Teva Study Finds Providers Prioritize Drowsiness Risk When Choosing Tardive Dyskinesia Treatment for Older Patients
Teva Pharmaceuticals announced new data showing that healthcare providers prioritize drowsiness risk, the duration of available long-term response data and drug-drug interaction profile when selecting a VMAT2 inhibitor for tardive dyskinesia in patients aged 55 and older. In a discrete choice experiment, 489 healthcare providers ranked somnolence risk, accounting for 26.8% to 36.2% of decision-making weight, and short-term symptom improvement, at 24.4% to 29.5%, as their top priorities, followed by dose formulation at 16.7% to 20.2% and drug-drug interaction risk at 14.4% to 17.3%. Applying those preferences across four patient profiles, AUSTEDO, also known as deutetrabenazine, had the highest predicted choice probability, driven mainly by somnolence risk, duration of long-term response data and drug-drug interaction. The findings were presented at Psych Congress, held September 15 to 19, 2026, in New Orleans. A separate interim analysis from the IMPACT-TD Registry found that among patients with probable tardive dyskinesia who remained untreated with any VMAT2 inhibitor for 24 months, roughly 89% to 96% experienced at least a mild global impact and 60% to 74% experienced moderate-to-severe impact, while 55% to 69% reported stable or worsening severity with no evidence of spontaneous resolution.
Eisai's Subcutaneous Leqembi Wins Health Ministry Approval, Enabling At-Home Dosing
Eisai and U.S. pharmaceutical giant Biogen announced on the 16th that the subcutaneous formulation of their Alzheimer's disease treatment lecanemab, sold under the brand name Leqembi, has received manufacturing and marketing approval from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The product, named Leqembi Subcutaneous Injection 250mg Pen, can be administered in about 15 seconds per pen, with two pens used per dose. Until now, patients needed intravenous infusions at a hospital once every two weeks, but the subcutaneous formulation allows once-weekly self-administration at home, though doctor visits will still be required for prescriptions and safety checks. Following deliberation and approval by the Central Social Insurance Medical Council, prescriptions are expected to begin between mid-November and mid-December. This is the third country to approve the subcutaneous version, after the United States and China.
Eli Lilly Hits $1 Trillion Market Cap as 24/7 Wall St. Sets $1,220 Price Target
Eli Lilly has crossed into trillion-dollar territory, trading at $1,123.98 with a market capitalization of $1.002 trillion, and 24/7 Wall St. rates the stock a buy with a 12-month price target of $1,220.42, implying 8.58% upside at 90% confidence. The company's second-quarter 2026 revenue reached $22.974 billion, up 47.67% year over year, with earnings per share of $8.38 beating consensus by 27.27%, and management raised full-year revenue guidance to $85 billion to $87 billion. Mounjaro alone posted $9.94 billion, up 91% year over year, while the incretin franchise generated roughly $14.87 billion of the quarter's revenue. The bull case targets $1,381.62, a 22.92% gain, driven by retatrutide's planned BLA submission in the first quarter of 2027, the oral GLP-1 Foundayo's expansion to 36,000 prescribers, and the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Program opening access for 20 million eligible Americans at $50 per month. The bear case takes shares to $1,045.34, a 7% decline, citing realized prices that fell 13% in the second quarter, $2.78 billion in acquired IPR&D charges, and net insider selling. Lilly's forward price-to-earnings ratio of 24 compares with 14 for Novo Nordisk, which grew quarterly revenue just 2.1%, and 16 for Merck, whose quarterly earnings shrank 19.3% year over year.
