Leerink Partners upgraded French pharma giant Sanofi (SNY) to outperform from market perform Tuesday, citing foreign-exchange tailwinds and the promising cholesterol-fighting drug news over the weekend. Analyst Seamus Fernandez wrote that some of the problems that plagued the company last fall — notably weak diabetes guidance and the loss of the CEO, who still hasn’t been replaced — are now resolved or priced into the stock. He also wrote that
Shares of several drugmakers soared Monday after a study published over the weekend said that their next-generation cholesterol drugs could cut the risk of heart disease, which is the world’s No. 1 killer. Highly rated Regeneron (REGN) broke out, and closed Monday’s session still in buy range. Its drug development partner Sanofi (SNY) rose on the news too. So did Amgen (AMGN), whose own heart disease treatment also showed positive results. Watch
Regeneron (REGN) said an experimental drug it’s developing with Sanofi (SNY) was found in a late-stage trial to be effective in fighting “bad” cholesterol, even when injected once every four weeks instead of two weeks. The report makes the drug, alirocumab, easier for people with high cholesterol to take, increasing the likelihood consumers will prefer it. The drug is expected to hit the market in the third quarter of this year. Alirocumab is in a