 

Teva Pharma (TEVA) PT Raised to $40 at Barclays

(5/6, StreetInsider.com) ...Barclays analyst Glen Santangelo raised the price target on Teva Pharma (NYSE: TEVA) to $40.00 (from $38.00) while maintaining a Overweight rating... Sub. Req'd

 

 

Trump's Drugmaker Deals May Save Economy $529B Over 10 Years, White House Says

(5/5, Associated Press) ...The scope of the savings claimed by the Trump administration are likely to intensify the scrutiny by Democrats, who counter that any price reductions would be offset by higher costs for prescription drugs not covered by the "most favored nation" framework. One of their main critiques is that pharmaceutical companies have increased their profit margins while working with the administration... Full

 

Monopolization in the Hospital Industry Is a Problem, But Patent Monopolies Make It Worse

(5/5, Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research) ...While monopoly power is a big part of the story, it is not the whole picture. In addition to paying staff and for utilities like electricity and water, hospitals are also big purchasers of prescription drugs, medical devices, and medical equipment. These items can be both expensive and have very opaque pricing. The reason is that the government grants patent monopolies to the producers. As a result, drugs and medical equipment can sell for tens, or even hundreds, of times the free market price... Full

 

'We Need To Get It Over The Finish Line' - Biosimilars Forum's Reed On The Red Tape Elimination Act

(5/5, Dave Wallace, Generics Bulletin) ...Time is running out for the US Congress to pass the Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act and enshrine changes to the country's interchangeability regime in formal legislation. Julie Reed, executive director of the US Biosimilars Forum, explains why the move is so urgently needed... Global Sub. Full

 

RFK Jr. Launches Plan to Address 'Overuse' of Psychiatric Medications

(5/6, Kristen Rogers, CNN) ..."Today, we take clear and decisive action to confront our nation's mental health crisis by addressing the overuse of psychiatric medications, especially among children," Kennedy said Monday at a MAHA Institute summit on mental health and overmedicalization. "We will support patient autonomy, require informed consent and shared decision-making, and shift the standard of care toward prevention, transparency and a more holistic approach to mental health."... Full

 

MAHA Advocates Push For Black Box Labeling On SSRIs, FDA Asks For Data

(5/5, Dorothy Mills-Gregg, Inside Health Policy) ...As part of the plan, agencies jointly issued a Dear Colleague Letter that encourages providers to receive "informed consent," where patients are briefed on a drug's risks and benefits. CMS released guidance that says Medicare will reimburse providers for tapering patients off of certain prescriptions, a practice also called deprescribing... Sub. Req'd

 

Editorial: Another Marty Makary Mistake

(5/6, The Wall Street Journal) ...Good news: Vinay Prasad on Thursday served his final day at the Food and Drug Administration. Now the bad news: Commissioner Marty Makary has tapped Dr. Prasad's deputy, Katherine Szarama, to replace him. Maybe the bigger problem at the FDA is Dr. Makary... Sub. Req'd

 

Pfizer CEO Sees CDC Director Pick Restoring Agency's Credibility

(5/5, Jessica Nix, Madison Muller, Bloomberg) ...[Pfizer Inc. chief executive Albert Bourla] said President Donald Trump's third nominee to lead the nation's top public health agency, Erica Schwartz, is a "very credible scientist," in an interview with Bloomberg TV Tuesday. Schwartz, who holds medical and law degrees and served as deputy surgeon general during the first Trump administration, is seen as a more conventional pick for the role. "CDC was a very painful story," Bourla said. He added the new nominee is helping "turn around" the agency... Full

 

A New Medicare Option for Weight Loss Drugs Is Coming: Here's What to Know

(5/6, Jackie Fortier, NPR) ...Starting in July, Medicare beneficiaries may be able to get a GLP-1 prescription for weight loss for $50 a month...The initiative, announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, is a short-term pilot program known as the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge. It will run from July 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2027. It's meant to "bridge" the gap before a longer-term program that might - or might not - begin in 2028... Full

 

Bill To Create Virginia PDAB Returns To Spanberger's Desk

(5/5, Jessica Karins, Inside Health Policy) ...Affordability advocates are pressing Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) to sign a bill creating a prescription drug affordability board (PDAB) in the state after legislators overrode her initial changes to the bill that would have prevented implementation for at least a year... Sub. Req'd

 

PhRMA Launches Seven-Figure Ad Aimed at US Drug Discount Program

(5/6, Nyah Phengsitthy, Bloomberg Law) ..."As scrutiny of the 340B markup program grows, we're launching a campaign to expose how some large hospital systems profit without helping patients," Alex Schriver, PhRMA's senior vice president of public affairs, said in an email. "340B profits have become an oversight free goldmine for big, tax exempt hospitals and clinics that raise costs for patients, employers and taxpayers."... Full

 

 

With DUET Data Officially on the Table, J&J Moves Co-Antibody into Phase III

(5/5, Elizabeth S. Eaton, FirstWord PHARMA) ...While the pharma's DDW presentation didn't share much more beyond what was leaked in April - that JNJ-4804 achieved statistical significance on remission in the patient subgroup - presenting author Bruce Sands called the CD findings "particularly promising because they show meaningful clinical and endoscopic improvements in patients who have exhausted existing options."... Full

 

AbbVie Highlights New Long-Term Data Advancing Treatment Standards in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) at 2026 Digestive Disease Week®

(5/5, Abbvie) ...AbbVie will present 18 abstracts, including real-world evidence and long-term findings for SKYRIZI® (risankizumab-rzaa) and RINVOQ® (upadacitinib) in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis... Full

 

 

CVS to Expand Biosimilar Formulary Adoptions to Improve Affordability, Accessibility

(5/5, Cailey Gleeson, Fierce Healthcare) ...CVS announced Tuesday it will expand its use of lower-cost biosimilars and transition to interchangeable alternatives for select brands, including Johnson & Johnson's psoriasis drug Stelara...The changes will be effective July 1, the company said in the announcement... Full

 

Chinese Drugmaker Scores Big in US Insulin Market

(5/6, Li Jing, China Daily) ...China's Sunshine Lake Pharma has won US Food and Drug Administration approval for its insulin glargine injection, marking the first time a Chinese-developed insulin has obtained the regulator's "interchangeable biosimilar" designation - a milestone that underscores the accelerated entry of Chinese biopharmaceutical companies into high-end global markets... Sub. Req'd

 

Ravicti Rivals Follow End Of Par Exclusivity In US

(5/5, Dave Wallace, Generics Bulletin) ...Multiple firms have now paved the way to challenge Amgen's ammonia scavenger Ravicti (glycerol phenylbutyrate) 1.1g/ml oral liquid in the US, after the US [FDA] approved a slew of generic versions... Global Sub. Full

 

Lannett Delivers On US Insulin Glargine Approval

(5/5, Dave Wallace, Generics Bulletin) ...After a long time in development, Lannett's HEC-partnered insulin glargine biosimilar has finally made it to approval in the US. With the firm's acquisition by Aurobindo still pending, Lannett has set out plans to create a new Lanexa Biologics subsidiary to market its biosimilars... Global Sub. Full

 

 

Bayer to Buy Eye-Drug Developer Perfuse Therapeutics for Up to $2.45 Billion

(5/6, Adrià Calatayud, The Wall Street Journal) ...Perfuse's lead drug candidate is an experimental treatment for glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy currently being tested in mid-stage clinical trials, Bayer said. It has the potential to become one of the first disease-modifying treatments for both conditions, the company added. Bayer said it would pay $300 million upfront, with the rest of the price subject to hitting development, regulatory, and commercial targets. Perfuse is Bayer's biggest acquisition since its takeover of AskBio for up to $4 billion in 2020, a company spokeswoman said... Sub. Req'd

 

After Vyndamax Boost, Pfizer Marks 2029 for Next Growth Chapter

(5/5, Anna Bratulic, FirstWord PHARMA) ..."Our recent settlement agreements resolving infringement of patent related to Vyndamax have the potential to change the growth profile of the company significantly post-2028," Bourla said during Pfizer's first-quarter presentation Tuesday. "This gives us greater confidence that starting in 2029, we will enter a five-year period of high-single-digit revenue CAGR."... Full

 

American Factories Lag in Adopting A.I. This Drugmaker Is an Exception.

(5/6, Farah Stockman, The New York Times) ...[Bristol Myers Squibb] is just beginning to use A.I. in its manufacturing process of another drug, Breyanzi, which turns a cancer patient's own white blood cells into a personalized therapy. Currently, the Devens plant is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to produce treatments for just 12 patients at a time. [Karin Shanahan, executive vice president, chief supply chain and operations officer for the company,] said she hoped that eventually A.I. would increase production of the treatment, often viewed as a last resort for people with blood cancers such as leukemia... Sub. Req'd

 

Sanofi Expands AI Capabilities, Investing $294M to Scale Toronto Hub

(5/5, Angus Liu, Fierce Pharma) ...The French pharma is investing $294 million to expand its global AI center of excellence in Toronto, kicking off a scale-up of the digital infrastructure it built at the Canadian hub four years ago. The expansion, supported by an up-to-$5 million conditional grant from the Invest Ontario Fund, is expected to create 50 high-skilled jobs in AI, machine learning and data science by 2028, according to a May 4 release... Full

 

Royalty Pharma Reports First Quarter 2026 Results

(5/6, Royalty Pharma) ..."Importantly, we continue to innovate our business and are very excited by the emergence of a significant opportunity in R&D co-funding with global biopharma companies. Our transactions this year included two such agreements - with Johnson & Johnson and Teva - underscoring the growing demand for this novel funding modality."... Full

 

Novo Edges up Annual Outlook Following Oral Wegovy's 'Record' Launch

(5/6, Matthew Dennis, FirstWord PHARMA) ...Novo Nordisk said Wednesday that since being launched on January 5 in the US, the oral version of Wegovy has racked up more than 2 million prescriptions, including 1.3 million in the first quarter. "It is no secret that the Wegovy pill is off to a record breaking start in the US," remarked CEO Mike Doustdar, with over 200,000 prescriptions written for the GLP-1 in the week ending April 17... Full

 

Neurocrine Biosciences Reports First-Quarter 2026 Financial Results

(5/6, Neurocrine Biosciences) ...INGREZZA first-quarter 2026 net product sales were $656.9 million, representing 20% growth year-over-year. Results reflected double-digit prescription volume growth in TRx and record NRx driven by strong patient demand, partially offset by a lower net price compared to the first quarter of 2025... Full

 

Fresenius Posts Narrow Profit Miss Amid Headwinds From China

(5/6, Sonja Wind, Bloomberg) ...First-quarter earnings rose by 6% to €678 million ($795 million) before interest and taxes and on constant currency terms, the German company said Wednesday. That was below the €686 million average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue also grew slightly less than expected, even as strong performance in its Helios hospital business and intravenous drug unit Kabi supported overall growth... Full

 

Celltrion's Q1 Operating Profit More Than Doubles on Biosimilar Growth

(5/6, Lee han-soo, Korea Biomedical Review) ...The company reported consolidated sales of 1.15 trillion won ($789.6 million) in the first quarter of 2026, up 36 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit jumped 115.5 percent to 321.9 billion won, marking its highest-ever first-quarter sales and operating profit... Full

 

Aurobindo Pharma Shares Gain on U.S. FDA's VAI Classification of Oral Solid Dosage Unit

(5/6, N. Ravi Kumar, The Hindu) ...The unit has now received Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) classifying the facility as VAI. The U.S. FDA has concluded that the inspection is now closed, Aurobindo said in an intimation to the stock exchange about its oral solid dosage manufacturing unit near Hyderabad... Full

 

 

Swiss Manufacturing, Biotech Industry So Far Unfazed by Geopolitics

(5/5, Anna Brown, Endpoints News) ...According to a Tuesday report by the trade group Swiss Biotech Association (SBA), pharma manufacturing and exports from Switzerland actually grew in 2025 despite President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs brewing in the background...But there's still a risk that pharma companies moving production to the US could have a negative impact on Switzerland in the future, Christof Klöpper, CEO of Basel Area Business & Innovation, told Endpoints on the sidelines of the Swiss Biotech Day in Basel... Sub. Req'd

 

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