Kevin Dunleavy

Roche will invest $750 million to double the size of Genentech’s manufacturing campus in Hillsboro, Oregon. The expansion will add a fill-finish plant for drug-delivery devices including prefilled syringes and auto-injectors, with operations targeted for 2031 and approximately 250 new high-wage jobs. The project is part of Roche’s broader $50 billion U.S. investment pledge and follows major manufacturing commitments in North Carolina.

Novo Nordisk has begun the phase 3 OASIS 5 trial to evaluate lower maintenance doses of its oral semaglutide product, the Wegovy pill, in adults with overweight or obesity. The placebo-controlled study will enroll 450 non-diabetic patients in the United States and Europe, treating them for 60 weeks and measuring weight loss, cardiovascular and metabolic indicators, and side effects. Novo has not disclosed the doses under investigation, but says broader dosing options could improve flexibility and address patient needs, including cost and tolerability concerns. The trial follows strong early sales for the Wegovy pill and intensifying competition with Eli Lilly’s oral GLP-1 product Foundayo.

Karyopharm Therapeutics reported a $67 million second-quarter loss, cash reserves of $65.4 million and a $15.8 million loan payment due September 10. Without new financing or lender relief, the payment could push the company below its $10 million liquidity covenant and trigger a default. The company is negotiating with lenders while evaluating financing and strategic alternatives. Karyopharm continues to generate revenue from Xpovio, although sales have been stagnant in recent years, and plans to seek accelerated approval for a myelofibrosis combination with Incyte’s Jakafi. Two rounds of layoffs have reduced its workforce from 442 employees in early 2022 to 228 at the start of 2026.

A Spherix Global Insights survey of 185 U.S. healthcare specialists found that Eli Lilly’s injectable Zepbound remains the preferred obesity treatment, with 80% of respondents highly satisfied compared with 59% for injected Wegovy. Oral Wegovy and Lilly’s Foundayo received high-satisfaction ratings of 48% and 47%, respectively, but Novo Nordisk’s pill currently leads in usage and treatment initiations. Physicians reported a 25% 12-month discontinuation rate for GLP-1 treatments, primarily due to cost or inadequate insurance coverage and gastrointestinal side effects. Zepbound led overall brand-performance ratings and seven of 13 treatment attributes, while its major weakness was out-of-pocket cost; Foundayo ranked lowest on eight attributes, although its recent launch makes comparisons preliminary.

Eli Lilly reported $98 million in second-quarter Foundayo sales, well below Novo Nordisk’s $497 million from its earlier-launched Wegovy pill. Analysts attributed much of the gap to Novo’s first-mover advantage, although Foundayo showed stronger performance in the United Arab Emirates and improving U.S. prescription trends. Lilly’s injectable Mounjaro and Zepbound continued to outperform, generating $9.9 billion and $4.9 billion respectively, while the company said its medicines accounted for three-quarters of new injectable incretin patient starts. Total quarterly revenue reached $23 billion, prompting Lilly to raise the midpoint of its 2026 revenue guidance to $86 billion.