Labcorp (LH) said Monday it completed the spin-off of Fortrea (FTRE) as an independent contract research organization (CRO) that specializes in Phase I-IV clinical trial management, patient access and technology solutions to pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations around the world. Fortrea will begin trading on the Nasdaq starting on Monday under the symbol "FTRE". Labcorp stock is up 2.3% in premarket trades.
Monday, July 3, 2023
Coherus launches biosimilar version of AbbVie's blockbuster Humira
Coherus BioSciences said on Monday it has launched a copycat version of AbbVie's Humira in the United States at a discount of more than 85% to the blockbuster arthritis drug.
Coherus is the latest to launch a biosimilar to Humira in the U.S. market this month after Boehringer Ingelheim, Sandoz and Organon.
While pills have extremely cheap generic versions, complex, expensive biologics made from living cells cannot be exactly duplicated. Their closest alternatives are called biosimilars.
Coherus said last month it would sell the biosimilar, branded as Yusimry, at $995 per carton, compared with the current list price of Humira of $6,922 per carton.
The company has also partnered with billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban's pharmaceutical startup to sell the biosimilar at $569.27 plus dispensing and shipping fees.
Usually prices fall, often dramatically, when multiple copycat versions of a widely-used medication enter the market.
However, manufacturers of Humira biosimilars are likely to keep prices high, experts have said, to compete with one another for leverage with pharmacy benefit managers, which negotiate insurance coverage on behalf of their customers - large employers and health insurance plans.
Sales of Humira, once the world's biggest-selling drug, are expected to drop 37% this year but stabilize by 2024 end, the drugmaker said in February.
The drug recorded more than $21 billion in global sales in 2022, with $18.6 billion from the United States.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/coherus-biosciences-launches-biosimilar-version-131240168.html
Yellen Will Go To Beijing As Biden Seeks To Move Supply Chains Away From China
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be the next top Biden admin official to try and calm spiraling relations with China, as the Treasury Department confirmed Sunday she'll travel to Beijing this week, Thursday through Sunday, for meetings with senior officials, in what will mark the first trip of her tenure.
"While in Beijing, Secretary Yellen will discuss with [People’s Republic of China] officials the importance for our countries — as the world’s two largest economies — to responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges," Treasury said in the statement.
However, a Treasury official sought to temper expectations, saying no breakthrough is expected, following Secretary of State Blinken's mid-June trip where he met with President Xi Jinping. Any positive opening created by Blinken's trip was damaged when within days of his return to Washington, President Biden during a campaign event in California called Xi a "dictator".
"The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment is he didn’t know it was there," Biden had said nearly two weeks ago. "No, I’m serious," he added. "That was the great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn’t know what happened."
Yellen had been in Paris at the time, and attempted to soften the remarks before a press conference, saying of Biden's remarks which had outraged Bejing officials, "With respect to the comments, I think President Biden and I both believe it’s critical to maintain communication …to clear up misperceptions, miscalculations. We need to work together where possible."
"But we have disagreements, and we are also forthright in recognizing we do have disagreements," Yellen added. But as The Associated Press noted in follow-up, Biden has not reversed in assessment amid China's wrath:
President Joe Biden said Thursday that his comments calling Chinese leader Xi Jinping a "dictator" did not undermine progress in the U.S. relationship with China and that he expects to meet with Xi in the future.
Biden said his blunt statements regarding China are "just not something I’m going to change very much."
Yellen's upcoming trip set amidst a backdrop of concerns over fragmenting global economy, as Barron's underscores, "US companies such as Apple that have long relied on China as a manufacturing base are moving production elsewhere, and tit-for-tat restrictions on exports of semiconductors shows how uneasy relations have become." The publication further noted a glimmer of optimism in markets on the news of Yellen's trip:
The Hang Seng Index rose 2.2% on Monday. China-exposed stocks such as Taiwan Semiconductor (2330.TAIWAN) and Nvidia (NVDA) were rising in premarket trading. Apple , (APPL) which recently topped a $3 trillion valuation, was little changed.
But the recent angry rhetoric from Beijing is likely to return this week for the time being, given former Vice President Mike Pence has added his voice to the Xi "dictator" commentary.
He told CBS's Margaret Brennan in a Sunday interview when asked if Xi is a dictator: "I think it’s a statement of fact." Pence said that "there’s no more effective way to send a deafening message to communist China to check their military ambitions in the Asia Pacific" than continuing to steadily give arms to Ukraine to repel Russia.
"I guarantee you President Xi is watching what’s happening in Ukraine very carefully," Pence asserted. "We give the Ukrainians, much more quickly than Joe Biden’s doing now, we give them what they need to win this fight to repel the Russian invasion."
He then pivoted to the case of Taiwan. "The United States of America should continue to be providing … Taiwan with the military means to defend themselves," he said. "What we want is a policy of deterrence." Pence is just coming off a trip to Kiev where he met with Zelensky days ago. Zelensky over the weekend took a swipe at Congressional GOP members who are not on board, warning that some Republicans have a "dangerous" message concerning lessening support for Ukraine. As for China, it has long condemned any comparisons between the Ukraine and Taiwan situations.
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/yellen-will-go-beijing-biden-seeks-move-supply-chains-away-china
Bank of America Says it Started Talks With Fed After Stress Test Results
Bank of America's 2023 Dodd-Frank Act supervisory severely adverse stress test results, submitted to the Federal Reserve as part of Bank of America's Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) submission on April 5, 2023, are available on the company's website at investor.bankofamerica.com. Bank of America today commented on the results of the Federal Reserve's 2023 CCAR: Bank of America initiated dialogue with the Federal Reserve to understand differences in Other Comprehensive Income over the 9-quarter stress period between the Federal Reserve's CCAR results and Bank of America's Dodd-Frank Act stress test results.
Oil futures rally amid Saudi and Russian output cuts for August
Oil futures rose on Monday after top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia announced supply cuts for August, overshadowing concern over a global economic slowdown and the potential for further increases to U.S. interest rates.
Saudi Arabia on Monday said it would extend its voluntary cut of one million barrels per day (bpd) for another month to include August, the state news agency said.
Russia, seeking to nudge up global oil prices in concert with Saudi Arabia, will reduce its oil exports by 500,000 bpd in August, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday, further tightening global supplies.
Both Riyadh and Moscow have been trying to prop up prices. Brent has dropped from $113 per barrel a year ago, sent lower by concerns of an economic slowdown and ample supplies from major producers.
Brent crude futures were up 0.9%, or 68 cents at $76.09 a barrel early Monday after gaining 0.8% on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose nearly 1%, or 69 cents to $71.33, having gained 1.1% in the previous session.
"Investors are turning upbeat as the second half of the year kicks off; they expect tighter oil balance and buoyant equities also suggest that recession will be avoided, albeit probably narrowly," said PVM analyst Tamas Varga.
Prices had fallen earlier in the session after eurozone manufacturing activity contracted faster than initially expected in June, with persistent policy tightening by the European Central Bank squeezing finances.
Fears of a further economic slowdown denting fuel demand had grown on Friday as U.S. inflation continued to outpace the central bank's 2% target and stoked expectations it would raise interest rates again.
Higher interest rates could strengthen the dollar, making commodities such as oil more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
Factory activity growth in China, the world's largest crude importer, also slowed in June as sentiment and recruitment cooled in sluggish market conditions, the Caixin/S&P Global private sector survey showed.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-prices-slip-global-economic-005109855.html
Macron Demands Platforms Delete Riot Content; Blames Social Media & Video Games For Protest Spread
by Christina Maas via ReclaimTheNet.org,
In France, a storm is brewing (again), and French President Emmanuel Macron appears to have figured it all out – it’s social media and video games that are to blame for the ongoing riots in France!
This came following five nights of rioting initially triggered by the fatal police shooting of a Muslim teenager, Nahel M.
Macron’s comments are hardly original, yet they warrant scrutiny from a free speech perspective.
One cannot help but raise an eyebrow as President Macron pleads with social media giants to erase the “most sensitive” content pertaining to the rioting.
With a wave of his hand, he decrees, “platforms and networks are playing a major role in the events of recent days.”
His words, veiled under a guise of concern, echo a familiar tune that has been played on the world stage before.
“We’ve seen them; Snapchat, TikTok and several others, serve as places where violent gatherings have been organized, but there’s also a form of mimicry of the violence which for some young people leads them to lose touch with reality.
“You get the impression that for some of them they are experiencing on the street the video games that have intoxicated them,” he added.
It’s fascinating that social media platforms and video games are often the easiest targets when those in power look for a scapegoat.
It’s like a well-rehearsed performance: when there’s unrest, point fingers at technology.
Surely, Snapchat and TikTok are not centuries-old entities that have been brewing riots since the French Revolution.
Is it not reasonable to ponder if this fervor in urging platforms to suppress content may serve a dual purpose? On the surface, it appears to be an act of preventing violence, but does it not also conveniently serve as an avenue for controlling narratives and stifling voices?
One must also critically examine the role of parents, which Macron emphasized by stating that a third of those arrested were “young or very young,” adding that “it’s not the state’s job to act in their place.”
Indeed, parental responsibility is paramount, but it’s equally critical to recognize that riots don’t just happen because the youth are playing video games.
The situation is precarious, with more than 200 police officers injured, and 875 people arrested. The nation watches on as buildings are torched and stores are looted
France Violence Spreads To Neighboring Countries
Former President Trump was correct about France many years ago. He said, "I wouldn't go to France. Because France is no longer France …This world better be very careful and they better get very tough and very smart."
As the unrest in France sparked by the police killing of a teenager of North African descent continued for the fifth day, Paul Joseph Watson offered his view of why social unrest has quickly spread nationwide. And spoiler alert, unlike French officials who blame "social media," PJW said, "This is what happens when you absorb millions of migrants into a European county at an accelerated rate pace -- with zero plan -- with zero prospects for ever integrating them."
Rioters burned vehicles and buildings and looted stores nationwide for the fifth consecutive night. Police arrested 719 people by the early hours of Sunday, according to the French interior ministry.
Reuters noted the chaos was "less intense overnight" compared with the 1,300 people arrested on Friday night, suggesting riots are dying down after more than 45,000 police officers, as well as dozens of military armored vehicles, were deployed across the country to squash the violence.
President Emmanuel Macron canceled his visit to Germany and met with officials Sunday to develop strategies to suppress some of the worst violence the country has seen since the 2018 "Yellow Vest" protests.
Here's footage of the chaos from last night:
Vincent Jeanbrun, mayor of the southern Paris suburb of L'Hay-les-Roses, said rioters tried to assassinate him and his family.
"Last night, a milestone was reached in horror and ignominy. My home was attacked and my family was the victim of an assassination attempt," he wrote on social media.
Watch till the end! This is an example of North African rioters involved in recent riots in France. That innocent looking teenager had a machete to use it for chopping hands of anyone trying to stop him from looting and rioting! pic.twitter.com/tTTf8Jz3Dr
— Babak Taghvaee - The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) July 2, 2023
Meanwhile, social media reports showed violence is spreading to neighboring countries of Switzerland and Belgium.
... and there's this from 2017.
And in a chilling 2021 report, 25 retired French generals warned Macron in an open letter that the country is headed for "civil war" because of the influx of migrants. So what did the president do in response? He threatened to punish active soldiers who signed an open letter, according to France 24.
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