Obesity revolution gorges on dialysis maker 11 Oct 2023 Shares of Fresenius Medical Care fell 20% after a trial showed a Novo Nordisk drug reduced the risk of kidney failure. It highlights how fast-growing weight-loss treatments will pummel other areas of medicine. The blow may push Fresenius and its parent into corporate surgery.
Capital Calls: Sandoz 4 Oct 2023 Concise views on global finance: Shares in the generic drugs maker, which Swiss pharma giant Novartis has handed to investors in a spinoff, have started trading in Zurich.
Anti-obesity drugs can shrink more than patients 20 Sep 2023 Wegovy and other weight-loss treatments could transform public health. That may hurt medical, food and fitness companies, while potentially affecting activities from drinking to gambling. This shrinking revenue demands a new investment concept: total unaddressable markets.
Bausch pushes debt escape plans to extremes 19 Sep 2023 BHC’s CFO just quit as the drugmaker mulls a dicey plan to spin off its $5.5 bln Bausch + Lomb stake. Such engineering increasingly pits creditors against shareholders, in this case Carl Icahn and John Paulson. Stronger covenants would help, but CEOs keep getting more creative.
AstraZeneca succession sickness demands urgent fix 15 Sep 2023 The drug giant’s shares lost $9 bln after a report that Pascal Soriot will retire next year. His track record of drug discovery, savvy dealmaking and a 448% return since 2012 suggest investors are right to be worried. A clearer plan for his replacement would help.
Novo Nordisk heft worsens Danish surplus disease 8 Sep 2023 Sales of the pharma group equal 8% of Danish GDP and its $440 bln market value is Europe’s highest. Hosting corporate behemoths can be a problem for small countries, as shown by Finland’s Nokia. But Copenhagen can use the drug bounty to spend more on the rest of the economy.
Novartis $16 bln spinoff starts on a sickly note 5 Sep 2023 The $229 bln drugmaker is handing shareholders Sandoz, its generic-medicine unit and perennial problem child. High growth targets may work if the newly listed group revives its US business. But intense competition gives investors a reason to sell the stock they’re about to get.
The obesity drug boom is just getting started 5 Sep 2023 Over 1 bln people are obese, the WHO reckons. Denmark’s Novo Nordisk is ahead of the pharma pack with its Wegovy weight-loss drug. In this Exchange podcast, recorded in August as a Reuters Newsmaker, CEO Lars Jorgensen says the market will be big enough for other players too.
UK biotech sale offers cautionary spin on US pivot 29 Aug 2023 Abcam, a Cambridge-based maker of proteins for research, is selling to Danaher for $5.7 bln. Shifting listing venues from London to New York, as the seller did recently, is in vogue. But given its US buyer has got a good price, it’s a sign that doing so is far from a panacea.
Capital Calls: Exor/Philips 14 Aug 2023 Concise views on global finance: The Agnelli family is making a well-timed bet on the troubled 18 bln euro conglomerate that makes everything from toothbrushes to defibrillators.
Obesity drugs take brakes off Big Pharma’s growth 8 Aug 2023 Eli Lilly’s diabetes treatment helped lift quarterly revenue 28%, while increased production will spur the $500 bln drugmaker’s top line. Evidence that rival Novo Nordisk’s weight loss drug reduces the risk of heart attacks will persuade insurers and governments to foot the bill.
Capital Calls: Uber’s road trip to redemption 1 Aug 2023 Concise views on global finance: The $95 bln ride-sharing firm notched its first operating profit and more than doubled free cash flow, but its valuation is lagging.
Capital Calls: AMC’s meme investor backlash 18 Jul 2023 Concise views on global finance: A new lawsuit looking to force a shareholder meeting adds to growing antagonism between $2 bln movie theater chain AMC and the retail investors who buoyed its business during the pandemic. For boss Adam Aron, meme stock stardom comes at a cost.
Moderna finally gains tenuous toehold in China 6 Jul 2023 The $47 bln US biotech company will develop and sell mRNA treatments in the People's Republic. It’s a bet that the country’s ageing population will spur growth and comes after years of trying. But geopolitics and rising local competition loom over its expansion plans.
Why backing prevention can yield better health 27 Jun 2023 Treating illnesses like cancer consumes 11% of global GDP, according to the World Health Organization. In this Exchange podcast, Dr. Katie Tryon, director of healthcare strategy at Vitality, explains that overburdened care systems need to spend their way back into shape.
Capital Calls: Eli Lilly gorges on obesity options 27 Jun 2023 Concise views on global finance: The drugmaker found patients losing an incredible 24% of their weight on one of its latest treatments. First-movers don’t always win out in pharma, however, as Pfizer proved with Lipitor. That’s why Lilly is wise to keep investing in alternatives.
Pampered pets unleash booming market 6 Jun 2023 The pet craze brought on by the pandemic has become a boon for companies that sell products to dog-loving owners. FidoCure founder Christina Lopes explains to The Exchange podcast how this might be able to help humans, too.
Capital Calls: Turkey, Indivior 5 Jun 2023 Concise views on global finance: President Tayyip Erdogan’s new treasury minister will struggle to steer the $900 bln economy towards orthodox monetary policies; shares in the London-listed drugmaker jumped after it settled a lawsuit, making it more appealing to potential buyers.
Pharma’s obesity gold rush will have limits 11 May 2023 Drugmakers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are vying for a large slab of the weight loss medications market, which analysts reckon could be worth $100 bln by 2031. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how investor optimism in a booming market is unwarranted.
KKR’s $10 bln medical deal overlooked risk factors 10 May 2023 Since the 2018 buyout that larded Envision Healthcare with debt, it has struggled with Covid-19, hypertension induced by feisty insurers and rehab on its billing practices. Bankruptcy is now the prescription. It’s a reminder to beware combining operational and financial leverage.