Healthcare Business Wrap: Seattle Genetics Begins Trial, Abbott Lays Off Hundreds

Shares of Vitamin Shoppe (NYSE:VSI) and GNC Holdings (NYSE:GNC) both moved up on the report of a recent study which indicates that a daily dose of a multivitamin could reduce the probability of cancer. A large clinical trial of almost 15,000 older male physicians followed in excess of a decade showed that those taking the daily multivitamin suffered 8 percent fewer cancers than the subjects taking placebos. Researchers call it a statistically significant decrease and the findings were presented Wednesday at an American Association for Cancer Research conference.

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Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ:SGEN) shares moved up modestly on the day on the news that it has begun its Phase II clinical trial for Adcertris, a drug candidate to be used as a front-line therapy for patients age 60 or older suffering with newly diagnosed Hodgkin lymphoma.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) will lay off around 550 workers and expects several hundred more layoffs throughout next year, pointing to “evolving business needs.” The announcement of a third quarter earnings report earlier Wednesday indicated surging profit amid a double-digit percentage drop in expenses.

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