Intercept Pharma higher on activist chatter

A rumor making the rounds says a large activist may be getting involved with Intercept Pharma (NASDAQ:ICPT) to push for sale.

Intercept disappointed in late June when it received a CRL from the FDA for its application for the use of obeticholic acid (OCA) to treat liver fibrosis due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Shares fell about 40% that day, and have slipped a bit further since.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3591907-intercept-pharma-higher-on-activist-chatter

Walgreens up on DoorDash collaboration

More than 2,300 health, wellness and convenience products will now be delivered on-demand to consumers in Chicago, Atlanta and Denver through the Walgreens (WBA +1.8%) and DoorDash (DOORD) collaboration.

During summer, it seeks to expand to Cincinnati, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento and Seattle.

By the end of summer 2020, they plan to offer +5K items for delivery on the DoorDash platform.

Walgreens is available on DoorDash’s subscription service, DashPass, offering unlimited free delivery fees and reduced service fees to members.

Walgreens shares have been sharply lagging the broader market during the market recovery (-25.5% in past 6 months vs. -1.7%).

The stocks tumbled last week on disappointing earnings, but has recovered some as investors saw the performance problems concentrated in its Boots UK business.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3591939-walgreens-high-on-doordash-collaboration

Principia Biopharma up on rumored Sanofi interest

Principia Biopharma (PRNB +11.9%) perks up on almost an 8x surge in volume in apparent response to rumblings that Sanofi (SNY -0.8%) is eyeing the immune disorder therapy developer.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3591995-principia-biopharma-up-12-on-rumored-sanofi-interest

U.S. COVID-19 testing capacity still constrained – Clinical Chem Assn.

In a statement, the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC), a clinical laboratory industry group, says the scarcity of essential gear, including sample collection (nasal swabs) and test components and personal protective equipment, will continue to hamper the nation’s labs in expanding testing capacity for COVID-19.

The establishment of ubiquitous testing is an essential precondition for reopening the U.S.

It calls on the federal government to continue to use all of its powers to remedy the shortages so that healthcare and lab professionals can “do their jobs.”

Selected tickers: THW, BME, GRX, IXJ, GDNA, KMED, XLV, ABT, OTCQX:RHHBY, TMO, BDX

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3561778-u-s-covidminus-19-testing-capacity-still-constrained-aacc

$75B to fix ‘flawed’ U.S. COVID-19 testing – Rockefeller Foundation

According to a report from a bipartisan committee of experts assembled by the Rockefeller Foundation, the U.S. should invest a whopping $75B to “fix” its “flawed” system of COVID-19 diagnostic testing.

Recommendations:

Rapid expansion of testing capacity from today’s 4.5M tests per week to 30M tests per week by October.

Massive scale-up of screening tests to identify asymptomatic carriers.

Reduce test processing time from today’s 5-14 days to 48 hours (appears to be a logistics issue).

The Foundation says it will invest an additional $50M toward realizing the emergency requirements outlined in the report. It provides no further details to support the $75B figure.

The $25B the U.S. government committed for COVID-19 testing several months ago was not addressed. Those funds should be more than adequate for scale up.

U.S. COVID-19 testing capacity still constrained – AACC

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3592019-75b-to-fix-flawed-u-s-covidminus-19-testing-report

Abbott beats Q2 consensus; Diagnostics revenues increased by 4.7% to $1.99B

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Q2 results:

Revenues: $7,328M (-8.2%); Nutrition: $1,883M (+0.4%); Diagnostics: $1,994M (+4.7%); Established Pharmaceuticals: $1,013M; Medical Devices: $2,423M (-21.2%).

Net Income: $537M (-46.6%); EPS: $0.30 (-46.4%); non-GAAP Net Income: $1,018M (-30.5%); non-GAAP EPS: $0.57 (-30.5%).

2020 Guidance: EPS: at least $2.00; non-GAAP EPS: at least $3.25. The average analyst estimate for non-GAAP EPS is $2.86.

Shares are up 1% premarket.

Previously: Abbott Laboratories EPS beats by $0.15, beats on revenue (July 16)

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3591787-abbott-beats-q2-consensus-diagnostics-revenues-increased-4_7-to-1_99b

AstraZeneca’s Farxiga Fast Track’d for heart failure following heart attack

The FDA has granted Fast Track status to AstraZeneca’s (NYSE:AZN) Farxiga (dapagliflozin) to reduce the risk of hospitalization for heart failure or cardiovascular (CV) death in adults following an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Fast Track provides for more frequent interaction with the FDA review team and a rolling review of the marketing application.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3591807-astrazenecas-farxiga-fast-trackd-for-heart-failure-following-heart-attack