Latest news with #MSD
Irish Examiner
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Hannah Looney won't rule out following Meath's Aoibhín Cleary to AFLW
Hannah Looney will be in Croke Park on Sunday. And no, the multiple All-Ireland winner and All-Star camogie player hasn't got her dates mixed up, she will be supporting her partner, Meath ladies football captain Aoibhín Cleary, in the All-Ireland final. Seven days later the Cork dual star will line out against Galway in the camogie decider. In between, Aoibhín is Australia bound to play AFLW with Richmond in Melbourne. Hannah has the travel bug too and says 'the door isn't closed' on her trying her hand at the Australian Football League. 'No immediate plans, but yeah, it's definitely something that's always been very tempting. 'You never know what will happen and I will definitely get over to her in the winter. Before that I will focus on the club with Aghada (defending their football title) and camogie with Killeagh. 'What I always reflect on is, when I was a kid the dream was to play for Cork and to win All-Irelands and to be living that is very hard to step away from. Who knows in the future, I wouldn't say the door is closed. 'It will be very interesting to see how Aoibhín gets on and I wish her all the best. She leaves on Thursday. 'The professional lifestyle of course is very tempting. We'll see.' Four years ago Hannah got a chance to work in the US. 'I'm a senior chemical engineer with MSD and they are a brilliant, brilliant company. I'm in a global role and do a bit of travel, mainly to Italy. 'I went to New York in September 2021 with MSD and I would have had an opportunity to stay there for the full year. I did love New York but camogie brought me back and I think it always will. 'I came back in June and I got the end of the championship. It is just so hard to step away from such a good thing and it was great to be playing in the All-Ireland final in 2022. Unfortunately we didn't get over the line, it took us another year to do that. 'I'm getting that bit older (28) and it doesn't last forever. You have to enjoy it while you can. 'I know for a fact when I'm finished playing camogie I won't be in Cork. I'll come back eventually. 'We'll figure out the rest of life at some point.' Right now, they are aiming for double honours. 'Aoibhín wouldn't let on a lot about what is happening in the camp but credit to Meath to be in the final. I do know they are such a tight-knit group, they work hard and are really fit and that has brought them back to where they are. They're reaching those peaks that would have won them All-Irelands back in 2021 and 2022. 'It is nearly worse watching because you can't do anything about it. Hopefully they do get over the line because Aoibhín and those girls, they're a special group and I do think another All-Ireland is in them. 'We do learn a lot from each other being in two high-performing camps. 'I think that is why it works in many ways because we get it.'
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
MSD won't close Irish sites as part of $3bn cutbacks
Pharmaceutical giant MSD is slashing $3bn (€2.59bn) from its annual spending as part of global job cut but said it will not be closing any of its Irish sites. MSD yesterday announced a global cost-cutting exercise as it prepares for generic competition to its Irish-manufactured cancer drug Keytruda, the world's best-selling medicine, which is predominantly made in Ireland. The company will cut administrative, sales and research jobs, with increased focus on the US market. It has not said where the roles will be lost or if any Irish workers will be among those affected. However, a spokesperson told the Irish Examiner: "The restructuring announced today does not include site closures in Ireland." MSD employs more than 3,000 people at eight locations in Ireland. These include MSD Brinny in Co Cork specialising in development and manufacture of innovative novel vaccines and testing of immuno-oncology medicines; three facilities in Dublin (MSD Biotech, MSD Blackrock, and MSD Red Oak North); MSD Carlow; MSD Dunboyne in Co Meath; MSD Ballydine in Co Tipperary, the company's first Irish site; and MSD Dundalk, the former WuXi Vaccines sites acquired in January. The cost cuts will include $1.7bn (€1.47bn) in annual savings from the elimination of certain administrative, sales and R&D positions, MSD said. The company expects the restructuring to be completed by the end of 2027, the year before Keytruda's key patents expire and the drug faces US government price cuts. The company said it plans to reinvest the savings into developing new drugs and launching new products. EU-branded medicines will face 15% import tariffs under the new transatlantic trade deal agreed between the European bloc and the US at the weekend. Like many other pharmaceutical firms based in Ireland, MSD had stockpiled doses of Keytruda manufactured in Ireland, to protect itself from tariffs imposed in 2025. MSD previously disclosed plans to invest more than $9bn (€7.78bn) in US manufacturing over the next four years, part of an effort to make more of its medicines in the US. The company reiterated that it expects to spend $200m (€172m) on tariffs in 2025, a number that reflects levies already in place and doesn't account for future tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
MSD plans $3bn cuts amid competition for Irish-manufactured cancer drug Keytruda
MSD is slashing $3bn (€2.59bn) from its annual spending as it braces for off-brand competition to its Irish-manufactured cancer drug Keytruda, the best-selling medicine in the world. The drugmaker will cut administrative, sales and research jobs, as well as reduce its real estate holdings around the world, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The company expects the restructuring to be completed by the end of 2027, the year before Keytruda's key patents expire and the drug faces US government price cuts. The company said it plans to reinvest the savings into developing new drugs and launching new products. MSD shares were down 1.9% in premarket trading in New York. For now, MSD's cash cow is still propelling growth. Keytruda beat analysts' sales estimates in the second quarter, growing by 9% year-over-year and helping the company outperform Wall Street's profit expectations. Quarterly revenue was in-line with analysts' view, and MSD narrowed its full-year projections for sales and profit. The planned restructuring comes just days before US president Donald Trump's long-delayed tariffs on pharmaceutical imports are slated to start. Levies are expected to begin August 1 on drugs brought in from the European Union, with broad tariffs on the entire sector promised later in the month. MSD has already taken defensive action, stockpiling enough doses of Keytruda, which is primarily manufactured in Ireland, to protect itself from any tariffs imposed in 2025. It also previously disclosed plans to invest more than $9bn (€7.78bn) in US manufacturing over the next four years, part of an effort to make more of its medicines domestically. The company reiterated that it expects to spend $200m (€172m) on tariffs in 2025, a number that reflects levies already in place and doesn't account for future tariffs on pharmaceuticals. MSD has lost more than 30% of its value over the last 12 months amid mounting investor concern about its post-Keytruda future. The cancer medicine accounts for nearly half of the company's revenue and continues to grow, foreshadowing a multibillion-dollar hole in the company's business plan. It's also still dealing with the fallout over its second-biggest medicine, the HPV vaccine Gardasil. A dramatic decline in Chinese demand forced it to halt shipments to the country and rescind its previous forecast of $11bn (€9.5bn) in annual sales of the shot by 2030. Gardasil sales fell 55% in the second quarter. Excluding China, sales declined 3%. The company has touted Winrevair, approved to treat a rare lung disease, as a blockbuster in the making and pointed to a pipeline of new medicines for cancer, cardiovascular disease and HIV. Sales of Winrevair outperformed analysts' estimates in the second quarter, an encouraging sign for its ongoing launch. The company's animal health business beat expectations on the quarter, while its vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella fell short of projections. MSD's plan to ease Keytruda's inevitable decline rests in part on persuading patients and physicians to adopt an easier-to-use version of the drug, expected to win approval later this year. The revamped Keytruda, which is administered through a shot rather than an intravenous infusion, will eventually capture between 30% and 40% of the market for the original, MSD said.
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Buzzing in Ōmokoroa
Vague Hippo owner Haydee DeKlerk, 32, from Ōmokoroa, created a New Zealand-first frozen espresso pod company, after six years with the MSD.
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- Health
- NZ Herald
Chronic illness patient finds home after long wait in Northland
Logan, who is steroid-dependent and lives with only one functioning lung, said his doctors gave him a two-year life expectancy. 'But that's what they're giving me,' he said. 'I know I'm going to live longer than that. That's my plan.' He's now finally been placed in a warm, dry Kāinga Ora home in Kaitāia. 'I was pushing and pushing because the way I was living, with my health condition, was why I kept ending up in hospital,' he said. Kaitaia resident Zaine Logan is happy in his new home after a long wait. Photo / Yolisa Tswanya Logan says the stress of his housing situation was overwhelming. For a time, he lived with a cousin in a location that ambulances struggled to access. 'Where I lived with my cousin wasn't the best, it was hard for the ambulance to access me and I was always under a bit of stress because I knew how long it would take the ambulance to get there. It was a scary way to live. I was always wondering, 'am I going to die tomorrow?'.' After one of his more recent hospitalisations, he said a doctor refused to discharge him until he had a place to stay. Now, as he slowly moves his belongings into his new place, Logan said it's starting to feel like a home. 'It's warm, it's peaceful, and that's all I ever wanted from the start. I'm just happy that I've got somewhere of my own.' He said he was grateful his doctors wrote a letter and believed that was the push that led him to having his home. Graham MacPherson, MSD regional commissioner for Northland, said the supply of public housing was very tight and there was a shortage of affordable housing across the country. 'At any given time, we have many people, often with high needs and complex situations, looking for housing. How quickly they are housed depends both on their need and what is available that matches that need.' MacPherson said Logan was placed on the Housing Register on December 23, 2024 with a priority rating of A19 – which reflected his high level of need. 'At that same appointment we provided Zaine with financial support to stay in accommodation in Kaitāia. 'In March 2025 we attempted to contact Zaine about his Social Housing Application, but we were unable to reach him. As a result, his application was put on hold.' He added that in early June 2025 Logan approached them again requesting help with housing as his circumstances had changed. 'We offered to refer him to Transitional Housing but he declined and elected to stay with a friend.' Logan said he declined the transitional housing accommodation as he was not happy with the conditions of the place offered, opting to stay with his cousin instead. On June 24 he was offered a social housing property with Kāinga Ora. Kāinga Ora is responsible for matching people to available housing. Jeff Murray, regional director, Northland, said Logan was matched with a home in January this year and came back to their attention in June. 'Zaine's application came to our attention again in early June. Soon after, a home became available in Kaitāia that Zaine was matched to. We were able to contact Zaine, and he was offered the home as per our usual processes.'
