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Today's Rundown

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Pfizer accuses former employees of 'treachery' in stealing trade secrets to form Regor Therapeutics

Pfizer has accused two former employees who went on to form a new biotech of stealing “the hard work” of the Big Pharma’s own scientists for a diabetes and obesity program, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

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Humana outlines its strategy to bounce back after MA growth for 2022 underwhelms

Humana posted a $14 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the insurer's earnings report released Wednesday morning.

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Pfizer's oral antiviral might be better, but Merck still expects $5B-plus from molnupiravir in 2022

Despite worries that Merck's oral COVID antiviral is inferior to Pfizer's rival drug, the Merck medicine is seeing demand amid the omicron surge. Merck execs project a big year for the medicine in 2022.

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Arrowhead ‘changing horses’ for ENaC pulmonary program as phase 1/2 asset shelved

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals is ditching a pulmonary drug after it failed to hit the mark in a phase 1/2 cystic fibrosis trial last year. But the biotech is filling up its quiver with at least two more prospects in the program as a replacement.

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After disastrous start to launch, Biogen still expects 'minimal' sales from Aduhelm this year

Before Biogen won approval for controversial Alzheimer's disease drug Aduhelm, the company had been facing down competitive threats to key medicines. Now that Aduhelm is on the market and barely generating any sales, the company could be in an even more challenging position than it was before.

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BD doubles COVID sales forecast for 2022 even as steep testing dropoff leads to revenue loss

Nearly two full years into the pandemic, COVID-19 still has the power to make or break a company’s bottom line.

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HHS: Disparities in video telehealth use highlight key barriers to access

A new federal survey found major disparities in video telehealth use across different incomes and ethnicities, sparking calls for new policies to create more equitable access.

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Completion of Lilly’s Alzheimer’s submission slips out of Q1 after CMS’ Aduhelm decision

The timeline for completing an accelerated approval request for Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s treatment donanemab has slipped out of the first quarter after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services narrowed coverage for Biogen's rival med to just clinical trial use.

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Roche’s 2021 test sales collect on COVID demand, base business rebound

Combined, Roche's diagnostic sales grew 29% to 17.8 billion Swiss francs, or about $19.4 billion U.S., with COVID-19 diagnostics accounting for about a quarter of the year’s total.

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Takeda's Sequeira to head up newly created global portfolio division, Kim to lead US unit

Several years ago, Takeda CEO Christophe Weber lamented the lack of gender diversity in the drugmaker's executive ranks. With a group of appointments Thursday, it appears the company has made strides on that front.

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City of Hope closes acquisition of Cancer Treatment Centers of America

The reported $390 million deal yielded a cancer research and treatment organization of 11,000 employees and nearly 600 physicians across California, Arizona, Illinois and Georgia.

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Sanofi launches new corporate brand and logo, and that goes for Genzyme and Sanofi Pasteur, too

A little over a year ago, Pfizer changed its logo and corporate websites, and today Sanofi is making the same move.

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Quest CEO Rusckowski to step down after a decade, following record-setting 2021

Rusckowski will be succeeded as president and CEO by James Davis, currently the executive vice president of the company’s general diagnostics business.

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Synaffix lines up $586M pact with MacroGenics en route to 'one-stop shop' for ADC tech

Add cancer-focused biotech MacroGenics to the list of biopharmas shoveling out cash for Synaffix's antibody-drug conjugate technology. The Maryland biotech will dish out up to $586 million for access to Synaffix's ADCs for three programs.

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