Category: 3. Business

Shares in WPP have risen sharply amid speculation that the advertising group could be the subject of a takeover by a rival or a private equity buyer.

Its French rival Havas, which was listed on Euronext in Amsterdam in December and is controlled by the billionaire Vincent Bolloré, has reportedly held internal talks about a potential bid as WPP’s share price languishes at levels not seen since the mid-1990s.

The company’s shares rose as much as 6% on Monday, making it the biggest riser on the FTSE, after the Sunday Times report, which also suggested private equity groups Apollo and KKR had held internal discussions about certain WPP assets.

However, Apollo has ruled out making a bid. KKR, which last year acquired WPP’s PR operation FGS Global, declined to comment.

Havas, the smallest of the global advertising holding companies, has previously hoped to build scale, particularly in relation to its media buying and selling capability.

Over a number of years Bolloré built up a stake in the UK media buying firm Aegis, and attempted to get seats on the board, but the Japanese advertising group Dentsu paid £3.2bn to buy the company in 2012.

One source suggested Havas could look to follow a similar strategy with WPP, building a stake before demanding a board seat.

Havas declined to comment.

WPP, which has issued a string of profit warnings amid a client exodus and is struggling to compete with the artificial intelligence and data capabilities of its rivals, is now valued at about £3bn.

The business’s market capitalisation has fallen by more than 80% over the past eight years – it was valued at £25bn in 2017 – which has left WPP at risk of falling out of the FTSE 100 index it joined almost three decades ago.

Last month, Cindy Rose, the newly installed WPP chief executive, launched a review of the business after reporting a fresh profit warning.

Earlier this year Accenture, the US consultancy group that has built up a large advertising business, reportedly held talks with WPP over a potential deal or partnership.

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WPP Media, which manages more than $60bn (£46bn) of global media investment in campaigns for clients, is considered by analysts to be the most valuable part of WPP.

The division has been the revenue and profit driver as other operations such as WPP’s creative agencies have struggled. It is considered to be worth more than the approximate £7.5bn enterprise value of WPP, which includes its debt.

France’s Publicis Groupe, which took WPP’s crown as the biggest ad group in the world by revenue last year, would face considerable regulatory challenges if it was to target WPP.

The speculation surrounding the future of WPP comes as a wave of consolidation sweeps through the global advertising market.

The US group Omnicom is in the midst of closing out a $13.5bn takeover of its rival IPG, which will create the largest advertising holding company in the world.

Dentsu, the world’s fifth largest ad group, is exploring a sale of all of its international businesses.

A British man who hacked high profile Twitter – now known as X – accounts as part of a Bitcoin scam has been ordered to hand over £4.1m in stolen cryptocurrency.

Joseph O’Connor, from Liverpool, hijacked more than 130 accounts in July 2020, including those of Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Elon Musk.

The 26-year-old fled to Spain where his mother lives before being arrested and extradited to the US for trial.

He was sentenced to five years for cyber crimes but now must hand over a haul of crypto he gathered through various hacks and scams.

O’Connor, who went by the alias PlugwalkJoe, carried out the so-called “giveaway scam” with other young men and teenagers – breaking into Twitter’s internal systems and taking over high profile accounts.

Three other hackers have been charged over the scam, with US teenager Graham Clark pleading guilty to his part in the deception in 2021.

The hackers gained access to the accounts by first convincing a small number of Twitter employees to hand over their internal login details – which eventually granted them access to the social media site’s administrative tools.

They used social engineering tricks to get access to the powerful internal control panel at the site.

Once inside the Twitter accounts of famous individuals, they pretended to be the celebrities and tweeted asking followers to send Bitcoin to various digital wallets promising to double their money.

As a result of the fraud, an estimated 350 million Twitter users viewed suspicious tweets from official accounts of some of the platform’s biggest users, including Apple, Uber, Kanye West and Bill Gates.

Thousands were duped into believing that a crypto giveaway was real.

Between 15 and 16 July 2020, 426 transfers were made to the scammers of various amounts from people hoping to double their money.

A total of over 12.86 BTC was stolen which at the time was worth around $110,000 (£83,500). It is now worth $1.2m.

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said investigators believed more crypto linked to O’Connor was obtained through criminal hacks he carried out with other teenagers and young people he met whilst playing Call of Duty online.

The CPS has recovered 42 Bitcoin and other digital currency in total from him.

Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, said O’Connor “targeted well known individuals and used their accounts to scam people out of their crypto assets and money”.

“Even when someone is not convicted in the UK, we are still able to ensure they do not benefit from their criminality,” he said.

Novo Nordisk is chopping prices again for its popular obesity treatment Wegovy, but doctors say the expense will remain challenging for patients without insurance.

The drugmaker said Monday that it has started selling higher doses of the injectable treatment for $349 a month to patients paying the full bill. That’s down from $499 and in line with terms of a drug pricing agreement outlined earlier this month by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Novo also has started a temporary offer of $199 a month for the first two months of low doses of Wegovy and the drug’s counterpart for diabetes, Ozempic. The new pricing will be available at pharmacies nationwide through home delivery and from some telemedicine providers.

Rival Eli Lilly also plans price breaks for its weight-loss drug Zepbound once it gets a new, multi-dose pen on the market.

Obesity treatments like Zepbound and Wegovy have soared in popularity in recent years. Known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, the drugs work by targeting hormones in the gut and brain that affect appetite and feelings of fullness.

In clinical trials, they helped people shed 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But affordability has been a persistent challenge for patients.

A recent poll by the nonprofit KFF found that about half of the people who take the treatments say it was hard to afford them.

Previous research has shown that people have difficulty paying for a medication when the cost rises above $100 per month for a prescription or refill, said Stacie Dusetzina, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center professor and prescription drug pricing expert.

She said new prices like those outlined by Novo are “not going to really move the needle for a person who doesn’t have a pretty reasonable amount of disposable income.”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Published article outlines rationale for multi-pathway efficacy for (Z)-endoxifen in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD); November scientific presentation to spotlight potential in Duchenne carrier–associated pathologies

SEATTLE, Nov. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS) (“Atossa” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines in oncology, announces a growing body of scientific work supporting the potential role of its investigational therapy (Z)-endoxifen in DMD, a severe, progressive, and ultimately fatal neuromuscular disease, in addition to Duchenne carrier–associated pathologies (D-CAPs) that affect a subset of female carriers. The momentum is anchored by a newly published, peer-reviewed hypothesis article and an upcoming invited scientific presentation.

Newly published hypothesis article outlines why (Z)-endoxifen may matter in DMD
The article about (Z)-Endoxifen in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), surveys the DMD treatment landscape and details how (Z)-endoxifen’s pharmacology could address multiple downstream drivers of disease, including inflammation, fibrosis, calcium dysregulation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and lipid abnormalities. A video abstract of the paper can be found here.

The paper emphasizes (Z)-endoxifen’s direct estrogen-receptor (ER) modulation, allosteric inhibition of PKC (notably PKC-β1), and effects along AKT/mTOR and NF-κB axes, mechanisms that together may help slow disease progression when used as an adjunct to standard care. Notably, the authors underscore (Z)-endoxifen’s potential to deliver more consistent therapeutic exposures than tamoxifen by bypassing CYP2D6 metabolic variability, an important limitation of the pro-drug approach. As illustrated in the mechanistic diagram, page 7 of the publication, the paper maps (Z)-endoxifen’s ER-dependent and ER-independent signaling effects relevant to dystrophic muscle.

• Clinical context: Prior tamoxifen studies in DMD showed safety and encouraging trends but were underpowered due to premature termination during the pandemic, supporting continued exploration of more potent, exposure-reliable metabolites like (Z)-endoxifen.
• Tissue exposure: (Z)-endoxifen tissue concentrations may substantially exceed plasma levels in certain settings, supporting a rationale for sustained pharmacodynamic activity at the muscle level.
• Cardio-skeletal relevance: The paper reviews pathways tied to cardiomyopathy, now a leading cause of death in DMD, and discusses how ER/PKC-linked modulation could complement existing standards of care, including glucocorticoids and recently approved agents.
• Pragmatic access: As a small-molecule candidate, (Z)-endoxifen could, if proven safe and effective, offer a potentially more scalable and accessible option alongside high-cost genetic approaches, while remaining mechanistically complementary.

As a follow-up to our initial publication, Atossa recently submitted a second manuscript investigating the potential mechanism of action of (Z)-endoxifen in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). This study focuses specifically on the role of (Z)-endoxifen in modulating utrophin expression and signaling pathways. The manuscript, entitled “(Z)-Endoxifen as a Modulator of Utrophin Pathways in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy,” is currently under review with the Journal of Degenerative Neurological and Neuromuscular Disease. Utrophin is a structural and functional analog of dystrophin that can compensate for the loss of dystrophin in DMD, stabilizing the sarcolemma and mitigating muscle fiber damage. Pharmacological upregulation of utrophin represents a promising therapeutic strategy that is independent of the underlying dystrophin mutation. Our work explores how (Z)-endoxifen influences utrophin-related pathways, potentially offering a novel, mutation-agnostic therapeutic approach for DMD.

Scientific presentation to focus on female carriers
H. Lawrence Remmel, Director of Atossa Therapeutics will present “Endoxifen: A Potential Novel Therapy for Duchenne Carrier-Associated Pathologies” at the 2nd International Conference on Women’s Health, Reproduction & Obstetrics in Rome, Italy, held November 17-19, 2025. The presentation builds on the published hypothesis and centers on symptomatic female carriers, a medically important yet under-recognized population in which 2.5–19% may experience skeletal-muscle symptoms and 7.3–16.7% may develop dilated cardiomyopathy.

Management commentary
“Duchenne remains one of the highest-need pediatric diseases. The science we and our collaborators summarized points to a coherent, multi-pathway rationale for (Z)-endoxifen that is distinct from, and potentially synergistic with, genetic strategies,” said Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Atossa Therapeutics Founder and CEO. “We believe this framework supports responsible next steps aimed at rigorously testing endoxifen as a potential adjunct in DMD and as an investigational option for symptomatic carriers.”

“Having led the first IND for a Duchenne therapy, I’ve seen how crucial it is to pair solid biology with a pragmatic development plan. (Z)-Endoxifen’s small-molecule profile, exposure-guided strategy, and phase-appropriate GxP controls position it for a rigorous, stepwise program focused on safety, PK/PD, and functional endpoints. Our goal is to engage regulators early and, if data support, pursue rare-disease pathways that can responsibly accelerate development for patients and families who have waited too long,” said Janet Rea, Senior Vice President, R&D of Atossa Therapeutics.

Mr. Remmel added, “Our Rome presentation will focus on Duchenne carrier–associated pathologies, where unmet need and biological plausibility intersect. The published hypothesis provides the mechanistic scaffolding, now the task is to translate this into data-driven clinical exploration.”

Why investors should care

• Large unmet need, multiple shots on goal: DMD demands more than one solution; (Z)-endoxifen’s combinable, small-molecule profile offers a potentially capital-efficient path to add value alongside genetic and anti-inflammatory standards.
• Mechanistic differentiation: Direct ER modulation plus PKC-β1 inhibition (with downstream AKT/mTOR and NF-κB effects) targets convergent disease nodes implicated across skeletal and cardiac muscle pathology. (See mechanistic diagram, page 7 of the publication.)
• Broader population reach: Beyond boys with DMD, symptomatic female carriers represent a clinically meaningful extension opportunity aligned with our publication and the upcoming presentation.

Atossa intends to leverage the published framework to guide prioritized preclinical validation and the design of fit-for-purpose clinical studies.  The Company expects they will be designed to assess safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and functional endpoints relevant to upper-limb, diaphragmatic, and cardiac performance, while exploring biomarker-enriched and combination strategies consistent with standard of care. Investigational plans are subject to refinement and regulatory feedback.

About Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)
DMD is an X-linked, progressive neuromuscular disease driven by dystrophin loss, leading to muscle degeneration, loss of ambulation, respiratory compromise, and cardiomyopathy, with substantial morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. Cardiomyopathy is now a leading cause of death in DMD.

About (Z)-Endoxifen
(Z)-Endoxifen is Atossa’s investigational ER-modulating small molecule. In oncology and CNS studies to date, (Z)-endoxifen has shown a favorable safety profile and pharmacology distinct from tamoxifen, including ER-targeted effects and PKC inhibition. (Z)-endoxifen is not approved for any indication.

About Atossa Therapeutics
Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for significant unmet needs in breast cancer. Atossa’s strategy emphasizes disciplined capital allocation, focusing resources on programs and data packages that can enable future regulatory submissions and potential commercialization. For more information, visit www.atossatherapeutics.com and refer to Atossa’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the potential safety, efficacy, development plans, regulatory strategy, clinical trial design, timelines, and market opportunity for (Z)-endoxifen in DMD and in Duchenne carrier–associated pathologies. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks include, but are not limited to, preclinical and clinical development risks, regulatory uncertainties, manufacturing and supply constraints, competition, intellectual property risks, and funding availability. Atossa undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law.

Medical Disclaimer
(Z)-Endoxifen is investigational and has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other regulatory authority for DMD, D-CAPs, or any other indication.

SOURCE Atossa Therapeutics Inc

DURHAM, N.C. and SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Lunit, a leading provider of AI for cancer diagnostics and precision oncology, and Labcorp, a global leader of innovative and comprehensive laboratory services, today announced a collaborative initiative to accelerate innovation in digital pathology (DP) and artificial intelligence (AI) for oncology research and clinical care.

The collaboration aims to leverage Labcorp’s extensive clinical and pathology expertise alongside Lunit’s cutting-edge AI algorithms to transform how tumor microenvironments are analyzed and interpreted. By combining high-resolution whole-slide imaging with AI-powered spatial profiling, the collaboration seeks to generate new insights that can enhance biomarker discovery and guide precision immuno-oncology strategies.

First Collaborative Studies Presented at SITC and AMP

The first outcome of the collaboration was showcased at two leading scientific conferences:

• Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC): Study demonstrated how AI-based spatial profiling and machine learning can identify immune-active subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors with the MET exon 14 skipping mutation, which are associated with improved immunotherapy outcomes. Using Lunit SCOPE IO^®, researchers analyzed more than 370 pathology slides to characterize immune phenotypes across different types of MET alterations, including exon 14 skipping, amplification, or no mutation (wildtype). Immune gene expression analysis further validated the AI-defined immune phenotypes and revealed key immune response pathways driving the inflamed phenotype, underscoring the predictive power of AI-based spatial profiling in MET-mutated NSCLC.
• Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP): Study highlighted distinct tumor-immune microenvironments linked to different MET alterations in NSCLC, revealing immune-desert phenotypes in MET-amplified tumors, and inflamed phenotypes in those with MET exon 14 skipping tumors.

“Collaborating with Labcorp, one of the most respected leaders in diagnostics and clinical research, marks an important step toward expanding the real-world use of AI in oncology. These early studies show how AI can reveal meaningful, predictive biomarkers hidden within pathology slides,” said Brandon Suh, CEO of Lunit. “It’s a clear example of how digital pathology and AI can work hand in hand to advance precision oncology understanding, bridging discovery research and real-world clinical care.”

“Our collaboration with Lunit aims to turn complex pathology data into meaningful insights,” said Shakti Ramkissoon, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, vice president and medical lead for oncology at Labcorp. “These studies demonstrate how AI-powered digital pathology can reveal patterns within tumors—ultimately helping to guide treatment decisions, inform biomarker development, and pave the way for more personalized cancer care.”

Labcorp and Lunit plan to further broaden their collaboration by applying digital pathology AI to additional cancer types and genomic correlations.

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About Lunit

Founded in 2013, Lunit (KRX: 328130) is a global leader on a mission to conquer cancer through AI. Our clinically validated solutions span medical imaging, breast health, and biomarker analysis—empowering earlier detection, smarter treatment decisions, and more precise outcomes across the cancer care continuum.

Following the integration of Volpara, Lunit now offers a comprehensive suite spanning risk prediction and early detection to precision oncology. Our FDA-cleared Lunit INSIGHT suite and breast health solutions support cancer screening in thousands of medical institutions worldwide, while Lunit SCOPE platform is used in research partnership with global pharma leaders for biomarker development and companion diagnostics.

Trusted by over 10,000 sites in more than 65 countries, Lunit combines deep medical expertise with continuously evolving datasets to deliver measurable impact—for patients, clinicians, and researchers alike. Headquartered in Seoul with global offices, Lunit is driving the worldwide fight against cancer. Learn more at lunit.io/en.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the collaboration between Lunit and Labcorp and the potential benefits, uses and applications of artificial intelligence-powered digital pathology. Actual results could differ materially from those suggested by forward-looking statements. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

SOURCE Lunit

The Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský is to become one of the largest shareholders in TotalEnergies after selling a stake in his electricity generation business, which includes several UK power plants, to the French oil company.

Křetínský, whose companies own stakes in Royal Mail and West Ham United football club, agreed to sell a 50% stake in his stable of European power plants to TotalEnergies for about €5.1bn (£4.5bn) in exchange for about 4.1% of Total’s share capital.

The deal will make his power generation business, Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH), one of the French company’s biggest investors. It means Total will also own a share in a string of electricity generation assets across the UK, France, the Netherlands and Italy through a new joint venture.

Křetínský, the chair of EPH, said his company was “highly interested in becoming a long-term anchor shareholder of TotalEnergies”, and in creating a joint venture that was “a leading player in European flexible power generation”.

The tycoon, known as the Czech sphinx, became the first foreign owner of Royal Mail in its 509-year history after completing a deal to buy its parent company this year.

Křetínský, who is ranked 22nd on the Sunday Times rich list with an estimated fortune of £7.79bn, made much of his fortune in running coal, gas and power generation operations.

He also owns 27% of West Ham and 10% of the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain alongside stakes in several retailers including the US department store Macy’s, the trainer retailer Foot Locker and the German retailer turned wholesaler Metro.

Under the TotalEnergies deal, a new 50/50 joint venture will own enough UK power stations to meet the electricity demand of more than 3m homes, including Lynemouth power station in Northumberland the Kilroot power plant in Northern Ireland.

It will offer TotalEnergies, which is a big importer of liquefied natural gas into Europe, a network of customers for its gas and help to expand its power trading activities across Europe.

Patrick Pouyanné, the French company’s chair and chief executive, said: “Given our position as the number one gas supplier in Europe, this transaction enables us to fully capitalise on gas-to-power integration and create added value for our LNG chain, independently of oil cycles.”

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TotalEnergies is one of the largest oil and gas producers still operating in the UK’s North Sea basin. The company is also developing offshore windfarms in UK waters as well as solar farms in England and Wales.

Meanwhile, an electricity networks company owned by the Octopus Group has agreed to buy about 20 electricity distribution projects across the UK from Sweden’s state-owned energy company, Vattenfall.

Eclipse Power Networks will acquire Vattenfall’s independent energy networks for an undisclosed sum. This brings the assets under the Octopus Group umbrella, which also includes Octopus Energy, Britain’s biggest energy supplier. The deal means Vattenfall’s exit from the UK electricity distribution market, while its other British operations including onshore and offshore windfarms continue to operate.