North American Morning Briefing: Stock Futures Mostly Drop Ahead of Crucial Inflation Data

AstraZeneca (AZN) will invest $2 billion in Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) for a cancer drug partnership. The investment buys preferred shares convertible at $18.36, a premium to Summit's closing price. The companies will jointly trial Summit's ivonescimab with AstraZeneca's sonesitatug vedotin. AstraZeneca's investment is less than 1% of its market value, while Summit's shares are down year-over-year.

Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) announced a $2 billion equity and collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca to advance cancer drug ivonescimab. The partnership includes clinical trials for ivonescimab in combination with AstraZeneca's oncology treatments. Summit stated the investment will fund ivonescimab's clinical programs. AstraZeneca's commitment is a major development for Summit, which has no revenue and high R&D spending.

Novo Nordisk reported that 88.5% of Wegovy trial participants achieved normal liver fat levels. The analysis of 55 participants showed mean liver fat decreased from 8.8% to 3.1% over 72 weeks. The study pooled 1,919 adults from STEP UP and STEP UP T2D trials, with over 94% at high risk for fatty liver. NVO shares were down 0.46% at $37.73.

Novo Nordisk reported that Wegovy reduced liver fat in adults with obesity without diabetes, per a post hoc analysis of the STEP UP trial. Of 1,919 participants, 1,312 received semaglutide 7.2 mg, 304 received 2.4 mg, and 303 received placebo. Mean liver fat decreased from 8.8% to 3.1% at week 72 for the 7.2 mg group. NVO shares were down 1.10% to $37.49 on the NYSE.

Eli Lilly's tirzepatide (Zepbound) showed greater weight loss than Novo Nordisk's semaglutide (Wegovy HD) in an indirect comparison presented at the EASD meeting. The study, funded by Lilly, found tirzepatide 15 mg led to 4.5% more weight loss than semaglutide 7.2 mg, though results varied by analysis method. No direct trial has compared these doses.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk presented new clinical data at the EASD meeting, highlighting their weight-loss drugs. Lilly's retatrutide showed 34.9% of patients lost at least 25% body weight, while Novo's Ozempic showed a 6% lower cardiovascular risk. The GLP-1 market is expanding, with ETFs like OZEM, HRTS, and THNR offering diversified exposure to companies like LLY, NVO, PFE, AMGN, and REGN.