Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is. Clear blue skies and cool breezes are currently enveloping the placid Pharmalot campus, where the official mascots are snoozing cozily in their respective corners and the usual din of motor cars is nowhere to be heard. So this calls for a celebratory cup of stimulation. Our choice today is the oh-so tasty hazelnut mocha. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest to start you on your journey, which we hope is productive and meaningful. Have a grand day, and do keep in touch. …
The number of new prescriptions written for biosimilar versions of the Humira rheumatoid arthritis treatment, one of the best-selling medicines in the U.S., surged to 36% from just 5% during the first week of April, thanks to the expanding reach that CVS Health has over the prescription drug market, STAT writes. The big jump was attributed to one particular biosimilar called Hyrimoz, which is manufactured by Sandoz, a former unit of Novartis that is a leading supplier of generic and biosimilar medicines. However, Hyrimoz is jointly marketed with Cordavis, a new subsidiary that CVS created last August specifically to sell biosimilar medicines in the U.S.
Shah Capital is seeking a change in leadership at Novavax and wants to appoint two handpicked directors, Pharmaphorum notes. In an open letter, the hedge fund accuses Novavax’s leadership of squandering its “many significant competitive advantages and sizeable market opportunity” due to “self-inflicted problems” under the current team led by chief executive John Jacobs. The bid by Shah Capital – which owns 6.7% of Novavax and is one of its top five shareholders – comes as the company has seen its share price come under massive pressure since the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, when its shares were trading above $290 and it had a valuation of more than $40 billion.