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CVS Health Corp. has been considering its strategic options, including a potential breakup, due to rising medical costs in its Aetna insurance arm. Hedge fund Glenview Capital Management recently approached the company with suggestions for improving the business, which increased pressure on CEO Karen Lynch. CVS has faced challenges in recent years, including government spending crackdowns, post-pandemic pressure on retail stores, and increasing health expenses in the insurance unit. The company's management and board have been working together on a strategic review, and all options are on the table. CVS shares have fallen 20% this year, and other activist investors may also be interested in the company. The Aetna insurance unit has faced quality and financial challenges, and CVS has cut its profit guidance three times this year. The company plans to cut 2,900 jobs to reduce costs, mainly in corporate roles. [Extracted from the article]

CVS Health Corp. has been considering a potential breakup for several months, according to a source familiar with the matter. These discussions began before hedge fund Glenview Capital Management approached CVS to discuss improving the company's business. Glenview recently had its first in-person meeting with CVS management, and the talks were described as constructive. CVS stated that it regularly engages with the investment community. As of 9:58 a.m. in New York, CVS's shares were down 1.3%. [Extracted from the article]

Gohl's lab will be sequencing positive samples not only from Minnesota but also from nearby states such as South Dakota and Iowa. By one point in the spring, when Michigan had become a global Covid hot spot, it had the second-highest number of alpha cases in the country, behind only Florida, according to CDC data. Keywords: 1779447D; 905192Z; DGX; LH; ALLTOP; ASIA; BIZWEEK; BUSINESS; CATOP; COS; DRG; EXE; GEN; GENTOP; GLOBALMACR; GOV; HEA; INDUSTRIAL; INDUSTRIES; MAC; MARKETS; NORTHAM; SCIENCE; TEC; TMT; TOP; US; WORLD; WWTOP; WWTOPAM; WWTOPAS; WWTOPEU EN 1779447D 905192Z DGX LH ALLTOP ASIA BIZWEEK BUSINESS CATOP COS DRG EXE GEN GENTOP GLOBALMACR GOV HEA INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIES MAC MARKETS NORTHAM SCIENCE TEC TMT TOP US WORLD WWTOP WWTOPAM WWTOPAS WWTOPEU The people hunting for mutations want the country to fix its virus sequencing mess. Even one of the country's best sequencing operations, two states over in Michigan, has struggled to meet the challenges posed by Covid. [Extracted from the article]

Bayer AG, a pharmaceutical company, is considering making deals worth €1 billion to €5 billion to rebuild its pipeline of new medicines. The company's top drugs are losing exclusivity and a promising experimental candidate recently failed. However, Bayer's pharma head, Stefan Oelrich, believes that the company has a portfolio of earlier-stage assets that show promise. Bayer is also open to licensing deals for existing drugs. The new CEO, Bill Anderson, is conducting a strategic review and plans to announce his findings in early March. He is considering breaking up the conglomerate model and pharma will continue to be core in Bayer's future business model. Despite financial challenges, Bayer is benefiting from newly launched drugs and is making progress in cell and gene therapy development. The company hopes to bring its first cell or gene therapies to market by the end of the decade. [Extracted from the article]

Bayer AG's pharmaceutical division is facing challenges as its top drugs lose exclusivity and a promising experimental candidate fails. However, the company's pharma head, Stefan Oelrich, remains optimistic, stating that Bayer has a portfolio of promising earlier-stage assets and aims to make deals in the range of €1 billion to €5 billion. Oelrich is also open to licensing deals for existing drugs. Bayer's new CEO, Bill Anderson, is conducting a strategic review and considering breaking up the conglomerate model. Despite financial difficulties, Bayer is benefiting from newly launched drugs and is making progress in cell and gene therapy development. Oelrich hopes to bring the company's first cell or gene therapies to market by the end of the decade. [Extracted from the article]

Merck & Co. has announced its plans to acquire cancer drugmaker Harpoon Therapeutics Inc. for $680 million. This acquisition is part of Merck's strategy to strengthen its position in the oncology market. Harpoon is known for developing drugs that utilize the body's immune system to fight cancer, particularly targeting lung tumors and multiple myeloma. Merck's top-selling drug, Keytruda, is expected to face pricing pressure in the future, so the company is seeking new sources of growth in the cancer drug market. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024. [Extracted from the article]

Eli Lilly & Co. CEO, Dave Ricks, stated that the company's focus is on early-stage deals rather than big acquisitions in the biopharma industry. Ricks believes that these smaller deals will provide access to new technology for developing cutting-edge medicines. Unlike its competitors, Lilly's success in weight loss and diabetes medications allows it to be more selective in its deals. The company completed around 30 "bite-sized" transactions last year, many of which were in gene or RNA therapies. Ricks explained that waiting for drugs to show proof of concept in studies can lead to expensive bidding wars with other pharmaceutical companies. [Extracted from the article]

Read More: Pfizer Cuts Guidance as Demand for Paxlovid Pills Dries Up As for Pfizer's other drugs, blood-thinner Eliquis narrowly missed estimates with sales of $1.5 billion in revenue. (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc.'s sales missed expectations for the quarter as its Covid-19 shot and pill continued to create instability for the drugmaker's efforts to transition out of the pandemic. [Extracted from the article]

Sales of its Covid booster fell 70% to $1.31 billion, around $200 million short of analysts' expectations, and Paxlovid sales tumbled 97% to $202 million, missing the mark by nearly $170 million. (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc.'s sales missed expectations for the quarter as its Covid-19 shot and pill continued to create instability for the drugmaker's efforts to transition out of the pandemic. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Eli Lilly & Co. will study its blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro in combination with an experimental muscle-loss treatment as it searches for ways to help patients maintain muscle while losing weight. Experts aren't clear on just how big of a problem this is for older people taking diabetes and weight-loss drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy. Lilly plans to study the Versanis drug in combination with Mounjaro, which is slated for approval for weight loss by the end of the year. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Eli Lilly & Co. will study its blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro in combination with an experimental muscle-loss treatment as it searches for ways to help patients maintain muscle while losing weight. Experts aren't clear on just how big of a problem this is for older people taking diabetes and weight-loss drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy. Lilly plans to study the Versanis drug in combination with Mounjaro, which is slated for approval for weight loss by the end of the year. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Biogen Inc. said it saw "favorable trends" in patients taking its experimental Alzheimer's disease therapy that targets a buildup of a protein called tau in the brain, in a release of early data Wednesday. Biogen previously reported that its drug reduced tau protein levels in the brain and spinal fluid of Alzheimer's patients. Biogen's Experimental Alzheimer's Drug Shows "Favorable Trends". [Extracted from the article]

The article presents stories from people around the globe impacted by the novel coronavirus known as Covid-19. A granddaughter recounts how her mother and grandmother passed away in China. A businessman explains his connections to China and Italy. A shopkeeper in Iran explains how sales are being impacted.

The article reports on the murder of pharmaceutical executive Barry Sherman and his wife Holly in Toronto, Ontario. It mentions Barry Sherman's founding of the generic drug company Apotex, the circumstances of the double murder and subsequent investigation, and presents comments from several of Sherman's associates.

The article provides information on the history of Addyi, the brand name for the drug filibanserin designed to be taken daily by women to increase their libido and treat hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). It discusses how the drug was off the market when a distribution scandal at Valean Pharmaceuticals became public before examining how it was acquired for release by Sprout Inc.

The cover story is provided which discusses safety risks of the Botox, or the botulinum toxin, drug produced by the pharmaceutical company Allergan, including deaths through botulism poisoning. An overview of former chief executive officer of Allergan Gavin Herbert Jr.'s (Junior's) moving the Allergan laboratories to Westport, Ireland, is provided. The security measures taken at Allergan laboratories that develop Botox are discussed.

The article discusses the problem of mental health in the workplace. It mentions the work of advertising executive Aaron Harvey to promote mental health among employees, the issue of including mental health conditions in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the need for employee assistance programs to handle mental health issues because of a lack of therapists.

The article discusses the U.S. pharmaceutical industry's development of new birth control products, within the context of the birth control Amphora gel for women by the Evofem company. The impact that low price of birth control pills, and associated birth control developer revenue, has on the drug industry's lack of creating new contraceptives are discussed.

The article focuses on mental health problems in the U.S. and other nations in the 21st century. It states in 2017 there were 1.4 million suicide attempts in the U.S. and 47,000 suicides while drug overdoses claimed 70,000 lives. It comments seven percent of U.S. adults reported suffering one or more major depressive episodes in 2017 and reports substance abuse and mental illness cost U.S. businesses up to 100 billion dollars annually. It talks about mental health problems in India and China.

(Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co. has discovered how its blockbuster diabetes medications have become contaminated with a potential carcinogen and believes it can resolve the problem by the end of the year. Another popular diabetes drug called metformin is among those affected, along with certain blood pressure pills and Pfizer Inc.'s smoking cessation drug, Chantix. [Extracted from the article]

The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF lost 26% in 2022 and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index fell by 11%. (Bloomberg) -- Flash-flood warnings, lingering Covid fears, stock-market turbulence: JPMorgan's big health-care conference in San Francisco has returned without nearly the opulence or excesses of the years before the pandemic. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses updates in the efforts by the U.S. federal government to control the Covid-19 pandemic. Also cited are the move by the administration of President Joe Biden to increase investments in infection testing and issue a policy mandating private health insurers to reimburse up to eight tests per person per month, and the comment of Proof Diagnostics' Sid Shenai on the developments.

The article reports on the falling prices of generic drugs and the impact on the generic drug industry. It mentions the discontinuation of the manufacture of unprofitable drugs, the role of drug-purchasing consortia who can force lower prices, and alleged price fixing by the manufacturers.