GoodRx IPO casts vote against U.S. health reform 23 Sep 2020 The company, which helps consumers find discounts on prescription meds, jumped 40% on its debut. True, the market is so hot that such a pop is now ho-hum. Still, GoodRx’s $18 bln valuation is a bet that a system riddled with middlemen is here to stay, however the election goes.
Illumina takes pricey round-trip to find its Grail 21 Sep 2020 The $40 bln firm found out by accident years ago that it could detect cancer using genetic sequencing. It spun out Grail in 2017, bringing in cash from new investors. Now it's spending $7 billion to buy it back. Grail is a hot property, but it competes with Illumina's customers.
Cox: When ’shrooms go public, markets are peaking 17 Sep 2020 Compass Pathways, which treats depression with a psilocybin-based compound, is raising $107 mln. It has no revenue. Its risk factors are like a bad trip. But as investors throw cash at blank-cheque firms promising visions of the future, taking a punt doesn’t seem so risky.
Corona Capital: Kraft Heinz, U.S. poverty 15 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The food giant is boosting advertising outlays, even as it continues cutting costs; and the poverty rate in the United States hit a low at the end of 2019, according to new data, only to run into a Covid reversal.
Gilead goes all-in to inject excitement 14 Sep 2020 The $82 bln biotech attracted attention with a Covid-19 drug but has been unable to shake its low valuation multiple. Recent M&A hasn’t helped, either. A $21 bln deal to buy Immunomedics is a huge bet on a breast cancer treatment. Failure could even turn Gilead into a target.
AstraZeneca delay dents hope of fast Covid cure 9 Sep 2020 The $144 bln pharma group halted trials for its coronavirus vaccine after a human guinea pig fell ill. Such events are routine in drug development, but it shows that a remedy will take time and face setbacks. That means more travel and social curbs, and a slower recovery.
Diet drive could spell leaner years for Big Pharma 7 Sep 2020 People with diabetes are more vulnerable to Covid-19. Now the UK is giving patients free shakes to help them lose weight. Evidence that slimmer waistlines and healthy living can beat the disease is good news; less so for drugmakers that sell $48 bln of insulin and other drugs.
GoodRx turns U.S. healthcare tangle into hot IPO 3 Sep 2020 America's medical system is expensive, opaque and complex. That makes it a great place for a middleman like GoodRx. The drug discount finder is growing nearly 50% annually and has 33% operating margins. The big risk is a serious political push toward simpler, cheaper options.
Corona Capital: U.S. debt, Junk bonds, Vaccines 3 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. debt rises to levels not seen since World War Two; this year’s returns on high-yield debt turn positive despite the coronavirus; and Donald Trump’s hope of a vaccine by Nov. 1 is dangerously political.
Corona Capital: Davos delay, Political TV ratings 26 Aug 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The World Economic Forum’s annual winter meeting becomes a summer gathering; and in the U.S., the Democrats’ online spectacle leads TV ratings over the Republicans’ more traditional convention.
Corona Capital: Nvidia, Air conditioners 20 Aug 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Nvidia goes gangbusters, HVAC units have their moment in the sun.
J&J’s $6.5 bln drug deal follows the money 19 Aug 2020 The U.S. group’s new acquisition, Momenta, spent years making cut-price versions of existing drugs for little financial reward. So it swerved into high-priced new therapies instead – and its valuation soared. The buyout rounds out a tale of skewed incentives in the health system.
Blotches appear on Kirin’s skincare deal 19 Aug 2020 A year after the Japanese brewer paid $1.2 bln for a 30% stake in Fancl, the facial cream maker’s profitable but frustrated overseas distributor is up for sale. That could deepen the rift between Fancl and its partner, and force Kirin to protect its pricey investment.
Corona Capital: Champagne, Canada, College chaos 18 Aug 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Champagne growers cut production; Canada’s finance minister quits over stimulus costs; and some American universities are collecting tuition fees before telling students that in-person classes can’t happen.
Sickly Japanese buyout gets even queasier 18 Aug 2020 Medical staffer Nichiigakkan’s $1.2 bln deal with Bain was already riddled with governance ailments before Baring Private Equity disclosed that its approach worth 20% more had not been given proper attention. A shareholder backlash at this stage could open fresh wounds.
Covid market fervour derails $13 bln lab test deal 13 Aug 2020 Thermo Fisher Scientific scrapped a bid for German diagnostics group Qiagen after investors balked. The takeover was tabled in March, but the offer looked low once Covid-19 hopes boosted testing groups’ valuations. The U.S. company’s retreat suggests insiders are less gung-ho.
Breakdown: The scramble for a Covid-19 vaccine 11 Aug 2020 Drugmakers like AstraZeneca and Pfizer may soon get regulators’ blessing for coronavirus inoculations. Yet doubts will linger over the treatments’ efficacy and profitability, and manufacturing delays mean poor countries will have to wait. Breakingviews explains why.
Corona Capital: Telemedicine, Outdated movie rules 10 Aug 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Men’s wellness outfit Hims matches the online medical consultation trend with a financial one, namely blank-check companies; and Washington finally scraps a “Gone with the Wind”-era regulation.
Virtual $16 bln health merger destroys real value 5 Aug 2020 Teladoc and Livongo are riding a pandemic-driven telemedicine high. Teladoc hopes buying its rival will unleash even more revenue. The fall in both companies' inflated stock prices suggests investors are questioning the need for M&A if the firms’ individual futures are so bright.
Corona Capital: Disney movie magic, “Call of Duty” 5 Aug 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The Magic Kingdom’s decision to send “Mulan” straight to streaming impressed investors, but is bad news for cinema chains; Activision Blizzard’s shoot-‘em-up game brings a profit surge.