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Walgreens (WBA) Declares Partnership With Prothena Corporation

Walgreens WBA recently entered into a partnership with the Dublin-based biotech company, Prothena Corporation. The collaboration aims to accelerate patient identification and recruitment for Prothena’s ongoing ASCENT-2 multiple ascending dose clinical trial.

The Prothena partnership follows Walgreens’ vision to jointly work with all the stakeholders to develop and evaluate effective therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.

About PRX012

Prothena’s PRX012 is an anti-amyloid beta antibody, which is currently under development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The clinical trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of PRX012 has been granted the Fast Track designation by the FDA.

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Under the agreement, Walgreens will leverage its national footprint, the expanded portfolio of healthcare companies and the compliance framework to match patient populations to the Prothena clinical trial for PRX012.

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Zacks Investment Research


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Significance of the Collaboration

Through its trusted community pharmacy presence and interactions with patients across the United States, Walgreens expects to play a significant role in helping Prothena with its clinical trial recruitment efforts. The company looks forward to widening the patient population for Alzheimer’s research for a better understanding of the disease, particularly among the underserved and diverse communities.

Walgreens’ pharmacy teams will potentially address patients’ specific needs and barriers to care across all 9,000 locations, including socially vulnerable areas. The pharmacy and patient-authorized clinical data accumulated will allow Walgreens to engage a broader and more representative population for potential enrollment in the ASCENT-2 trial.

The company will conduct a pre-screening on interested patients or their caregivers to determine their eligibility for participation at one of Prothena’s clinical trial sites.

Industry Prospects

Per a Research report, the global Alzheimer's therapeutic market size was valued at $4.04 billion in 2021 and is expected to witness a CAGR of 16.2% up to 2030.

The rising prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and the approval of disease-modifying therapies are expected to fuel market growth.

Recent Developments

Earlier this month, the U.S. Healthcare segment of Walgreens and VillageMD announced the expansion of Village Medical at Walgreens into Colorado, with three new primary care practices, two in Fort Collins and a third in Longmont. Village MD’s physicians and Walgreens’ pharmacy team members work together to provide patients with cost-effective, expert care for chronic conditions, along with general illnesses and injuries.

In March 2023, Walgreens, in partnership with DoorDash and Uber, announced free, Same Day Rx Delivery of medications for the prevention and treatment of HIV. The latest offering is available to eligible patients within 15 miles of thousands of participating Walgreens retail pharmacies nationwide.

Price Performance

In the past six months, WBA shares have increased 8.4% compared to the industry’s fall of 13.3%.

Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Walgreens currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the overall healthcare sector are Lantheus LNTH, Avanos Medical AVNS and Insulet PODD. Lantheus sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Avanos Medical and Insulet each carry a Zack Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Lantheus’ stock has risen 44.8% in the past year. Earnings estimates for Lantheus have remained constant at $4.79 per share for 2023 and $5.32 for 2024 in the past 30 days.

LNTH’s earnings beat estimates in all the last four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 50%. In the last reported quarter, it posted an earnings surprise of 42.71%.

Estimates for Avanos Medical in 2023 have remained constant at $1.68 per share in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have declined 4.6% in the past year compared with the industry’s fall of 12.9%.

Avanos Medical’s earnings beat estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 11.01%. In the last reported quarter, AVNS delivered an earnings surprise of 25%.

Insulet’s stock has increased 20% in the past year. The company has an estimated earnings growth rate of 56.59% for the next year.

Insulet’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the same in one, the average surprise being 59.81%. In the last reported quarter, PODD delivered an earnings surprise of 129.17%.

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Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Insulet Corporation (PODD) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Lantheus Holdings, Inc. (LNTH) : Free Stock Analysis Report

AVANOS MEDICAL, INC. (AVNS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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