Today, a brief rundown of news involving Eli Lilly and Akeso, as well as updates from McKesson, Haisco Pharmaceutical, Johnson & Johnson and Bausch + Lomb that you may have missed.
A first-of-its-kind study found that Eli Lilly’s obesity drug Zepbound could help lower overall healthcare costs for certain older adults with obesity or who are overweight. The real-world trial compared healthcare cost trends among adults 55 years and older with those conditions and who either did, or didn’t, receive Lilly’s drug. Investigators found that adhering to Zepbound treatment cut costs over time, in part because recipients visited the hospital or emergency room less frequently. At six months, monthly per-patient costs were as much as $181 lower. That gap widened to $607 after a year, according to the findings published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. The study "shows treatment costs can be lowered, and in some cases more than covered, by savings elsewhere in care," said Ilya Yuffa, a Lilly executive vice president and head of global customer capabilities, in a Wednesday statement. — Ben Fidler
Akeso and Summit Therapeutics’ double-barreled cancer drug ivonescimab has succeeded in another late-stage study in China. According to Akeso, trial monitors stopped early a Phase 3 trial testing a combination of ivonescimab and chemotherapy against an immunotherapy-chemo combination in first-line biliary tract cancer. Akeso didn’t provide specifics, but said the ivonescimab combination had a “clinically meaningful and statistically significant” impact on survival while also meeting study objectives related to tumor progression and response rates. The result represents the first time a therapy demonstrated a survival benefit compared to an immunotherapy-chemo regimen in that setting, a “major milestone,” Akeso said. Summit shares climbed by 14% in early Wednesday trading. — Ben Fidler
McKesson on Tuesday reached a deal to acquire Precision Medicine Group in a $2.25 billion purchase that expands the drug distributing giant’s portfolio of commercialization services. Precision Medicine provides biotech and pharmaceutical companies with clinical research and marketing support. The majority of trials it supports are in oncology and rare diseases. Precision Medicine’s acquisition is a “logical extension and additional step forward” for McKesson, though there are lingering questions about how the two companies might “make each other better,” wrote Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny. McKesson didn’t specify when the deal might close. — Delilah Alvarado
Beijing-based Haisco Pharmaceutical has licensed an immune disease drug to Sentivera, a new biotech backed by Arch Venture Partners and Population Health Partners. Sentivera will pay about $76 million in cash and equity for most rights to the therapy and could add another $1.46 billion in future consideration to the deal. The drug in the deal is a “core immunology asset,” blocks the development and progression of Type 2 inflammatory diseases and was recently cleared in China to begin human testing, the company said. It didn’t provide further details. The licensing pact is Haisco’s fourth with a U.S. or European drugmaker since the start of 2025, BioPharma Dive data show. — Ben Fidler
Johnson & Johnson’s autoimmune drug Imaavy has gained Food and Drug Administration approval for a second indication. On Monday, the FDA greenlit use in a rare condition called warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia, where antibodies mistakenly obliterate red blood cells. In pivotal testing, significantly more people taking Imaavy achieved a durable hemoglobin response than those who received a placebo. The clearance makes Imaavy the first approved treatment for the condition, which is typically managed with steroids and immunosuppressants. U.S. regulators last year first cleared Imaavy, which J&J has touted as a future blockbuster, for generalized myasthenia gravis.— Jonathan Gardner
Bausch + Lomb will push an experimental dry eye disease drug into Phase 3 testing even though it missed the main goal of a mid-stage trial. The drop combines the active ingredients in Bausch’s Xiidra and Miebo into a single product, and seeks to address the inflammation and tear evaporation associated with the disease. In Phase 2 testing, it failed to outperform Xiidra on a test evaluating the treatment's impact on dry eye disease signs after 29 days. The dual-acting product did, however, show superiority at 15 days, a pre-specified secondary goal and one that can be used to support an FDA approval, the company said. Bausch’s planned Phase 3 study will test the drug’s impact after 15 days. — Jonathan Gardner
