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Trio wins Nobel for work on cells, oxygen; Sacklers earn up to $13B from Purdue

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Trio wins Nobel for work on cells, oxygen; Sacklers earn up to $13B from Purdue

Top news

* William Kaelin Jr., Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza were awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine this year for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet said the trio's discoveries helped explain how oxygen levels affect cellular metabolism and physiological function and paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and many other diseases.

* Purdue Pharma LP, which filed for bankruptcy last month, funneled up to $13 billion in profits to its owners, the Sackler family — higher than a previously disclosed amount, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing legal filings. Purdue, the maker of highly addictive opioid painkiller OxyContin, is seeking to extend bankruptcy protection to the Sacklers — a request that was met with resistance from several states on Friday's court filings, Bloomberg News noted.

Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family are facing more than 2,600 lawsuits for allegedly playing a role in fueling the U.S. opioid addiction crisis.

* The U.S. maintained its status as a country that has eliminated measles even after reporting 1,249 cases of the disease between Jan. 1 and Oct. 4 — the worst measles outbreak since 1992. "We are very pleased that the measles outbreak has ended in New York and that measles is still considered eliminated in the United States," said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

* The decadeslong search for more effective HIV treatments has led otherwise competitive pharmaceutical companies to enter into collaborations toward a common goal of improving the lives of almost 38 million people around the world with the infection. "Recognizing that HIV treatment is long-term treatment, people are going to need to stay on therapy essentially for the rest of their lives," Brian Woodfall, Global Head of Development for Infectious Diseases at Johnson & Johnson, told S&P Global Market Intelligence.

* The healthcare industry added 38,800 jobs in September, continuing a growth trend and once again proving to be one of the top industries for employment, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This brings the 2019 total to about 307,600 added jobs.

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On the policy front

* A White House report claiming that U.S. drug prices dropped by 0.7% over the past year is flawed because the analysis left out the most expensive types of medicines sold in the U.S., critics said. The analysis from the White House Council of Economic Advisers, disclosed Oct. 2, failed to include the prices of medicines administered in doctors offices and hospitals, drugs for complicated diseases sold by specialty pharmacies and newly approved therapies, said Walid Gellad, associate professor of medicine and director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing at the University of Pittsburgh.

* President Donald Trump signed a proclamation issued by the White House that will suspend the entry of immigrants who cannot pay for their healthcare insurance, effective Nov. 3, Reuters reported.

* Australia is allocating A$3 million in funding for research on medicinal cannabis to help treat patients with cancer amid increasing demand, Reuters reported, citing Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt.

M&A and capital markets

* Oyster Point Pharma Inc., which develops therapies for dry eye disease, is planning an IPO of up to $85 million of its common shares on the Nasdaq Global Market.

Drug and product pipeline

* Johnson & Johnson is committing about $500 million in research and development over four years to help global efforts to eliminate HIV and tuberculosis by 2030. The New Brunswick, N.J.-based pharmaceutical giant said it will dedicate researchers to accelerate the development of next-generation medicines and vaccines to complement investments being made by governments.

* Struggling with a 50% drop in its valuation in the past two months, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. has notched some much-needed positive results in an early-stage muscular dystrophy gene therapy trial, potentially calming some investors' nerves. The results from the three-patient, low-dose cohort of Sarepta's ongoing phase 1/2a trial in a genetic disease called limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2E, or LGMD 2E, demonstrated improvement in patients' muscle protein expression, function and blood enzyme levels, meeting the study's goals.

* Pfenex Inc. said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the new drug application for PF708 to treat osteoporosis in certain patients at high risk of fracture. Pfenex is seeking U.S. approval to designate PF708 as therapeutically equivalent to Eli Lilly and Co.'s Forteo injection.

Operational activity

* Vectura Group PLC scored a win in its lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline PLC relating to the packaging of a generic inhaler. Chippenham, U.K.-based Ventura said the English High Court dismissed all of GlaxoSmithKline's claims involving the appearance and packaging of AirFluSal Forspiro, an inhaler launched in 2015 for patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

* Among the four sectors considered to have the highest cyberrisk, hospitals and other healthcare providers have the least transparent cybersecurity protocols, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service. Fewer than half of the healthcare companies Moody's analyzed detailed how their boards oversee cyberrisks and only two companies noted having cyber insurance, according to the credit rating agency.

* Bayer AG said its Oct. 15 trial in St. Louis in relation to claims that its glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup causes cancer has been postponed until further notice, Reuters reported.

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.16% to 21,375.25.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.39% to 7,183.19, and the Euronext 100 rose 0.45% to 1,069.87.

Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

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