Aikut Karahan | Istock | Getty Images
A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Healthy Returns newsletter, which delivers the latest healthcare news straight to your inbox. To receive future editions, subscribe here.
Happy Friday! Buried amid this week’s election news was new data from drug companies vying to tap into the burgeoning weight-loss drug market.
major pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and biotech companies Viking Therapeutics The company was among the companies that recently presented promising data on obesity drugs and other treatments at the ObesityWeek conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Wall Street says a new wave of growth in the obesity field will be driven by pills that are more convenient, potentially have fewer side effects, and can keep patients on their medication for longer periods of time. I’m betting. Analysts expect the weight-loss drug market to be worth more than $100 billion by the end of the decade as more treatments emerge and help meet existing injectable demand. novo nordisk and Eli Lilly is still struggling to catch up.
Some of the data about the tablets is as follows:
Results from an early-stage study of 92 people showed that those who took the highest dose of Viking’s daily tablets lost an average of 6.8% in weight after 28 days compared to those who took a placebo.
William Blair analyst Andy Hsieh said in a note Monday that this exceeded investors’ expectations of a 5% to 6% weight loss compared to a placebo. He pointed out that the standard was set by Novo Nordisk’s experimental drug, which demonstrated a 5% weight loss in four weeks.
Hsieh also said Viking’s tablets had a “very benign tolerability profile,” noting how well patients tolerated the drug. Six of the nine participants given the highest dose of the drug experienced mild nausea, but only one experienced vomiting.
This could be an advantage over existing bariatric injections, which can cause gastrointestinal side effects so unpleasant that some patients stop treatment.
Still, some analysts question whether Viking will be able to capture a significant share of the competitive weight-loss drug market, raising concerns about its ability to manufacture enough drugs, especially as a small company. .
“This is not to say that Viking manufacturing is impossible, but the capital requirements and expertise beyond what Lilly and Novo currently possess are not to say that Viking manufacturing is impossible,” Deutsche Bank analyst James Shinn said in a note Monday. “I think it will be costly because it is necessary,” he said.
But Hsieh said he believes Viking offers “unique and attractive features from a big pharma perspective.” There is already speculation that Viking could be acquired by a major pharmaceutical company.
Apart from pills, Viking also develops weight loss injections and other treatments.
The office building of biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is seen in Shanghai, China on May 23, 2024.
Null Photo | Getty Images
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca presented data from several studies on three new treatments during the conference, saying its experimental obesity drug was well tolerated in patients with type 2 diabetes in an early study. Ta.
After announcing last year that it would license a once-daily pill from Chinese drugmaker Ecogene, AstraZeneca said it believed the pill would have fewer side effects than shots from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. .
Diabetic patients lost 5.8% of their body weight after four weeks of treatment with AstraZeneca tablets.
Some analysts said the AstraZeneca study was small and tested in diabetic patients rather than obese patients, making it difficult to compare the data with other weight-loss drugs. Still, AstraZeneca said it believes its tablet is differentiated from other treatments in development and on the market, especially given how well it is well tolerated by patients.
Please feel free to send tips, suggestions, story ideas, and data to Annika at annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.
Here’s how Americans voted on abortion access
April 24, 2024, the day the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington hears oral arguments on the legality of Idaho’s Republican-backed near-total abortion ban during a medical emergency. Rights supporters hold placards.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Here’s how Americans voted on abortion access
More than two years after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, Americans in 10 states voted this week on whether to allow abortion or expand access to it.
Access to abortion was a major issue during this year’s presidential campaign, especially among women voters. President-elect Donald Trump recently said he believes the issue should be left to individual states, but he has previously expressed support for various proposals for a nationwide ban.
While votes are still being counted across the country, here’s how Americans will vote on abortion, according to NBC News’ projections.
Arizona: Passed
Arizona voters passed Proposition 139, which provides the right to have an abortion in the state before the fetus reaches approximately 24 weeks of viability.
The bill passed with 61.2% of the vote, but 38.8% of Arizonans voted against it, according to NBC News. Approximately 74% of the expected votes have been counted so far.
Colorado: Passed
Colorado voters passed Amendment 79, enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution. It also lifts a ban that prohibited the use of public funds to pay for abortions, allowing more Coloradans to obtain insurance coverage for abortions.
According to NBC News, Amendment 79 passed with 61.9% of the vote. It received about 86% of the expected votes.
Florida: Fail
Florida voters rejected the Fourth Amendment, which gives a constitutional right to an abortion before the fetus is viable or if the abortion is necessary to protect the patient’s health. Abortion is currently prohibited in the state after six weeks of pregnancy.
According to NBC News, more than 57% of Floridians voted in favor of the amendment. I had to score over 60% to pass. Approximately 96% of the expected votes have been counted.
Maryland: Passed
Maryland voters enshrined access to abortion into the state constitution by passing the Right to Reproductive Freedom. This right includes “the ability to make and carry out decisions to prevent, continue, or terminate one’s own pregnancy.”
The bill passed with 74.7% of the vote, according to NBC News. It received about 83% of the expected votes.
Missouri: Passed
Missouri voters passed the Third Amendment, enshrining the right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution. The proposed amendment would give residents “the right to make and exercise decisions regarding all reproductive health care matters,” including abortion.
According to NBC News, Amendment 3 passed with a 51.7% vote, but 48.3% of the state’s residents voted against it. Approximately 99% of the predicted votes have been received.
Montana: Passed
Montana voters enshrined access to abortion into the state constitution by establishing the right to “determine and carry out one’s pregnancy.”
The measure passed with 57.6% of the vote, but 42.4% of voters voted against it, according to NBC News. Approximately 96% of the expected votes have been counted.
Nebraska: Mixed
Nebraska voters did not pass an amendment that would have expanded access to abortion beyond approximately 24 weeks of fetal life, but they did pass a bill that would codify existing abortion restrictions in the state constitution. Nebraska prohibits abortions after 12 weeks unless there is a medical emergency or the pregnancy was the result of sexual assault or incest.
According to NBC News, nearly 49% of Nebraska voters voted in favor of expanding abortion access, while 51.4% voted against it. The amendment banning abortions after the first trimester of pregnancy was passed with a majority of 55.3%. It received about 94% of the expected votes.
Nevada: Passed
Nevada voters passed an amendment that would ban abortions after the first trimester unless medically necessary. The amendment also makes exceptions if the pregnancy is the result of incest or sexual assault.
The amendment passed with 64% of the vote, according to NBC News. Approximately 92% of the predicted votes have been counted so far.
New York: Passed
New York voters passed Proposition 1, which protects access to abortion in the state constitution. The proposal says people cannot be denied rights based on their gender, including “sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, reproductive health care and autonomy.”
According to NBC News, nearly 62% of New York voters voted in favor of the proposal, while 38.1% voted against it. It received about 88% of the expected votes.
South Dakota: Fail
South Dakota voters did not pass Amendment G, which would have established the right to abortion in the state constitution. The state prohibits all abortions unless medically necessary to save the patient’s life.
More than 41% of voters in the state voted in favor of the amendment, while 58.6% voted against it, according to NBC News. Approximately 99% of the expected votes have been counted.
Feel free to send tips, suggestions, story ideas, and data to Ashley at ashley.capoot@nbcuni.com.
