Biopharma


April 17, 2025

Rx Executive Order: Style of Substance

By John Leppard

Despite investor fears of a return of Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing efforts under Trump, explicit endorsement of such a policy is notably absent from this week’s Executive Order (EO) on drug pricing, despite multiple…

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April 15, 2025

Rx Tariff Timing & Supply Chain Implications

By John Leppard

With the Trump administration announcing its long-anticipated Section 232 pharmaceutical investigation yesterday, laying the foundation for eventual tariffs on the space, we expect this to move much quicker than the typical 232 case (e.g., 2-3…

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April 4, 2025

[NVO, LLY] No Medicare / Medicaid Coverage for Obesity Drugs

By John Leppard

With no more than a perfunctory reference this afternoon, CMS announces that it will not be finalizing a Biden proposal to allow Medicare Part D plans to cover anti-obesity medications (AOMs) while requiring it of…

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January 17, 2025

[NVO, BHC, TEVA] Quantifying IRA Price Negotiation Risks

By John Leppard

Our analysis of the drugs included in the CY27 cycle of price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) announced this morning implies a 3%-4% headwind for NVO relative to consensus CY27 revenues, with a…

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November 27, 2024

LLY, NVO, HIMS: GLP-1 Coverage Questions & Implied Sales

By John Leppard

Following our pre-rule report yesterday on CMS’s proposal to extend Medicare / Medicaid coverage to anti-obesity medications (AOMs), we update our assumptions below based on the details included in the release itself. More specifically: We…

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November 26, 2024

[LLY, NVO] Quick Takes on Obesity Coverage Surprise

By John Leppard

While likely implying a ~2% revenue tailwind for LLY and NVO, if implemented, we take a cautious view of this morning’s surprise White House announcement that it intends to facilitate broader Medicare / Medicaid coverage…

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November 15, 2024

RFK to HHS: Biopharma / Lifesciences Smoke or Fire?

By John Leppard

Key Takeaways: We are initially skeptical that Trump’s selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) to lead HHS can survive Senate confirmation but, if we are wrong, would note that any HHS secretary is constrained…

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October 11, 2024

[LLY, NVO] GLP-1s & CBO Data Dive

By John Leppard

Key Takeaways: We continue to think legislation to allow Medicare Part D coverage of anti-obesity medications (AOMs) [Eli Lilly (LLY), Novo Nordisk (NVO)] is unlikely to pass this year, despite the relatively modest budgetary estimates…

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