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Reuters reported exclusively that German genetic testing company Qiagen sees upside potential for its full-year guidance and expects a good third quarter after the company cut its forecast in July.

Finance Chief Roland Sackers told Reuters in an interview that demand for COVID-19 tests had taken yet another turn as continued breakthrough infections from the Delta coronavirus variant in some vaccinated people was fueling test kit demand.

Asked about the prospect of Qiagen becoming a takeover target again, Sackers said he had strong confidence in the group’s growth potential but would not rule out any tie-up.

The post Qiagen shares hit 21-year high following Reuters exclusive interview appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters examined how the Indian state of Kerala’s approach to dealing with COVID-19 cases, heavily criticized by the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for its high overall case numbers, has helped to catch infections early, allowing state authorities to better manage the illness and dramatically lower the death rate.  Kerala has relied on antigen tests to detect and strictly isolate infected people at home, an approach the federal health ministry has sharply criticized but which state officials argue has helped them to better allocate hospital beds and oxygen supplies for those who really need them.

The post Reuters examines Kerala’s COVID-19 lessons for India and Modi’s government appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

The year 2021 began with governments racing to obtain, and administer, COVID-19 shots produced by some of the pharmaceutical industry’s biggest names, as well as new rivals from China and Russia. At stake: The ability of countries to protect their people and revive dormant economies, with the wealthiest nations quickly taking the lead. All along the way, Reuters correspondents around the world have provided deeply reported insight and exclusive stories into the progress achieved by early leaders in vaccines; the industry’s setbacks in producing shots at unprecedented scale; the unequal access that has left many countries behind; and the new variants that are upending expectations of what will happen next in this pandemic.

The post COVID-19 series: The year of the vaccine appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters took readers on a deep dive into how drugmakers Pfizer Inc, BioNTech and Moderna Inc are expected to reap billions of dollars from COVID-19 booster shots in a market that could rival the $6 billion in annual sales for flu vaccines for years to come. The companies have said they expect that fully inoculated people will need an extra dose to maintain protection and to fend off new variants. Now a growing list of governments have decided to offer booster doses to older citizens or people with weak immune systems in the face of the fast-spreading Delta variant. 

The post Reuters gives insight into how Pfizer, Moderna is reaping billions from COVID-19 vaccine booster market appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters has delivered unparalleled coverage in 2021 of the extraordinary actions taken by the world’s central bankers to limit the damage to their economies wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the efforts of several top economies – the U.S. in particular – face new threats: Inflation and the Delta variant. Fast, deep and always relevant, Reuters economics and central banks coverage spans the globe, with correspondents in the world’s capitals and financial centers consistently delivering market-sensitive exclusive news and insight from their numerous policymaking sources. Take a look at some recent highlights.

COVERAGE HIGHLIGHTS

EXCLUSIVE Fed’s Kaplan wants bond-buying taper to start soon and be gradual

EXCLUSIVE-Delta variant delaying Indonesia’s recovery, inflation pressures, rate hike – c.bank chief

EXCLUSIVE BOJ policymaker sees prospects of deeper debate on price goal this year

Fed now facing twin inflation, growth risks as virus jumps and supply chains falter

Lagarde tames her biggest ECB rebellion through compromise and attrition

Seven months and ticking, the case for keeping Powell as Fed chair builds

Exclusive: BOJ seen cutting this year’s growth forecast as COVID-19 curbs hurt outlook – sources

Analysis: A fine mess – Weak inflation prompts a global central bank reset

Exclusive: ECB policymakers at odds on inflation strategy, hope for September deal – sources

Analysis: As Fed taper looms, global central banks eye their own exits from stimulus

Exclusive: Fed will limit any overshoot of inflation target, Powell says

EXCLUSIVE ECB expects data to vindicate 1.85 trln euro purchasing scheme – policymaker

The post Special Edition: Central banks vs. Inflation and the Delta variant appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that Sanofi has offered to buy U.S. biotech company Translate Bio, as the French drugmaker bets on next-generation mRNA technology after setbacks in the COVID-19 vaccine race. Following the Reuters report, shares in the New York-listed biotech company soared more than 70% in extended trading, building on the big gains in the stock as investors have piled in to the sector amid a rush to develop vaccines and treatments to tame the pandemic. Sanofi confirmed the deal the following morning. 

The post Reuters exclusively reports Sanofi offers to buy U.S. biotech company Translate Bio; market reacts appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that Thailand is alone among 30 countries where data was reviewed that has vaccinated fewer seniors than those in younger age groups, and the elderly are accounting for a greater proportion of a mounting COVID-19 death toll. Government data analyzed for the first time by Reuters shows Thailand has fully vaccinated 6.7% of an estimated 10.9 million people 60 and older, compared with 15% of adults aged 18 to 59 and 10.2% of the total population – including children, who are not being vaccinated. 

The post Reuters exclusively reports Thailand’s elderly lag behind in COVID vaccination drive, data show appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that U.S. life sciences company Illumina Inc’s proposed buy of cancer test maker Grail Inc faces a lengthy EU antitrust investigation if it does not offer hefty concessions this week. Illumina announced the $8 billion cash-and-stock deal for Grail last September, under which it will buy out investors, including Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos, to regain control of a company it spun out five years ago.

The post Reuters reveals Illumina, Grail deal faces full-scale EU antitrust probe; market reacts appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters was also first with news that Noom Inc, the operator of the popular U.S. weight loss app, has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc to lead its preparations for an IPO. The New York-based company, which has seen the popularity of its fitness platform soar during the COVID-19 pandemic, aims to more than double its valuation from its May private fundraising round when investors led by buyout firm Silver Lake valued it at $3.7 billion.

The post Reuters ahead with Noom IPO news appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that a prenatal test taken by millions of pregnant women globally was developed by Chinese gene company BGI Group in collaboration with the Chinese military and is being used by the firm to collect genetic data. The Reuters report is the first to reveal that the company collaborated with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to develop and improve the test, taken in early pregnancy, as well as the scope of BGI’s storage and analysis of the data. The United States sees BGI’s efforts to collect and analyze human gene data as a national security threat.

The post Reuters exclusively reports prenatal test developed with Chinese military stores gene data appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters reported exclusively that South Korea is in talks with mRNA vaccine makers, including Pfizer and Moderna, to produce COVID-19 shots in the country and is ready to offer the capacity to make up to 1 billion doses immediately. The plan, if agreed, would help ease tight global supply of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in Asia, and put South Korea a step closer to its ambition to become a major vaccine manufacturing center. According to a Reuters source, local vaccine makers, which have the capacity to produce mRNA vaccines immediately, include Hanmi Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd and Quratis Co Ltd.

The post Reuters exclusively reports South Korea offers to produce mRNA vaccines appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters was first to report that ChemChina is aiming to raise around $10 billion from a Shanghai IPO for Swiss agrichemical giant Syngenta Group, in what is set to be the world’s largest flotation this year. Syngenta’s prospectus to list on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR Market was posted online by the Shanghai Stock Exchange on July 2, confirming details reported earlier by Reuters after the application was filed. Syngenta Group will use the proceeds from its $10 billion initial public offering (IPO) to fund internal growth and an acquisition spree to snare more of the $100 billion market for seeds and sprays, the agrichemical giant said.

The post Reuters first to report Syngenta’s $10 billion IPO appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that the United States would ship 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan on Saturday, more than tripling Washington’s previous allocation of shots for the island, which has faced increasing political and military pressure from China. Washington is competing for geopolitical clout against Beijing, which considers Taiwan an integral part of Chinese territory.

The post Reuters exclusively reports U.S. triples vaccines for Taiwan with 2.5 million-dose shipment appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

On June 16, Reuters was 17 seconds ahead when Curevac said its COVID vaccine was only 47% effective. When subsequent trial data released on June 30 confirmed this low efficacy, Reuters was minutes ahead of the competition with the news.

The post Curevac’s COVID vaccine appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters reported exclusively that private equity firm PAI Partners is in final talks to buy France’s SGD Pharma, a firm that makes the vials used to store COVID-19 vaccines. According to a Reuters source, the transaction was expected to value SGD Pharma at around 10 times its core earnings, which stood at approximately 90 million euros ($109.15 million) last year. The deal was officially announced nine hours after the Reuters report was published. 

The post Reuters exclusively reports PAI Partners close to acquiring France’s SGD Pharma appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

On June 14, Reuters was 15 seconds ahead in reporting that Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective, including against a variety of concerning variants of the coronavirus in a large, late-stage U.S.-based clinical trial.

The post Novavax COVID-19 vaccine appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that British foreign minister Dominic Raab said that there was no doubt some countries were using vaccines as a diplomatic tool to secure influence but Britain did not support so-called vaccine diplomacy. Western diplomats fear Russia and China are using their vaccines to gain influence across the world, especially in poorer countries that do not have their own production or the means to buy shots on the international market.

The post Reuters exclusively reports some countries are using vaccines as a geopolitical tool appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters reported exclusively that a week before Eli Lilly disclosed to regulators that the U.S. Justice Department was investigating its New Jersey factory, the drugmaker told employees that its own inquiry, led by an outside law firm, found no evidence of wrongdoing there. The law firm was tapped to investigate alleged alterations of documents, which employees said were meant to downplay serious quality control problems at the plant producing the company’s COVID-19 antibody treatment. 

The post Reuters exclusively reports Eli Lilly memo says firm did not make false statements to FDA appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an address to the nation that the federal government would bear the cost of vaccinating all adults, Reuters reported exclusively that the plan would increase government spending by over a quarter in the April-March fiscal year. Two sources told Reuters the government would spend up to 450 billion rupees ($6.18 billion) on COVID-19 vaccines this fiscal year, which started on April 1. The previously budgeted amount was 350 billion rupees. 

The post Reuters exclusively reports India may raise vaccine spending to $6 bln this fiscal year appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that Senegal could begin producing COVID-19 vaccines next year under an agreement with Belgian biotech group Univercells aimed at boosting Africa’s drug-manufacturing ambitions. The collaboration highlights the opportunities created by a global push to channel money and technology towards production on a continent that makes only 1% of the vaccines it requires. Under the agreement, the Institute Pasteur would use vaccine production technology developed by Univercells to supply COVID-19 vaccine shots to countries across West Africa.

The post Reuters exclusively reports in boost for Africa, Senegal aims to make COVID shots next year appeared first on Reuters News Agency.