Healthcare companies fell as drug prices remained in focus. French drugmaker Sanofi said it would cut the price of some of its insulin products by as much as 78% in the U.S., joining other big pharmaceutical companies facing pressure to reduce the cost of diabetes treatments.
Amgen said it would lay off about 450 employees, or less than 2% of its workforce, as it faces increasing pressure from drug prices and high inflation. It's the second round of layoffs for the biopharmaceutical company this year; in January, it laid off about 300 employees.
Sarepta Therapeutics shares plunged after the FDA reversed course and announced that it will hold an advisory panel for the biotech's gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy prior to an FDA approval decision.
Chinese authorities are withholding genetic evidence that could provide clues about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization said, pointing to data temporarily posted online by Chinese scientists, and then removed, that indicated the presence of wild animals at a Wuhan market.
Write to Amy Pessetto at amy.pessetto@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-17-23 1710ET
