As an array of developers push their Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) drugs along, PTC Therapeutics Inc.’s recent update on its program piqued thirst for the 15-lipoxygenase inhibitor vatiquinone. Warren, N.J.-based PTC said the prespecified endpoint for two different FA long-term extension studies was met, with highly statistically significant evidence of durable treatment benefit on disease progression.

Med-tech firms raised $22.71 billion in financings through October, an increase of 46% over the $15.59 billion raised during the same period in 2023. October’s value totaled $1.43 billion, up from $1.02 billion in September, but down from August's $3.67 billion.

Nearly $3.8 billion was earned by Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly and Co. in the third quarter for their glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs to treat obesity. Novo’s GLP-1 drug, Wegovy (semaglutide), approved by the U.S. FDA in June 2021, had sales of DKK17.3 billion (US$2.5 billion), while Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide), which is a GLP-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide dual agonist FDA-approved in November 2023, posted sales of $1.26 billion for the quarter.

Positive findings from a phase III trial of semaglutide in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is moving Novo Nordisk A/S to expand the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist’s indications in the U.S. and Europe, the Danish pharma said, as the MASH field sights more novel therapies.

While uncertainty often casts a shadow on the Street, U.S. investors welcomed the presidential and congressional election results with a late-night surge that carried into the morning Nov. 6. The Dow Jones peaked at 1,380.47 points early the day after, up 3.27% from Election Day itself and hitting its highest point of the year so far. The celebration extended to the biotech sector, with the BioWorld Index, which covers more than 500 companies, up 17.06% for the year, compared with a 12.28% increase for the year on Nov. 1.