Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is. There is nothing like being greeted with clear blue skies and cool breezes upon waking up today on the Pharmalot campus. Birds are chirping, squirrels are scavenging, official mascots are barking. And we are similarly engaged in early-in-the-day rituals of our own — firing up the trusty coffee kettle for another cup of stimulation. Once again, we are reaching for pistachio creme, a tasty treat. Please feel free to join us. While you consider the invite, here are a few tidbits for you to peruse as you begin the day ahead, which we hope is successful. Best of luck, and do stay in touch. Postcards and telegrams are still accepted. …
Sanofi will pay more than $100 million to settle about 4,000 lawsuits accusing the drugmaker of failing to warn users that its Zantac heartburn medicine could cause cancer, according to Bloomberg News. The settlement was announced earlier this month, but the amount was not made public at that time. The deal provides former Zantac users with an average of more than $25,000 per claim. But the relatively modest settlement should please Sanofi investors, who worried about the financial fallout of thousands of U.S. lawsuits targeting Zantac makers, including GSK, which originally developed the heartburn treatment.
Eli Lilly agreed to acquire a manufacturing facility from Nexus Pharmaceuticals to produce injectable medicines, and Lilly expects production at the Pleasant Prairie, Wi., facility to begin at the end of 2025, Reuters notes. Soaring demand for diabetes and obesity drugs has led to shortages for Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website showed most doses of Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight loss drug Zepbound would be in limited supply through the second quarter of this year. Lilly anticipates limited availability near term but signaled manufacturing investments would gradually increase production throughout 2024 and beyond.