Ginkgo Bioworks today announced it expanded its strategic partnership with Novo Nordisk to manufacture medicines for chronic diseases. Under the framework agreement, the partnership is slated to run over five years. Ginkgo Bioworks develops a platform for cell programming and biosecurity, while Novo Nordisk develops a series of medications for chronic conditions, including its Wegovy…

Over the past three months, the pharma sector has seen a string of investments in manufacturing facilities, especially in Europe. While the European economy lost momentum in 2023 owing to a high cost of living, weak external demand, and monetary tightening, the prospects for growth remain stronger with the EU GDP growth forecast to improve…

Novo Nordisk announced last week that it plans to invest approximately 16 billion Danish kroner in GLP-1 drug production. That equates to about $2.32 billion or €2.14 billion. The company plans to expand its Chartres, France, production site for its current and future product portfolio within serious chronic diseases. This investment significantly increases the capacity…

The Biden-Harris Administration has nominated 10 drugs for price negotiations directly with pharmaceutical giants after capping monthly insulin costs at $35. Americans have historically paid more for prescription drugs than most other major economies. In a fact sheet, the White House highlighted that seniors paid $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for these drugs just last…

A pair of weight-loss drugs —  semaglutide and tirzapatide — could reshape the way we view and treat obesity, according to a Moody’s report dated May 18. The ratings firm notes that Novo Nordisk could benefit from a first-mover advantage in the obesity market as it now has two novel weight loss drugs on the…

The state of California has established a $50 million collaboration over a decade with the generic drug manufacturer Civica. The goal of the collaboration is to create affordable state-branded generic insulin. Qualified individuals may obtain a 10-mL vial of generic insulin for $30 or less. California plans to provide a pack containing five prefilled 3…

Paris-based Sanofi (Nasdaq:SNY) is the fastest company to reduce insulin prices. The pharmaceutical behemoth said it would cut  the list price of Lantus (insulin glargine injection) by 78%. Lantus is its most commonly prescribed insulin in the U.S. Moreover, Sanofi will implement a $35 cap on out-of-pocket expenses for users of the insulin. Sanofi has also…

Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) has settled a securities lawsuit in Denmark filed in August 2019 in the district court of Glostrup.  In 2019, Novo Nordisk vowed to fight the allegations contained in the lawsuit, which alleged that the company’s insulin-related profits fell at the same time prices and sales increased from February 2015 and February 2017. The…

Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) announced that one of its contract manufacturers filling syringes for its Wegovy (semaglutide) pens in the U.S. market has temporarily ceased manufacturing following a report of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) problems. The company projects it will be unable to meet U.S. demand for the drug in the first half of 2022 and…

Starting January 1, 2021, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) will reduce the list price of Insulin Lispro Injection in the U.S. to match 2008 levels. The 40% price cut will also extend to the company’s non-branded insulins. Still, the company acknowledged that people with fixed insurance co-pays or beneficiaries of Lilly’s affordability programs might not…