Structure Therapeutics Inc. American depositary receipts (GPCR) dropped 40% premarket on Monday after the company released new data from a study of GSBR-1290, its investigational diabetes and obesity treatment. In patients with type 2 diabetes, the drug produced a statistically significant reduction in blood sugar after 12 weeks, Structure said. Patients with obesity achieved statistically significant placebo-adjusted weight loss of about 4.7% after eight weeks on the treatment, the company said. GSBR-1290 is an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist, a group of drugs that also includes injectables like Novo Nordisk's (NVO) Wegovy and Ozempic. Other drugmakers, including Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE), are also working on pill versions of the popular drugs. Full 12-week obesity data on GSBR-1290 are expected in the second quarter of next year, Structure said. To have a "best in class" drug candidate, GSBR-1290 would need to produce more than 7% placebo-adjusted weight loss after 12 weeks, Jefferies analysts said in a late November research note. Structure shares have gained 65% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%.
Monday, December 18, 2023
BP, Evergreen, Euronav Halt Sailings Through Red Sea As Insurers Demand 'War Risk Coverage'
Update:
Add Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen and Belgian tanker owner Euronav to the growing list of major shipping firms halting all sails through the Red Sea strait. This brings the total to seven.
Also, the UK Navy disclosed more details regarding today's incident in the Red Sea, reporting that an explosion hit the side of a commercial vessel near Yemen. The Norwegian owner of the ship confirmed that an "unidentified object" had impacted the vessel on the port side.
Bloomberg reports:
YEMEN HOUTHIS SAY THEY ATTACKED MSC CLARA CONTAINER SHIP
YEMEN HOUTHIS CLAIM THEY ALSO ATTACKED SWAN ATLANTIC OIL TANKER
Brent crude futures have risen 3% from the lows of $75.81 a barrel since 0515 ET after reports started to trickle in about another incident in the Red Sea and more shippers were halting sailings in the region.
Between 10% and 12% of global trade passes through the Red Sea each year.
The US Energy Information Administration estimated that 8.8 million barrels per day pass through the region.
Other figures show the Suez Canal, a major Red Sea passage, handled nearly 1 billion tons of cargo in 2022. This means about 2.7 million tons per day flow through the region.
All the chaos in the Red Sea has forced London maritime insurers to expand war risk coverage to the area.
* * *
The number of major shipping firms halting all commercial sailings through the highly trafficked Red Sea strait has increased to five from four in response to missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.
Bloomberg reports that energy giant BP Plc is the latest shipper to pause all tanker sailings through the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait due to Houthi militants.
"In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea," BP said in a statement.
Besides BP, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM, and Mediterranean Shipping Company have all paused commercial vessel operations through the Red Sea that connects to Egypt's Suez Canal.
Spillover risks of the Israel-Hamas war are quickly building, as the Red Sea is responsible for 10% of the world's international trade.
Over the weekend, US Central Command wrote in a post on X that the Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney shot down 14 Houthi drones in the Red Sea.
On Monday morning, the UK Navy said it received a report of a possible explosion on the water about 30 miles south of Port Mokha, Yemen.
The chaos has caused some shippers to divert vessels around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the conflict area.
The acceleration of de-globalization is leading to a surge of uncertainty along major global maritime routes.
Lantheus and Point Biopharma shares drop on prostate cancer treatment data
Shares of Lantheus Holdings Inc. (LNTH) and Point Biopharma Global Inc. (PNT) fell sharply premarket on Monday after the companies released new data from a trial of their experimental treatment for prostate cancer. The therapy, Lu-PNT2002, met the trial's primary goal, with a median progression-free survival of 9.5 months, compared with six months for patients on an alternative treatment, an androgen receptor pathway inhibitor, the companies said in a release. Investors were eager to see how the treatment would stack up against Novartis AG's (NVS) Pluvicto, which like Lu-PNT2002 is a radioligand therapy, a type of therapy that delivers radiation to targeted cancer cells while minimizing effects on healthy cells. Novartis data released in October showed Pluvicto produced median progression-free survival of 12 months, versus 5.6 months for patients on androgen receptor pathway inhibitors. Lantheus stock fell 20% premarket on Monday and is up 49% in the year to date, while Point Biopharma shares fell 10.9% premarket and have gained 92% so far this year. Novartis American depositary receipts gained 1.2% premarket Monday.
GSK's cancer drug combination meets primary goal in late-stage trial
GSK said on Monday its cancer drug Jemperli along with chemotherapy and followed by Zejula and Jemperli as a maintenance therapy met the primary goal of progression-free survival in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer in a late-stage trial.
The British company said the trial met the primary goal with a "statistically significant and clinically meaningful" benefit observed in both the overall patient population and in a subpopulation of patients with certain types of tumours.
https://news.yahoo.com/gsks-cancer-drug-combination-meets-074931072.html
China, North Korea hold high-level meeting amid missile launches
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi held high-level talks with a senior North Korean official in Beijing on Monday, coinciding with Pyongyang's launch of a missile capable of reaching anywhere in the United States.
China always views its ties with North Korea from a strategic and long-term perspective, the foreign ministry said in a statement, citing Wang's comments in the meeting with North Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Myong Ho.
Beijing is willing to strengthen two-way communication and co-ordination while deepening exchanges and co-operation, Wang added.
Wang and Pak exchanged views on issues of "common concern", on which the ministry did not elaborate.
North Korea is officially China's only ally. Both are bound by a treaty signed in 1961 to take all necessary measures, including military assistance, to help each other in the event of an attack or an attempted attack by a third country.
North Korea's Monday missile launch came after the firing of a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday night.
Pyongyang has condemned the United States for orchestrating what it called a "preview of a nuclear war," including the arrival of a nuclear-powered U.S. submarine in South Korea on Sunday.
All of North Korea's ballistic missile activities are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions, though Pyongyang defends them as its sovereign right to self-defence.
North Korea will keep strengthening multilateral ties with China to "safeguard common interests" and "maintain regional peace and stability," Pak was cited as saying in the Chinese statement.
Pak arrived in Beijing last week on a rare official visit ahead of the 75th anniversary next year of the establishment of diplomatic ties.
A spokesperson of China's foreign ministry said the Korean peninsula issue was complex, and urged dialogue by all concerned parties to resolve their issues.
"Attempts to solve the problem through military deterrence and pressure will not work," Wang Wenbin told a regular press conference. "They will only backfire, further intensifying contradictions and tension."
https://news.yahoo.com/china-north-korea-hold-high-060050767.html
US sees no impact on Vietnam ties from Hanoi-Beijing defence pledges
The United States will continue to closely cooperate with Vietnam, a U.S. official said after Hanoi announced last week strengthened ties with China, including on defence and security, as the two great powers compete for influence.
Vietnam's leaders upgraded relations with Beijing during China's President Xi Jinping's visit to Hanoi last week, three months after they had boosted ties with Washington as Joe Biden travelled to the country in what has been seen as a success for Vietnam's "Bamboo diplomacy".
Despite language in a China-Vietnam statement that may be seen as directed against the United States, concerns that may hamper Washington's plans to deepen relations with Hanoi have so far been underplayed.
"Our relationship with Vietnam is not about any third country," said Cameron Thomas-Shah, spokesperson at the U.S. embassy in Hanoi.
"Our close cooperation with our Vietnamese partners across various sectors, including health, education, technology, and trade, will continue for the foreseeable future," he added in reply to Reuters questions.
Vietnam's foreign ministry did not reply to a request for comment.
In a joint declaration issued after Xi's visit, Vietnam and China committed to stronger security cooperation, including between defence industries and logistics.
The U.S. is also working to boost defence cooperation with Vietnam.
Carl Thayer, a senior expert in Vietnam security at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, said those "aspirational goals" with China were unlikely to affect defence cooperation with Washington.
Vietnam and China also agreed to enhance intelligence exchanges to prevent "hostile forces" from supporting grassroots movements such as those that led in recent years to revolutions in former Communist countries - which critics say were promoted by Washington.
"The emphasis on 'hostile forces' is not a surprise. China's leaders always whisper this in Vietnam's leaders' ears. But don't overstate the bilateral cooperation between them on this. They won't be sharing intel," said Zachary Abuza, professor on Southeast Asian politics at the National War College in Washington DC.
"There is always a distinction between Vietnam's diplomatic pronunciations and its actual security concerns," said Raymond Powell, a former Air Attache to the U.S. embassy in Vietnam who currently leads Stanford University's Project Myoushu on the South China Sea.
He added: "Hanoi will continue to look for the safe ground between placating Beijing's political expectations and the threat China poses - particularly to its South China Sea position," where China and Vietnam have conflicting claims.
https://news.yahoo.com/us-sees-no-impact-vietnam-071441388.html
Mercedes Benz to carry out level 3 autonomous driving tests on designated highways in Beijing
Mercedes Benz said on Monday it would carry out level 3 autonomous driving tests on designated highways in Beijing, without giving an exact time frame.
The German automaker said it was one of the first batch of companies approved by the Beijing municipal government on Saturday to run such tests as the regulator accelerates the mass adoption of highly autonomous driving technologies.
Mercedes has been testing its L3 autonomous driving system in closed areas in China since 2021, the company added.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/mercedes-benz-carry-level-3-063519256.html