Global Health Updates: Bilateral Deals, Sanctions, and Innovations

Global health updates feature Guinea-US cooperation, US Medicare sanctions on Elevance, FDA's request for Huntington's study, and measles vaccination advocacy. Other highlights include Eli Lilly's upcoming obesity drug launch, Novo Nordisk's plant expansion, and Target's synthetic color removal from cereals. Hims & Hers forecasts lower sales, while the US asks smaller drugmakers for Medicaid price reductions.

Guinea and the United States have finalized a five-year health cooperation agreement worth approximately $143 million, announced Guinea's finance minister, Mariama Cire Sylla. This bilateral initiative comes amid the U.S.'s broader strategy of securing deals with African nations following its aid agency's shutdown last year.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services intends to halt new enrollments in Elevance Health's Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans from March 31, which resulted in Elevance's shares dropping by over 3%. Sanctions stem from non-compliance in risk-adjustment data submission for pre-April 3, 2023 services.

The FDA has requested a new study from Dutch drugmaker uniQure to support the approval of its Huntington's gene therapy, causing a 36% decline in its U.S.-listed shares. This request follows the FDA's previous indication that prior trial data wouldn't suffice for accelerated approval.

(With inputs from agencies.)