STAT+: Novo Nordisk’s less-bad news on its Wegovy pill boosts earnings and share price
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Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today?&#x A0;Sign up&#x A0;to get our biotech newsletter in your inbox. Good morning. We’ve got more earnings today, and my colleague Drew Joseph brings us a dispatch from Rome. The need-to-know this morning German drug maker Bayer said it is acquiring Perfusion Therapeutics, a privately held developer of treatments for eye diseases.&#x A0; Vivek Ramaswamy, the biotech executive-turned politician, won the Republican primary for governor of Ohio on Tuesday.  Madrigal Pharma said sales of its MASH drug Rezdiffra were $311 million in the first quarter, topping Wall Street estimates.  United Therapeutics also reported earnings.  Novo Nordisk saw its shares rise after being able to report some less-bad news. The Danish firm, which had been trailing rival Eli Lilly in the obesity drug market, has gained some recent momentum with the hugely successful launch of its Wegovy pill in the U.S. And in releasing first quarter results Wednesday, Novo ticked up its guidance for the year, saying that adjusted sales will drop from 4% to 12% (the company previously said they would be down 5% to 13%), an identical shift also seen in its forecast for adjusted operating profit. The improving outlook is largely driven by better sales performance, Novo said.Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…