Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count down 9 to 711 rigs.
Baker Hughes (BKR) reports that the U.S. rig count is down 9 from last week to 711 with oil rigs down 5 to 570, gas rigs down 4 to 137 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 4.
The U.S. Rig Count is down 16 rigs from last year’s count of 727 with oil rigs down 4, gas rigs down 14 and miscellaneous up 2.
The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is down 1 to 20, up 4 year-over-year.
The Canada Rig Count is up 2 from last week to 87, with oil rigs up 3 to 42, gas rigs down 1 to 45.
The Canada Rig Count is down 16 rigs from last year’s count of 103 with oil down 13, gas rigs down 3.
The Baker Hughes rig counts are counts of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the U.S., Canada and international markets.
The Company has issued the rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of the U.S. and Canadian drilling activity. The monthly international rig count was initiated in 1975.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is up $1.08 to $72.86 per barrel (52 weeks high of $122.10). Brent crude is up $1.07 to $77.12 per barre (52 weeks high of $123.58). Gasoline last traded at $2.702 per gallon (52 weeks high of $4.31 per gallon).
This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility.
Mizuho Financial Group to acquire Greenhill & Co. for $15 per share in cash
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (MFG) and Greenhill & Co., Inc. (GHL) announced a definitive agreement for Mizuho to acquire Greenhill in an all-cash transaction at $15 per share, reflecting an enterprise value of approximately $550M, including assumed debt.
Greenhill & Co., Inc.provides financial and strategic advisory services to corporations, partnerships, institutional investors, and governments worldwide. The company offers advisory services related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, financings, private capital raising, and other similar transactions.
Through this transaction, Mizuho will accelerate its investment banking growth strategy, building on Greenhill’s 27-year history of advising important clients on significant mergers & acquisitions, restructurings and capital raising transactions.
Following completion of the transaction, Greenhill will operate globally from its 15 locations around the world as the M&A and restructuring advisory business of Mizuho.
That business will maintain the Greenhill brand, and the existing Greenhill leadership team will remain in place. Greenhill Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Scott Bok will become Chairman of the M&A and restructuring advisory business.
Current Greenhill Co-Presidents Kevin Costantino and David Wyles will become Co-Heads of the business.
The Greenhill business will sit within Mizuho’s banking division, led by Michal Katz, Head of Banking in the Americas.
With this transaction, Mizuho will welcome Greenhill’s 370 employees, as well as the valued client relationships they have built around the world.
Both management teams are committed to a seamless transition for all clients and employees.
The transaction is expected to close by year end and is subject to approval by Greenhill stockholders, as well as required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility.
Vyjuvek is designed to treat the genetic root cause of DEB
Krystal Biotech (KRYS) announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Vyjuvek for the treatment of patients six months of age or older with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, or DEB.
DEB is a rare disease that appears at birth or during the first few years of life, and lasts a lifetime. Prognosis is variable, but tends to be serious. Life expectancy is 50 years, and the disease brings with it complications related to infections, nutrition and neoplastic complications.
“Vyjuvek is designed to address the genetic root cause of DEB by delivering functional copies of the human COL7A1 gene to provide wound healing and sustained functional COL7 protein expression with redosing.
Vyjuvek is the first-ever redosable gene therapy and the first and only medicine approved by the FDA for the treatment of DEB, both recessive and dominant, that can be administered by a healthcare professional in either a healthcare professional setting or in the home,” the company stated.
With this approval, the FDA issued the Company a Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher, or PRV, which confers priority review to a subsequent drug application that would not otherwise qualify for priority review, the company noted.
“Vyjuvek is expected to be available in the United States in the third quarter of 2023, and the company will begin the promotion of Vyjuvek immediately.
Outside of the US, the European Medicines Agency has granted Vyjuvek orphan drug designation and PRIME – PRIority MEdicines – eligibility for the treatment of DEB.
The Company anticipates starting the official Marketing Authorization Application procedure in the second half of 2023 with a potential approval in 2024.
The Company is also working with the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency in Japan to study Vyjuvek and seek approval for potential launch in 2025,” the company added.
KRYS is up 8.7% to $95.00 per share on heavy trading volume.
This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility.
Eli Lilly TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 met primary endpoint, all secondary endpoint
Eli Lilly (LLY) announced results of the TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 Phase 3 study showing that donanemab significantly slowed cognitive and functional decline in people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.
Donanemab met the primary endpoint of change from baseline until 18 months on the integrated Alzheimer’s Disease Rating Scale, or iADRS.
The primary endpoint of iADRS measures cognition and activities of daily living such as managing finances, driving, engaging in hobbies, and conversing about current events.
All secondary endpoints of cognitive and functional decline were also met and showed highly statistically significant clinical benefits with similar magnitude.
Based on these results, Lilly will proceed with global regulatory submissions as quickly as possible and anticipates making a submission to the FDA yet this quarter.
Lilly will work with the FDA and other global regulators to achieve the fastest path to traditional approvals.
TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, evaluated the safety and efficacy of donanemab, an investigational amyloid plaque targeting therapy.
The study enrolled people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease, or AD, which includes mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, and the mild dementia stage of disease, with the confirmed presence of AD neuropathology, and participants completed their course of treatment with donanemab once they reached a prespecified level of amyloid plaque clearance.
Participants in TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 were stratified by their level of the brain protein tau, a predictive biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease progression. The primary analysis population for which the study was powered was comprised of people with an intermediate level of tau and clinical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
In this population, the primary endpoint (iADRS) showed 35% slowing of decline, and an important key secondary endpoint showed 36% slowing of decline over 18 months.
Additional pre-specified secondary analyses showed: 47% of participants on donanemab showed no decline on CDR-SB, a key measure of disease severity at 1 year. 52% of participants completed their course of treatment by 1 year and 72% completed by 18 months as a result of achieving plaque clearance.
Participants on donanemab had 40% less decline in ability to perform activities of daily living at 18 months. Participants on donanemab experienced a 39% lower risk of progressing to the next stage of disease compared to placebo.
The study also enrolled a smaller number of people with high levels of tau at baseline, representing a later stage of disease progression.
Because these participants were predicted to progress more quickly and be less responsive to therapy, the target population for the study was the intermediate tau population. The high tau participants were combined with the intermediate tau population in an additional primary analysis of all participants enrolled. In this combined population, donanemab also demonstrated meaningful positive results across all clinical endpoints, with CDR-SB and iADRS showing 29% and 22% slowing of decline, respectively. The incidence of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities was consistent with the TRAILBLAZER-ALZ Phase 2 study.
Infusion-related reactions occurred in 8.7% of participants with most cases mild to moderate in severity. In addition to slowing cognitive and functional decline in TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2, donanemab produced significant reductions in brain amyloid plaquelevels as early as 6 months after initiating treatment, as observed using amyloid positron emission tomography brain scan, with many patients reaching amyloid levels considered negative for pathology1.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 50 million people worldwide have dementia, and the most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.
In the United States, it is estimated that around 6 million people have Alzheimer’s disease. This number is expected to increase as the population ages.
The economic effect of Alzheimer’s disease is significant. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, in 2021, the total cost of caring for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias in the United States is projected to reach $355 billion. This includes the cost of medical care, long-term care, and lost wages for family caregivers. By 2050, these costs are projected to increase to $1.1 trillion.
The economic impact is not just limited to the United States. Alzheimer’s disease has a global economic impact, with estimated costs of around $1 trillion in 2018. As the population ages, the economic impact is expected to increase.
LLY shares are up $25 to $429.15 or 6% on the day. Shares of Biogen (BIIB) which has a competing drug are down $5 to $310.03.
This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility.
