Sanofi, Regeneron's Itepekimab Delivers Mixed Results in Late-Stage Trials
The French pharmaceutical company on Friday said that Itepekimab in former smokers with inadequately controlled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease met the primary endpoint of a statistically significant reduction in moderate or severe acute exacerbations compared to placebo of 27% at week 52.
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Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The FDA Just Approved a New Use for Wegovy, and Novo Nordisk Stock is Climbing. Here's What Investors Need to Know
Key Points Wegovy is now the second medicine approved in the U.S. for a disease that affects millions. Novo Nordisk has several other factors working in its favor, including strong results and a solid pipeline. The company looks attractively valued following its underperformance over the past 12 months. 10 stocks we like better than Novo Nordisk › The past 12 months haven't been great for Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO). Its shares peaked last year and have been in a downward spiral due to unimpressive financial results, clinical setbacks, and mounting competition in its core areas of expertise. However, Novo Nordisk is looking to bounce back. Recent regulatory progress could be a positive step in that direction. Here's what investors need to know. Another important approval On Friday, Novo Nordisk announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved Wegovy for the treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Wegovy has become a household name, famous for helping people manage their weight, but this new indication could be a significant development. Here's why. MASH is a disease characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver, leading to inflammation. According to some estimates, 22 million adults in the U.S. have MASH, although fewer, about 9 million, have clinically meaningful liver disease. That's not an insignificant number, and one might think that, given this large addressable market, there are many approved therapies for MASH. But that's not the case. Developing effective treatments has proven to be surprisingly challenging. Last year, the FDA approved the first therapy specifically for MASH. Now, Wegovy has become the first GLP-1 medicine to earn that indication. Although there are other treatments in development, Wegovy could carve out a decent market for itself in MASH, especially since it posted phase 3 results comparable to those of its only competitor on the market (for now): Rezdiffra, marketed by Madrigal Pharmaceuticals. Novo Nordisk is a significantly larger company with more funds, a larger marketing budget, and a larger sales team than its smaller peer. What will be the demand for Wegovy in MASH be? We can gather some clues from Rezdiffra's launch, which is going extremely well. About a year after it hit the market, Rezdiffra generated $212.8 million in revenue in the second quarter -- that's impressive and points to a massive demand for the medicine. Yet, Madrigal has barely scratched the surface of the addressable market. As of June 30, it had treated just over 23,000 patients. Wegovy's launch in MASH should be even smoother since it isn't starting from scratch -- it's already been on the market for several years. In my view, this new indication could add over $1 billion in sales to Wegovy's total within the next few years, especially because it's also being considered for approval for MASH in Japan and the European Union. It's also worth pointing out another development that helped jolt Novo Nordisk's stock price. The company is partnering with GoodRx to offer Ozempic at a reduced cost for patients who pay out of pocket. This move should help it deal with some companies that sell compounded versions of Ozempic for less. Is Novo Nordisk's stock a buy? Wegovy could earn yet another important label expansion by next year, although in a different version. Earlier this year, Novo Nordisk requested approval for an oral formulation of the medicine for weight loss. That could also move the needle for the pharmaceutical giant. An oral version would be faster and cheaper to produce, easier to transport, and thus more cost-effective to manufacture at scale. The previous shortages Wegovy dealt with would be far less likely to occur with an oral formulation. Notably, it would mark yet another breakthrough for Novo Nordisk. There is currently no oral GLP-1 medication approved for weight loss -- the drugmaker's own Rybelsus, an oral GLP-1 product, is indicated only for diabetes. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk's financial results remain strong. In the first half of the year, net sales grew by 16% year over year to 154.9 billion Danish kroner ($24.2 billion), while net profit of 55.5 billion DKK ($8.7 billion) rose 22% compared to the year-ago period. Furthermore, Novo Nordisk has an attractive pipeline. CagriSema, a next-generation GLP-1 therapy whose phase 3 results were strong (if not as strong as the market had hoped), appears poised to become a blockbuster. Some analysts predict that it will generate $15.2 billion in revenue by 2030. Elsewhere, Novo Nordisk's amycretin, another investigational weight loss therapy, recently started phase 3 studies in both oral and subcutaneous formulations. Despite recent clinical setbacks, Novo Nordisk's pipeline should earn some significant wins in the next few years, particularly since the company has been strengthening it through licensing deals. Lastly, Novo Nordisk stock looks reasonably valued. The company is trading at 13.5 times forward earnings, compared to an average price-to-earnings ratio of 16.5 for the healthcare industry. At current levels, the stock could deliver superior returns to investors who initiate positions today. Should you invest $1,000 in Novo Nordisk right now? Before you buy stock in Novo Nordisk, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Novo Nordisk wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $654,624!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,075,117!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,052% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025 Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The FDA Just Approved a New Use for Wegovy, and Novo Nordisk Stock is Climbing. Here's What Investors Need to Know was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Empeon Unveils New Technology Integrations to Help Drive Efficiency and Satisfaction Across Healthcare Workforces
Integrations with Equifax®, Human Interest and Streamline Verify Provide Income and Employment Verification, 401(k) Services and Exclusion Screening/License Checks, Respectively, to Help Support Facility Compliance and Employee Wellbeing MONTEBELLO, N.Y., Aug. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Empeon (the 'Company'), a human capital management software company focused on the healthcare industry, today announced new technology integrations with Equifax®, Human Interest and Streamline Verify to transform how healthcare providers manage their business and support their staff. These integrations expand Empeon's all-in-one, healthcare-focused platform with capabilities that include employment verification, 401(k) services and background/license checks, reinforcing the Company's mission to help healthcare organizations streamline operations, ease administrative workloads and proactively meet regulatory requirements. Empeon now offers access to The Work Number® from Equifax®, enabling automated and more secure income and employment verifications. The Work Number® helps simplify and accelerate the verification process for employees seeking loans, mortgages and other financial and government services, reducing the administrative burden on employers while helping simplify the verification process for employees. Empeon has also named Human Interest as its preferred 401(k) provider, delivering seamless, healthcare-specific retirement planning tools. The integration allows organizations to offer robust financial wellness benefits with minimal administrative overhead, helping to attract and retain top talent in a highly competitive labor market. Finally, to strengthen compliance and protect patient safety, Empeon's partnership with Streamline Verify introduces exclusion screening and continuous licensure monitoring. This integration helps employers to prevent credentialing gaps and maintain alignment with complex healthcare regulations, ensuring operational integrity at every level. Not only does Streamline Verify deliver Complete Automation through deep integrations, but it now introduces Intelligent Automation powered by data science—streamlining workflows, enabling smarter screenings, reducing false positives, and delivering faster, more precise results. 'As the healthcare industry continues to face ongoing staffing shortages and retention challenges, organizations need every advantage to remain competitive and sustainable,' said Morris Isaacson, EVP, Growth and Insights, Empeon. 'At Empeon, our mission is to simplify and strengthen healthcare workforce management so that organizations can do just that. By unifying core HR functions, including payroll, scheduling, benefits administration and more, we empower providers to operate more efficiently and give employees the tools they need to thrive. These new integrations are a natural extension of that mission, helping healthcare organizations to stay compliant, high-performing and focused on delivering exceptional care.' To learn more, please visit About EmpeonEmpeon is a human capital management platform designed exclusively for healthcare providers. The Company's fully integrated solution includes HR, payroll, scheduling, onboarding, and employee engagement—all tailored for the complexities of the healthcare industry. With an expanding partner marketplace and deep understanding of industry needs, Empeon empowers organizations to improve compliance, efficiency and employee satisfaction across the workforce lifecycle. Media Contacts Raquel Cona / Christina BavielloKCSA Strategic Communicationsrcona@ / cbaviello@ in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Wall Street Journal
12 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Serena Williams Is the Surprising New Face of Weight-Loss Drugs
Serena Williams used GLP-1s to lose weight after having children, the tennis star says in a new ad campaign for online healthcare company Ro that aims to widen the pool of customers for the drugs. 'After kids, it's the medicine my body needed,' Williams tells viewers in one commercial, crediting GLP-1s for helping her lose 31 pounds. Williams, whose husband Alexis Ohanian is a Ro board member and investor, will also star in billboards and digital advertising as part of a promised multiyear promotional effort.
