Del Monte Foods files for bankruptcy

Canned-food giant Del Monte Foods filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, the company announced in a statement.

Del Monte Foods began voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings and entered into a restructuring support agreement with a group of its lenders, they said. 

"This is a strategic step forward for Del Monte Foods," CEO Greg Longstreet said in a statement. "After a thorough evaluation of all available options, we determined a court-supervised sale process is the most effective way to accelerate our turnaround and create a stronger and enduring Del Monte Foods."

Del Monte said it has secured $912.5 million in financing from some of its existing lenders to support itself through the proceedings.

The nearly 140-year-old company is known for its Del Monte brand of canned fruits and vegetables, broth and stocks brand College Inn and tea brands like Joyba.

Del Monte Foods said it intends to remain open and continue operations throughout the bankruptcy. 

Certain of its non-U.S. subsidiaries are not included in the Chapter 11 proceedings and will continue to operate as usual, the company added.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
FDP	FRESH DEL MONTE	32.97	-0.28	-0.85%

A filing with the New Jersey bankruptcy court obtained by Reuters estimates the company’s assets and liabilities at between $1 billion and $10 billion, while the number of creditors is estimated at between 10,000 and 25,000.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/del-monte-foods-files-bankruptcy

'Teary' UK Chancellor Reeves Is Safe For Now But The Gilt Market Maybe Not

 Ten-year gilt yields just spiked by more than 10 bps on rumors that UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves was about to resign or be ousted.

The pressure on Reeves comes after Starmer — in a dramatic climbdown on Tuesday — abandoned controversial plans to restrict benefit payments to some disabled people, a reform pushed by the chancellor which would have saved some £5 billion ($6.9 billion), and was key to meeting her self-imposed budgetary rules at her spring statement in March.

Bloomberg reports that the welfare reform package was widely opposed by Labour MPs, with more than 120 originally threatening to vote against the policy in parliament.

Even after the last-ditch decision to drop the most contentious changes, 49 Labour MPs still voted against the bill on Tuesday, a sign of the scale of discontent.

The rebellion and U-turn are a serious blow to Starmer’s political authority as he approaches the first anniversary of Labour’s election win last July.

The decision to ditch the welfare reforms also leaves Reeves facing a widening fiscal hole of more than £6 billion to fill, including the need to fund a separate about-turn on a plan to cut winter fuel payments to pensioners.

As Bloomberg further reports, Starmer’s press secretary, Sophie Nazemi, quickly clarified his position to reporters after PMQs, saying that Reeves was going nowhere.

“She has the prime minister’s full backing,” Nazemi said.

“He’s said it repeatedly.”

The combination of Starmer’s failure to back his chancellor, and Reeves’ tears, prompted speculation about her position until the Treasury clarified that the reason for her demeanor was a personal issue.

“It’s a personal matter, which - as you would expect - we are not going to get into,” the Treasury said in a statement.

“The chancellor will be working out of Downing Street this afternoon.”

But, as Bloomberg's Simon White notes, the rapidity of the move shows the precariousness of the UK’s debt situation.

The government had planned a series of cuts to welfare and sickness benefits, but had to drastically scale them back in the face of huge opposition from backbench MPs.

The watered down changes are estimated to deliver no savings overall.

A new chancellor might drop Reeves’ commitment to not borrow more for day-to-day activities, or increase spending, justifying a deepening concern for the gilt market.

Cable tumbled...

Yields are still near their day’s highs, while a risk measure for the UK, based on asset swaps, country bond spreads and basis swaps, has widened notably.

Keep watching.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/teary-uk-chancellor-reeves-safe-now-gilt-market-maybe-not

Oscar Health drops as Barclays sees asymmetric downside, initiates at Underweight

 Oscar Health fell 14% to $17.58 on Wednesday after Barclays began coverage with an Underweight rating, warning that the stock’s recent rally leaves it vulnerable to pullbacks as policy risks mount.

Shares surged more than 50% in June, driven largely by retail speculation following a bullish investor day, but Barclays said the optimism ignores emerging threats to Oscar’s profitability.

Analysts said it sees an asymmetric downside risk with regulatory uncertainty, potential changes to federal subsidies, and tariff-related costs hurting growth and margin targets.

The firm set a $17 price target, just below current levels.

Oscar, a digital-focused insurer operating exclusively on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, laid out plans in June to more than double margins and deliver $2.25+ per share profit by 2027.

Barclays is skeptical, projecting $1.28 instead, 25% below consensus, and modeling medical loss ratio (MLR) pressure into next year.

With new rules and subsidy expirations on the table, Oscar may have to raise premiums and lose members.

Barclays estimated over 100 basis points of MLR headwinds in most 2026 scenarios, which could shave at least 30 cents off EPS.

Proposed changes to cost-sharing reduction (CSR) funding add another layer of risk.

Though the Senate’s latest version of the reconciliation bill dropped CSR provisions, the House kept them, and Barclays said such a move could strip away no-premium bronze plans for low-income enrollees.

With 34% of Oscar’s base in bronze plans, that could drive outsized attrition and degrade the risk pool.

Oscar turned profitable only this year, and Barclays used a 14x multiple on its 2027 EPS forecast to derive its target, well below the 21x multiple assigned to prior high-growth insurers like WellCare and Molina in similar phases.

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/oscar-health-drops-as-barclays-sees-asymmetric-downside-initiates-at-underweight-4121179

Instil Bio OKd for Phase 1 Trial in Relapsed/Refractory Solid Tumors

 US phase 1 trial of ‘2510 is expected to be initiated before the end of 2025

Anticipate ImmuneOnco sharing initial safety and efficacy results from phase 2 trial of ‘2510 + chemo in 1L NSCLC in the second half of 2025

Instil Bio, Inc. (“Instil”) (NASDAQ: TIL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a pipeline of novel therapies, today announced the clearance of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for AXN-2510 (“’2510”) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Instil expects to initiate a phase 1 trial of ‘2510 as monotherapy for patients with relapsed/refractory solid tumors before the end of 2025. The trial is designed to evaluate the safety, efficacy, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ‘2510 in patients with solid tumors. Additionally, Instil continues to anticipate that initial safety and efficacy results from the ongoing phase 2 study of ‘2510 in combination with chemotherapy in first-line NSCLC in China will be shared in the second half of 2025 by ImmuneOnco.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/instil-bio-announces-u-f-100000075.html

Merck (MRK) Granted FDA Priority Review for WINREVAIR to Update Label

 Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted and granted priority review for a new supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) seeking approval to update the U.S. product label based on the Phase 3 ZENITH trial for WINREVAIR™ (sotatercept-csrk). In 2024, WINREVAIR was approved for the treatment of adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH, Group 1 PH) to increase exercise capacity, improve WHO* functional class (FC), and reduce the risk of clinical worsening events. The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), or target action date, of Oct. 25, 2025.

The sBLA is based on data from the Phase 3 ZENITH trial. The ZENITH trial was the first PAH Phase 3 outcome study to use a primary endpoint comprised entirely of major morbidity and mortality events. It was also the first PAH Phase 3 study stopped early by an independent data monitoring committee for overwhelming efficacy. In ZENITH, WINREVAIR demonstrated a 76% reduction in the risk of a composite of all-cause death, lung transplantation, and hospitalization for PAH ≥24 hours compared to placebo. Improvement was observed early in treatment with increasing benefit throughout the study. The safety profile of WINREVAIR in ZENITH was generally consistent with that observed in previous studies. These results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Merck+%28MRK%29+Granted+FDA+Priority+Review+for+WINREVAIR+to+Update+Label+Based+on+Results+From+ZENITH+Trial/25007708.html

Organon’s Endometriosis Drug Discontinued After Failing To Improve Pain

 Women’s health company Organon’s endometriosis-related pain drug is being discontinued after it failed to improve pelvic pain in a Phase II trial.

Organon had been testing OG-6219, an oral 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD17B1) inhibitor, in the mid-stage proof-of-concept ELENA trial featuring patients who had been surgically diagnosed with endometriosis and who experienced moderate-to-severe pain. The drug did not meet the main goal of the trial, which was an improvement in that pain as compared to placebo.

OG-6219 will now be discontinued, but Organon pledged support to continuing to pursue new treatment options for women with endometriosis.

Organon spun out of Merck in 2020 with 60 products across women’s health, including reproductive health, biosimilars and other products. The company picked up OG-6219 in 2021 through the acquisition of Forendo Pharma, a Finnish company that focused on sex steroid physiology in women. Organon offered up to $954 million, most of which was in various developmental and regulatory milestones. The deal gave Organon a pipeline of new assets to explore.

Endometriosis is characterized by the growth of uterine tissues outside of the uterus. It can cause infertility, excessive menstrual cramps, heavy menstrual bleeding and pain during intercourse. The condition is diagnosed and can be treated by laproscopic surgery, while non-surgical options include pain management or hormone therapy.

But few companies have picked up the mantel to find new options for the condition, which effects about 2 to 10% of American women aged 24 to 40, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Organon is by far the largest player, with just a handful of small biotechs such as Ananda Pharma also in the game.

https://www.biospace.com/drug-development/organons-endometriosis-drug-discontinued-after-failing-to-improve-pain

Eyenovia rebrands as Hyperion DeFi, changes ticker to HYPD

 Eyenovia, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYEN), a micro-cap healthcare company currently valued at $63.55 million, announced Wednesday it is changing its corporate name to Hyperion DeFi, Inc. and will begin trading under the new ticker symbol "HYPD" on the Nasdaq Capital Market starting July 3, 2025.

The company, which describes itself as the first publicly-listed U.S. company to build a strategic treasury of HYPE tokens, said the rebranding reflects its cryptocurrency treasury reserve strategy focused on the native token of the Hyperliquid protocol. According to InvestingPro data, the stock has shown significant volatility, with a current price of $12.45 representing just 10% of its 52-week high.

"Our corporate name change to Hyperion DeFi, Inc. reflects our new vision for the company and represents the next important step in the evolution of our cryptocurrency treasury reserve strategy," said Michael Rowe, Chief Executive Officer, in a press release statement.

The company also announced that its co-branded validator "Kinetiq x Hyperion" is now officially live. Hyperion DeFi has begun staking its HYPE holdings to generate yield and prepare for its on-chain engagement strategies.

While pursuing its cryptocurrency strategy, the company continues to develop its Optejet User Filled Device (UFD), designed to work with topical ophthalmic liquids including artificial tears and lens rewetting products. InvestingPro analysts project 65.92% revenue growth for fiscal year 2025, though the company’s financial health score remains weak at 1.25. Get access to 12+ additional ProTips and comprehensive analysis with an InvestingPro subscription.

https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/eyenovia-rebrands-as-hyperion-defi-changes-ticker-to-hypd-93CH-4120976