Jared S. Hopkins

The biotech sector's heady end-of-year continued Wednesday, with shares of Cytokinetics surging after the company said its experimental heart drug worked safely in a study. Analysts and investors anticipated the results of aficamten because of the pill’s potential to compete for prescriptions with

Pfizer shares rose more than 6% Wednesday afternoon after the company's first-quarter results beat Wall Street analyst estimates and the drugmaker raised its earnings-per-share guidance for the year. The pharmaceutical closed at $27.18, up $1.56 or 6.09%, the largest percent increase since Nov. 26, 2021, when it rose 6.11% The New York-based company reported $14.9 billion in quarterly sales, down 20% from a year ago largely because of a drop in its Covid-19 vaccine revenue. Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in an interview Wednesday he was encouraged but that the company's stock is undervalued.

Mikael Dolsten’s plans to leave Pfizer, after 15 years helming its research and development, leaves a big hole at the drugmaker as it counts on its pipeline to furnish new sources of sales growth. Dolsten, who won’t step down until a successor has settled in, joined Pfizer in 2009 through its acquisition of Wyeth.

Pfizer’s latest attempt to get into the booming weight-loss drug market could revive confidence among investors and lift up the company’s languishing stock. The drugmaker’s announcement Thursday that it would advance an experimental once-daily pill into additional human testing sent shares of the drugmaker up 2.9% in early trading. After the drug, called danuglipron, showed promise in an early-stage pharmacokinetic study, Pfizer will start a study to find the right dose of the drug, with results expected in the first quarter 2025, a Pfizer spokeswoman said.

AbbVie shares rose as much as 5% early Thursday after the drugmaker said newer drugs helped soften a drop in quarterly sales from its blockbuster immunology treatment Humira. The quarterly report suggested AbbVie would be able to move past declining sales from the drug Humira, which for years was the company’s—and the world’s—top-selling therapy but is now facing competition from near-identical copycats. Investors had been looking for whether AbbVie could handle the transition.

Merck & Co. shares fell more than 10%, after the drugmaker cut its forecast for earnings this year. + Merck said Tuesday it now expects adjusted earnings of between $7.94 and $8.04 per share in 2024. + It had previously forecast $8.53 to $8.65 per share.

Shares of Eli Lilly surged premarket after the drugmaker reported strong earnings that trumped analyst estimates and hiked its annual outlook. Lilly has become one of the most valuable companies listed in the U.S. due to the popularity of its medications used for weight-loss. Quarterly sales for diabetes drug Mounjaro totaled more than $3 billion, while weight-loss injection Zepbound, which launched late last year, rang in at $1.2 billion.

Eye-opening Insights for Home Care Agencies to Address Urgent Care Challenges Romi Gubes

Chris Boshoff, top oncology executive, counts on gains from the $43 billion Seagen merger.

Chris Boshoff, top oncology executive, counts on gains from the $43 billion Seagen merger.