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Novo Nordisk said on Thursday it would buy U.S.-based Akero Therapeutics for up to $5.2 billion to add its promising experimental liver disease drug, in the first major deal by the Danish drugmaker’s new CEO to boost growth. The deal underscores new Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar’s efforts to revive sales growth and fend off intense competition from U.S. rival Eli Lilly. Doustdar, who took over the reins in July, last month also announced the company would cut 9,000 jobs. Akero is testing its drug, efruxifermin, in a late-stage trial of patients with severe liver scarring, or cirrhosis, due to a type of fatty liver disease known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Efruxifermin could be a potential breakthrough in treatment of fatty liver disease and become a “cornerstone” treatment either on its own or in combination with Wegovy, Doustdar said in a statement on Thursday. Under the deal, Novo would pay Akero shareholders $54 per share upfront in cash, which represents a premium of about 16.2% to Akero’s last close of $46.49 on Wednesday. The Danish drugmaker will also pay an additional $6 per share to Akero’s shareholders if efruxifermin secures a full U.S. approval for the condition by June 30, 2031, the companies said. Shares of Akero jumped more than 19% in premarket trading, while Novo’s Denmark-listed shares were down nearly 2%. Some Novo investors have recently told Reuters that they want to see the company invest heavily in research and development to build out its future drug pipeline and revive investor confidence with a growth story. Some have also said they would prefer the company diversify beyond weight loss and diabetes. Doustdar has said the company will focus on developing the next generation of highly effective obesity and diabetes drugs that can also treat related cardiometabolic conditions such as MASH, rather than expand into other disease areas. Anna Ringstrom, Mariam Sunny and Maggie Fick, Reuters
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E-Commerce
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, according to minutes from last month’s meeting released Wednesday.A majority of Fed officials felt that the risk unemployment would rise had worsened since their previous meeting in July, while the risk of rising inflation “had either diminished or not increased,” the minutes said. As a result, the central bank decided at its Sept. 16-17 meeting to reduce its key rate by a quarter-point to about 4.1%, its first cut this year.Rate cuts by the Fed can gradually lower borrowing costs for things like mortgages, auto loans, and business loans, encouraging more spending and hiring.Still, the minutes underscored the deep division on the 19-person committee between those who feel that the Fed’s short-term rate is too high and weighing on the economy, and those who point to persistent inflation that remains above the central bank’s 2% target as evidence that the Fed needs to be cautious about reducing rates.Only one official formally dissented from the quarter-point cut: Stephen Miran, who was appointed by President Donald Trump and was approved by the Senate just hours before the meeting began. He supported a larger, half-point cut instead.But the minutes noted that “a few” policymakers said they could have supported keeping rates unchanged, or said that “there was merit” in such a step.The differences help explain Chair Jerome Powell’s statements during the news conference that followed the meeting: “There are no risk-free paths now. It’s not incredibly obvious what to do.”Miran said in remarks Tuesday that he thinks inflation will steadily decline back toward the Fed’s 2% target, despite Trump’s tariffs, and as a result he doesn’t think the Fed’s rate needs to be nearly as high as it is. Rental costs are steadily declining and will bring down inflation, he said, while tariff revenue will reduce the government’s budget deficit and reduce longer-term interest rates, which gives the Fed more room to cut.Yet many other Fed officials remain concerned about stubbornly high inflation, the minutes showed. Jeffrey Schmid, president of the Federal Reserve’s Kansas City branch, said in a speech Monday that “inflation is too high” and argued that the Fed should keep rates high enough to cool demand and prevent inflation from worsening.And Austan Goolsbee, president of the Fed’s Chicago branch, said in an interview Friday with The Associated Press that he supported a cautious approach toward more cuts, and wanted to see evidence that inflation would cool further.“I am a little uneasy with front loading rate cuts, presuming that those upticks in inflation will just go away,” he said.The minutes provide insight into how the Fed’s policymakers were thinking last month about inflation, interest rates, and hiring. Since then, however, the federal government shutdown has cut off the flow of economic data that the Fed relies on to inform its decisions. The September jobs report wasn’t issued as scheduled last Friday, and if the shutdown continues, it could also delay the release of the inflation report set for next Wednesday. Christopher Rugaber, AP Economics Writer
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E-Commerce
For its first brand refresh in 13 years, Domino’s updated its color palette, packaging, and font to look more engaging. When it came to making new tagline, though, the Michigan-based pizza chain is trying something unique: they just added more Ms to their wordmark. Mmm. Domino’s announced a rebrand Wednesday that includes brighter reds and blues and a new font called Domino’s Sans that was designed to “be thicker and doughier” and proves that using sans serifs doesn’t have to be bland. Team members will get new branded gear to wear in the kitchen and out delivering orders, and there’s a reimagined suite of new pizza boxes, including one black-and-metallic-gold box designed for premium menu items, like Domino’s Handmade Pans, to better upsell pricier pizzas. [Image: Domino’s] It’s a brand refresh optimized for craveability, like recent rebrands for Burger King and Papa Johns that used squishy type and color palettes chosen to convey freshness and ingredients. This is graphic design meant to look delicious and make you hungry. For its new taglinewhich Domino’s is calling it its “cravemark”they tapped Shaboozey, who draws out the “m” sound when saying “dominos” in campaign ads (like “dommmino’s,” get it?). On screen, the musician’s jingle is visually reinforced with an animation that adds the extra Ms to the Domino’s wordmark before the letters snap into the Domino’s domino logo. “Rather than launching a more traditional tagline, we’re baking craveability right into our name and every aspect of our brand as a reminder of this relentless focus,” Domino’s executive vice president Kate Trumbull said in a statement. “You literally can’t say ‘Domino’s’ without saying ‘mmm.'” The cravemark is a wordmark, tagline, and jingle all rolled up into one, and judging by who the company got to sing it, Domino’s has big ambitions for its new brand asset. Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” tied the record for the longest-running No. 1 in Billboard Hot 100 chart history last November, and he was the only artist to be featured on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter twice. In a statement, he called pizza “that one food that brings everyone together” across generations and cultures. Domino’s is aiming for an asset with wide appeal and recognition. Domino’s is the leading U.S. pizza chain by revenue, bringing in $4.78 billion annually, ahead of Papa John’s, Yum! Brands-owned Pizza Hut, and Little Caesars. Same as its competitors, though, Domino’s has also seen its year-over-year same-store sales plummet since the pandemic as fewer people seek out delivery options. Like Peloton or Zoom, delivery pizza brands are pandemic darlings that are readjusting to new norms. Pizza has been hit especially hard by inflation, with median restaurant meal prices rising 12% for pizza, more than any other food category, according to data from Datassential. [Image: Domino’s] Other pizza chains have responded to shifting quick-service restaurant trends with redesigns of their own, like Papa Johns, which introduced a food-inspired brand refresh last year, and Pizza Hut, which is experimenting with its own new store concepts and premium menu items at home and a new, fun, retro logo abroad. Trumbull, the Domino’s executive, denies that their brand refresh is due to the company struggling, but it does have something to do with repositioning the brand. “Over the past decade, we became known as a technology company that happens to sell pizza,” she said. The pizza chain remembered for its pizza tracker and website would like to start being remembered for “making and delivering the most delicious products and experience,” as Trumbull put it. Though the brand refresh will show up in digital advertising and on Domino’s app and website, the impetus behind it is human.
Category:
E-Commerce
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