Pharma Stocks Sank. Eli Lilly fell 7%; Moderna fell 5%; Novavax and BioNTech fell 4%; Viking fell 2%.
Eli Lilly cut its full-year earnings outlook citing research costs and CVS Health Corp. announced a deal to make its rival’s weight-loss drug more widely available.
In its first quarter, Lilly’s weight-loss drug performed in line with Wall Street’s expectations, a result that underwhelmed investors who’d been hoping for more explosive growth. Also Thursday, CVS Health Corp. announced it negotiated a deal that makes rival Novo Nordisk A/S’s weight loss drug cheaper for health plans, which has the potential to hurt Lilly’s future sales.