Most pharmaceuticals stocks are down today due to a number of factors, including reports that the Trump Administration is abandoning its plan to lower drug prices by eliminating or restricting pharmacy benefit manager rebating, Wells Fargo analyst David Maris tells investors in a research note. The analyst believes the market is correctly interpreting the move as a potential risk to drugmakers. The absence of a rebating fix "does not mean there will not be a plan to address drug prices, but perhaps a greater risk that the absence of a rebate fix will put additional pressure to come up with ways to actually lower prices in ways that could more greatly impact drug makers than the rebating fix would have," contends Maris. He points out that companies with large cash-pay components of their business, like Allergan (AGN), Establishment Labs (ESTA), Evolus (EOLS), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Perrigo (PRGO), Revance (RVNC) and Sientra (SIEN), do not seem to be under as much pressure today as some of their more generic or pharma-concentrated peers. Maris says his Outperform ratings on Allergan, Establishment and Sientra are in part due to their cash-pay concentration

Perrigo announced that pharmaceutical company Esteve Healthcare has signed a binding offer to acquire Perrigo's HRA Pharma Rare Diseases business for a total consideration of up to EUR 275M, consisting of an upfront cash payment of EUR 190M and up to EUR 85M in potential earnout payments based on the Rare Diseases business achieving certain sales milestones. Following the information and consultation process with HRA Pharma Works Council in France, Perrigo would be able to exercise the put option granted by Esteve and enter into a definitive agreement with Esteve for the sale of the Rare Diseases business. The proposed final transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2024, subject to the satisfaction of the HRA Works Council consultation and customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals.

Due to a rapidly changing epidemiological environment following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, CureVac and GSK decided to end the Pandemic Preparedness Agreement jointly concluded with the Federal Republic of Germany in April 2022. This decision was made after consultation with the German Federal Ministry of Health and the German Center for Pandemic Vaccines and Therapeutics. The agreement included the provision of production capacity and supply of mRNA-based vaccines in the event of a public health emergency in Germany. Termination will take effect on May 31, 2024, with no further financial obligations. Completion of CureVac's GMP IV manufacturing plant for the production mRNA-based vaccines is unaffected and progressing. Contingent upon regulatory approval, the facility is expected to be certified in the second half of 2024.

CureVac (CVAC) announced the start of the Phase 1 part of a combined Phase 1/2 study of an investigational influenza A pre-pandemic vaccine candidate developed in collaboration with GSK (GSK). The H5N1 avian influenza virus is considered a potential future pandemic threat, known to sporadically cross species from its original bird host to other animal hosts and humans. The monovalent vaccine candidate is based on CureVac's proprietary second-generation mRNA backbone and encodes an influenza A H5-antigen. The combined Phase 1/2 study will evaluate the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of an investigational influenza A pre-pandemic vaccine candidate in healthy younger adults aged 18 to 64 and healthy older adults aged 65 to 85. In the initial Phase 1 dose-escalation part of the study, up to five dose levels will be assessed compared to a placebo control. The study will be conducted in the United States. The broad CureVac-GSK infectious disease collaboration was first announced in July 2020. It focuses on applying CureVac's mRNA-technology to the development of new products for infectious disease targets.