Currently browsing tag

monday

Merck cholesterol drug’s odds dim after Lilly failure

The odds that Merck & Co’s high-stakes cholesterol drug will succeed have dropped dramatically after Eli Lilly and Co said its similar medicine failed to reduce heart attacks and strokes, top U.S. heart doctors said. Lilly on Monday said it was halting a 12,000-patient study of its drug, evacetrapib, an oral medication. In earlier studies, the treatment cut “bad” LDL cholesterol by 30 to 35 percent and doubled the levels of “good” LDL cholesterol.

Celgene to invest $1 billion in Juno to partner in cancer therapies

Celgene Corp on Monday launched a 10-year partnership with Juno Therapeutics, announcing a $1 billion investment aimed at bringing to market Juno technologies that harness the immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The huge vote of confidence propelled Juno’s shares more than 40 percent higher to $65.75 in heavy extended trading. Celgene will pay Juno about $150 million upfront and buy about 9.1 million newly issued Juno shares at $93 each, double Juno’s closing price on Monday.

Obama administration: 16.4M have gained health insurance

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 16 million Americans have gained insurance coverage as a result of President Barack Obama’s health care law, the administration said Monday as the White House prepares to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the law’s signing.