Financing, acquisitions and drug forecasts

Below is a summary of current health news.

BioNTech will receive $145 million to finance African vaccine factories

Covid-19 vaccine maker BioNTech has secured up to $145 million from the Global Coalition to Fight Infectious Diseases to help build a production network in Africa for shots based on cutting-edge messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. BioNTech and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the financial support was part of an expanded partnership in connection with the German biotech company’s construction of an mRNA vaccine factory in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.

Catalent shareholders consent to buyout by Novo Holdings

Catalent said Wednesday that its shareholders voted to approve parent company Novo Nordisk’s $16.5 billion bid to acquire the contract manufacturer. In February, Novo Holdings agreed to buy Catalent, a key manufacturing subcontractor for Wegova, to boost production amid rising demand for the blockbuster obesity drug.

Analysis: As supply increases, projections for weight-loss drugs jump to $150 billion

As millions of people seek access to weight-loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, growing supplies, possible wider use and a growing number of potential competitors are prompting some experts to raise annual forecasts for global sales of these therapies to about $150 billion by the early 2030s . A year ago, estimates of top sales reached $100 billion.

In a late-stage study, J&J’s drug improved symptoms of depression and insomnia

Johnson & Johnson’s experimental drug helped reduce symptoms of depression and insomnia in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in a late-stage trial, the company said in a statement Wednesday. The study tested a drug called seltorexant in patients suffering from both depression and insomnia. Sleep disorders often accompany depression despite treatment with commonly used antidepressants.

FDA says exclusive nicotine-like chemicals in US vapes may be stronger than nicotine

Nicotine substitutes used in vaping products marketed in the U.S. and abroad, such as 6-methylnicotine, may be more potent and addictive than nicotine itself, although scientific data remains incomplete, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and independent researchers. Synthetic substances – which have a chemical structure similar to nicotine – are not subject to US tobacco and vaping regulations that are intended to control traditional nicotine, a highly addictive drug.

France opposes Servier selling generic drugs Biogaran, says prime minister

The French government has told drugmaker Servier that it is opposed to any sale of its generic medicines subsidiary Biogaran, which has almost a third of the country’s market share, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday. Last month, French media reported that Servier had asked potential competitors to submit bids by mid-June.

Shares of U.S. health insurers fall after UnitedHealth reports problems with enrollment in Medicaid

Shares of U.S. health insurers fell on Wednesday after UnitedHealth Group cited short-term disruptions in Medicaid reimbursement rates amid continued program-wide enrollment hurdles that began about a year ago. UnitedHealth shares fell 4.2% to $482.46, while rivals Humana, Centene and Elevance Health fell 3.2%, 3.7% and 2.6%, respectively.

JBS says China is blocking beef from US plants because of ractopamine detection

Meat processor JBS said Wednesday that Beijing had blocked shipments of U.S. beef from the company’s plant in Greeley, Colorado, because traces of the feed additive ractopamine were found in beef destined for the Chinese market. The world’s largest beef producer, Brazil-based JBS, said in a statement that it is working with U.S. and Chinese authorities to resolve the situation and that no other JBS beef plants in the U.S. are affected.

The US health secretary believes an agreement on a pandemic treaty is imminent

The top U.S. health official said Wednesday that it would be “tragic” for the world to miss key reforms aimed at the global response to the pandemic and that a treaty agreement was within reach, with no major differences among negotiators. Health officials are meeting in Geneva this week to try to end more than two years of negotiations on a pandemic treaty and a series of updates to existing international health regulations (IHR). However, the countries failed to finalize the treaty at this meeting and the countries are considering extending it.

Merck will buy eye-focused drug developer EyeBio for as much as $3 billion

On Wednesday, Merck agreed to buy private biotechnology company EyeBio for as much as $3 billion as it looks to diversify its portfolio of experimental drugs to include treatments for eye diseases. The drugmaker agreed to pay EyeBio $1.3 billion in cash and another $1.7 billion in future milestone-based payments, and as part of the deal it will gain access to Restoret for the retinal disease.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)