Shares of MBX Biosciences Inc. hit a 52-week high on preliminary phase I data for its MBX-4291, a GLP-1/GIP co-agonist prodrug for obesity. Though early and still blinded, findings from the trial showed promising efficacy, along with good tolerability and the potential for once-monthly dosing, factors that will likely be critical for MBX to compete in the crowded obesity space.
More than two years after signing a $1.7 billion deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Protagonist Therapeutics Inc. has opted out of a 50-50 U.S. profit-and-loss sharing arrangement for its hepcidin mimetic peptide, rusfertide, a priority review drug developed to treat adults with polycythemia vera.
When the U.S. CMS didn’t get takers for its voluntary Better Approaches to Lifestyle and Nutrition for Comprehensive Health (BALANCE) model to cover obesity drugs under Medicare Part D, the agency punted. It announced late April 21 that it will indefinitely delay the BALANCE model in Medicare but extend its temporary Medicare GLP-1 Bridge demonstration model through the end of 2027. (The Medicaid BALANCE model will still kick in this year in states that choose to participate in it.)
