Novo converts debt into Aradigm stake

Novo Nordisk has converted a $9.1 million debt into an equity stake in Aradigm. Novo gets 26 million shares at a price of 35 cents each. "Upon the closing of this transaction, we will have eliminated all debt from our balance sheet," said Aradigm CEO Igor Gonda. "We are appreciative of the support and cooperation we received from Novo Nordisk in executing this agreement."...

New diabetes data highlights promising drug class

Aside from the closely-watched taspoglutide data, a slew of new reports came out of the ADA meeting on experimental diabetes drugs. Here's a sampling of the top news stories: Boehringer Ingelheim laid out data from five trials of its diabetes drug linagliptin, demonstrating lowered blood glucose compared to a placebo. Boehringer is hopeful that the therapy can compete against Januvia and Onglyza after proving that the DPP-4 inhibitor works effectively without having to adjust the dose to...

Novo Nordisk shines among drugmakers

Although many big players like Pfizer, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline have gone backward this year, Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) is emerging as a star, according to Steve Goldstein of MarketWatch. While the pharma giants face generic competition, shrinking pipelines and price pressures, the Danish drugmaker has a market capitalization approaching $39 billion, annual revenue of nearly $10 billion and 29,000 employees. Goldstein explains that Novo is profiting as increasing number of people develop...