The latest Market Talks covering the Health Care sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1729 GMT - Eli Lilly's direct channel sales are reducing obstacles to access GLP-1 drugs, helping it grow the total market, the company says on its analyst call. "There is significant demand in the consumer segment related to finding ways to get outside some of the frictions in the health care system," Lily USA President Ilya Yuffa says. "We're seeing significantly more volume go through a direct-to-consumer platform with Lilly Direct." The company also said this week patients would be able to pick up Zepbound vials at Walmart. That accessibility is "an important element for us to expand the ability for patients to get treated," Yuffa says. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1723 GMT - Eli Lilly can both expand access to its GLP-1 drugs to hundreds of millions of people and maintain its pricing, says Chief Executive David Ricks. "Our strategy is to bridge both," Ricks says. The consistent ability to deliver desirable short-term effects and long-term health benefits means that consumers are willing to pay out of their own pocket for the drugs at a scale not seen in other categories. Eli Lilly is also expanding the indications for the drugs to a number of chronic diseases, which should allow it to compete for more healthcare spending. "We are literally just scratching the surface of global treatment here," Ricks says. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1654 GMT - Eli Lilly reported what may be the most impressive results of 3Q so far, with its $2.25 billion revenue guidance increase suggesting upside to 4Q expectations, say Cantor analysts. The company's stock is still facing an overhang due to pressure from the White House to lower the prices of its GLP-1 drugs and the potential impact of Novo Nordisk's Medicare pricing negotiations for its semaglutide GLP-1. But Eli Lilly shares are set up well to keep rising through the end of the year with updates on its eloranlitide, retatrutide and orforglipron drugs coming. Shares rise 3.4%. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1400 GMT - Pfizer says Novo's bid for weight-loss drug developer Metsera is "illusory" and designed to skirt antitrust laws, and says it can't quality as a superior offer. Novo Nordisk launched an unsolicited bid valued at up to $9 billion for Metsera, hoping to top the deal Pfizer reached last month and teeing up a potential legal battle for the biotech company. Metsera says Novo Nordisk's unsolicited takeover bid constitutes a superior proposal to Pfizer's deal, but Pfizer disagrees. Metsera says it provided Pfizer with notice of its determination, giving the drugmaker four business days to negotiate an adjusted deal. Novo's bid is worth up to $77.75 a share for Metsera, while the agreement with Pfizer is worth up to $70 a share. Metsera surges 21% to $63.32 in early trading. (colin.kellaher@wsj.com)

1338 GMT - If Novo Nordisk is successful in its pursuit of Metsera it would be a sore loss for Pfizer and would certainly heat up the obesity-treatment landscape, Bernstein analysts write. Pfizer had already announced a deal to buy the company, which is developing obesity treatments that belong to the GLP-1 and GIP class of drugs. However, Bernstein says that Novo Nordisk was unsuccessful in the initial bidding due to antitrust and regulatory closing concerns. These haven't gone away. Pfizer might need to sharpen its bid, the bank adds. "A post-announcement bid like this is rare and may signal the value the market is placing on the GLP1/GIP backbone, and Metsera's assets specifically - a good sign for Pfizer if they can hold onto it." (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

1242 GMT - Pfizer, which is banking on its deal to buy weight-loss drug developer Metsera to get the drugmaker back into the burgeoning market for obesity drugs, says Novo Nordisk's bid to upend the deal is reckless and would likely run afoul of antitrust regulators. Denmark-based Novo makes the blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. Pfizer says Novo's bid for Metsera "is an attempt by a company with a dominant market position to suppress competition in violation of law by taking over an emerging American challenger" and vows to pursue all legal avenues to enforce its rights. (colin.kellaher@wsj.com)

1003 GMT - Haleon's third-quarter organic revenue increase beat consensus views, but this looks less impressive when considering how much expectations have fallen, Bernstein analysts Callum Elliott and Victoria Nice write. The U.K. consumer-health group posted 3.4% organic revenue growth, marginally ahead of consensus expectations, the analysts say. The forecast had been at 4.8% as recently as August, they say. Growth was entirely driven by North America, which raises concerns over whether the company is delaying the impact of retailers reducing inventories, the analysts write. The company could benefit from U.S. government officials linking acetaminophen with autism since its main pain-relief brand, Advil, is ibuprofen-based, the analysts add. Rival drug manufacturer Kenvue, producer of acetaminophen-based Tylenol, says the global medical community acknowledges the safety of acetaminophen. Shares rise 1.8%. (william.gray@wsj.com)

0957 GMT - Haleon's third-quarter U.S. sales growth was fueled by e-commerce players including Amazon expanding inventories rather than by stronger consumer demand, Barclays analysts write. Restocking is likely to ease in the fourth quarter, leading to a 1.2% dip in U.S. revenue that will cloud the U.K. consumer-health group's 2026 outlook, the analysts say. Increased competition in U.S. vitamins, minerals and supplements led to lower pricing, the analysts write. Oral health products grew 6.9%, missing the 8% consensus, with Aquafresh and denture care particularly soft, the analysts add. Shares rise 2.5% at 353.50 pence. (william.gray@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 31, 2025 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.