Health Care Up as Ely Lilly Rallies on Medicare Proposal -- Health Care Roundup

Health-care companies rose after the Biden administration indicated Medicare and Medicaid could cover the cost of obesity drugs.

The White House said it's moving to make the federal health insurance plans pay for anti-obesity drugs such as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound for people who are obese, even if they don't have other diseases like diabetes, as had previously been a stipulation.

Eli Lilly gained 4.5%, while Danish Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk rose 1.8%. Novo Nordisk Chief Financial Officer Karsten Knudsen noted that it was unclear whether the Trump administration would confirm the decision.

The makers of the popular glucagon like peptide inhibitors were also benefitting from a diminished competitive threat after results from a key Amgen drug trial.

Shares of Amgen plunged after the mid-stage trial of its weight-loss treatment MariTide showed up to 20% average weight loss at 52 weeks, short of Wall Street expectations of a 20%-to-25% loss, which would be competitive with Eli's Zepbound.

Write to Rob Curran at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-26-24 1802ET