Healthcare

Rite Aid’s itch should be easy to scratch

30 July 2018

Hedge fund Highfields objects to Cerberus-owned Albertsons’ merger with the $2 bln drugstore chain. Minor conflicts at board level don’t help. But plenty of value is being offered to Rite Aid investors. Albertsons doesn’t need to offer much more to make a deal look reasonable.

Apollo sends hospitals for cost-cutting surgery

23 July 2018

A healthcare outfit owned by the private-equity firm is buying rival LifePoint for $2.7 bln, the latest deal in the sector. The two industries make good bedfellows. Buyout shops are cash-rich and hospitals can more easily slash expenses and raise prices if not publicly traded.

China’s pharma scandals sully healthcare cleanup

23 July 2018

Quality control problems at two drug makers in July have angered politicians, frightened consumers and destroyed over $2 bln in shareholder value. They come despite an earnest campaign to toughen standards. Big heads will probably roll. Better medicine may result.

Really Big Data gives China medical AI edge

18 July 2018

Investors at a Hong Kong conference talked up a digital-healthcare revolution. The hype is also palpable in Silicon Valley, where U.S. life-sciences investment hit a record $17 billion last year. It’s early, but Chinese outfits with access to a huge data trove can take the lead.

Viewsroom: Is Silicon Valley getting nervous yet?

4 July 2018

The tech hub is getting squeezed by new policy restrictions amid a looming trade war between the U.S. and China. How is the Valley holding up? Plus: India's state lenders are losing CEOs. Is running these banks into the ground part of the plan?

Novartis contact lens spinoff defies messy optics

29 June 2018

Separating its Alcon eyecare division is an admission of failure for the Swiss pharma group, which spent $52 bln on the unit seven years ago. Though the listing won’t unlock much value, it should help Alcon’s recovery, and let new boss Vasant Narasimhan focus on making drugs.

GE breakup ushers in brave new era

26 June 2018

CEO John Flannery is spinning off the ailing $111 bln conglomerate’s healthcare unit and selling Baker Hughes, ending more than a century of growth. Focusing on aviation and power has risks, but the plan slashes debt and makes GE manageable. It was Flannery’s only logical choice.

Buffett and pals pick good medic for U.S. tapeworm

20 June 2018

Berkshire Hathaway, Amazon and JPMorgan chose Atul Gawande to lead their fight against rising medical bills. The surgeon has written extensively on how the system rewards excess, but not outcomes. Changing this focus would be a good start, even if neither easy nor sufficient.

How to solve a brewing $100 trln antibiotic crisis

19 June 2018

Germs are evolving immunity to existing treatments, but drug firms are reluctant to develop new ones. The costs could be monumental if they don’t. So-called patent vouchers might help – but big prizes and delinking revenue from pill sales would be cheaper ways to encourage R&D.

Medical device megadeals risk antitrust backlash

11 June 2018

Stryker is circling Boston Scientific for what could be a $58 bln takeover bid. Such a price tag wouldn’t be excessive by recent standards. But as more medical suppliers look for mergers to cut costs and gain leverage over hospitals, regulators will be tempted to step in.

KKR gives Envision a $6 bln general anesthetic

11 June 2018

Going private will make life less painful for the U.S. medical services group, which has labored amidst reports of patients stung by surprise charges for emergency treatment. KKR should make out fine, too, if healthcare practitioners’ ability to charge high prices endures.

Athenahealth moves from trauma to cure

6 June 2018

The underperforming healthcare-software firm has removed CEO Jonathan Bush shortly after he admitted hitting his ex-wife. The company is looking for a replacement, but a stalking-horse bid from activist Elliott Management could lead to a sale. Either could address what ails it.

The Exchange: Anatomy of a Theranos takedown

1 June 2018

John Carreyrou, the author of “Bad Blood,” explains how Elizabeth Holmes used fear and Silicon Valley myth-making to temporarily become a multi-billionaire – and how he exposed that the $9 bln company’s technology didn’t work.

Puerto Rico deaths will take toll on debt talks

29 May 2018

Last year’s hurricane ultimately killed some 5,000 people, a new study claims. That’s more than perished in Katrina in New Orleans or the Sept. 11 attacks. The extraordinary number will buttress the federal overseer trying to curtail payments on the island’s $70 bln of debt.

Biggest U.S. drugs face a competitive reckoning

24 May 2018

Seven of the ten best-selling U.S. drugs, including arthritis therapy Humira, have lost their main patent or will soon do so. Rivals hoping to duplicate these so-called biologics face a thicket of legal and market curbs. But a determined FDA may soon slash a path to lower prices.

Indian hospital deal merits a second opinion

24 May 2018

A Fortis Healthcare director was ousted by shareholders after three others facing a similar fate resigned a day earlier. It’s a rebuke of the decision to sell a minority stake to local tycoons. A fresh review of four other offers by a new board should lead to a better prognosis.

Review: Silicon Valley gets a reality transfusion

18 May 2018

“Bad Blood” tells how Theranos, a company with a single flawed idea, attained a $9 bln valuation. A combination of need, greed, ignorance and hubris made it possible for a seductive fairy tale to outpunch scientific skepticism. Companies can’t live on stories forever, though.

U.S. drug-price plan needs more bully, less pulpit

14 May 2018

Donald Trump wants to cut the cost of pills. His approach targets flush middlemen, Medicare’s limited negotiating ability, murky pricing and the inevitable foreign boogeymen. Yet calls for self-regulation have led sector investors to sigh with relief. He’ll have to get tougher.

Hardy Indian hospital auction takes sickly turn

11 May 2018

A divided Fortis board chose selling a minority stake to two investors with little experience running hospitals over four other offers, including a $1.3 bln takeover. Half the directors may be gone before shareholders vote. The disarray leaves room for a hostile bid.

Supply-chain efficiency carries a cost

9 May 2018

Ford, ZTE and Mylan are suffering as subcontractors can’t provide sufficient parts for pickup trucks, mobile phones, and allergy pens. Economies of scale, lean inventories and specialization raise returns to capital – and make companies more vulnerable to disruption.