Pharmaceuticals

Bayer settlement only slightly eases Monsanto pain

24 January 2020

The German chemicals group may spend $10 billion compensating alleged cancer victims of its acquisition’s Roundup weed killer. That would be better than CEO Werner Baumann’s worst fears. But it barely makes his ill-starred $66 billion deal look any better.

A health craze for 2020: Chinese medicine

2 January 2019

A locally-developed cancer therapy from the People's Republic has won U.S. approval for the first time. For pharmaceutical giants, discovering a made-in-China blockbuster drug may be within reach. Cross-border deals will follow, as will some unexpected side effects.

Sanofi growth cure comes with M&A health warning

10 December 2019

The 108 bln euro drugmaker is cutting costs, exiting areas like diabetes, and hinting it might sell assets. It’s a bold but logical move to boost the group’s flagging sales. New CEO Paul Hudson’s main other task is to show he can shake off Sanofi’s mixed dealmaking track record.

Huge biotech M&A premiums narrow perception gap

3 December 2019

Astellas’ $3 bln deal for Audentes is the fifth 100%-plus premium in the sector this year. Market pessimism is making targets cheap, notably in speculative areas like gene therapy. But buyers are having to pay up to convince sellers they’re not surrendering at fire-sale prices.

Novartis sees too much good in bad cholesterol

25 November 2019

The Swiss drugs giant is buying The Medicines Co. and its artery-clearing drug inclisiran for $9.7 bln, or a fat 41% premium. But the sector is crowded and Novartis must wait years for a decent return. Governments and insurers may also tire of paying to treat lifestyle diseases.

Thermo Fisher diagnoses rare $10 bln land grab

14 November 2019

It’s circling Qiagen, a month after the diagnostics firm changed strategy and ditched its long-time leader. The would-be acquirer may spy an opportunity to snap up its rival while its defenses are weakened. The risk is that outweighs the pursuit of good returns.

Walgreens LBO could bring the band back together

12 November 2019

Buyout shop KKR and drug chain boss Stefano Pessina achieved the improbable in buying retailer Boots and merging it with the U.S. drug store. The fortunes they made may tempt them to an $87 bln buyout of Walgreens. Once again, they’ll need luck, partners and forgiving markets.

Biotech upstarts will be Big Pharma’s China tonic

6 November 2019

AstraZeneca is launching a $1 bln healthcare fund in the People's Republic. A wealthier, older society promises huge growth, but rising costs mean Beijing is pushing drugmakers to lower prices. Investing in local discoveries and exporting them globally could be a smart remedy.

Global drug firms cash in on richer, older Chinese

4 November 2019

Pharmaceutical groups are racking up impressive growth in the world’s second-biggest market. Merck’s China sales increased 84% in the third quarter from a year earlier. Demographic forces and easier approvals outweigh forced price cuts. But domestic rivals will soon emerge.

Amgen pops $2.7 bln dose of risky Chinese medicine

1 November 2019

The pharma giant is paying a 36% premium for a fifth of biotech group BeiGene. That feels rich for a pre-profit upstart that just fought off a short-seller attack. But the partnership promises the American company quick access to China’s massive cancer market at a critical time.

Biogen gives investors dubious $16 bln treat

22 October 2019

The biotech giant’s value leapt up to 40% after an Alzheimer’s treatment thought left for dead showed signs of life. The trick is to convince watchdogs to ignore the trials’ mixed results and the failure of similar drugs. But more tests, if not a return to the grave, are likely.

Reckitt Benckiser suffers from deal indigestion

22 October 2019

The $54 bln maker of Gaviscon antacid is still having trouble absorbing its 2017 purchase of baby food maker Mead Johnson, says outgoing CFO Adrian Hennah. The result is a second cut in the 2019 sales target. The recognition is welcome, but a full recovery may require more pain.

Opioid crisis pile-on reaches legal critical mass

17 October 2019

The imminent start of a key trial has precipitated $50 billion of combined settlement offers from U.S. companies. Drugmakers and distributors prefer one-off payouts to open-ended uncertainty, while localities want cash as soon as possible. That’s a recipe for deals.

Third China Biologic buyout bid holds little charm

19 September 2019

CITIC is back with a new group trying again to take the plasma product maker private. The latest $4.6 bln offer is only 2% sweeter than a rival one from about a year ago, even though business has significantly improved. There are plenty of reasons for shareholders to be wary.

Japan drug firm bets $3 bln on castoffs and hype

6 September 2019

Sumitomo Dainippon’s growth has stalled and its pipeline is bare. It’s paying a lofty price for pieces of Roivant Sciences, which has scooped up dozens of compounds from Big Pharma but has yet to produce a marketed drug. This dream-chasing is unlikely to have a happy ending.

Opioid settlements are best sent to rehab

4 September 2019

Local governments may win $100 bln from drug firms over an epidemic costing society $500 bln a year. That’s akin to tobacco’s giant payments, most of which disappeared into budgets. Yet drug treatment generates sevenfold returns. Localities can’t afford to waste this windfall.

Simple math suggests huge opioid hit for pharma

27 August 2019

Investors boosted Johnson & Johnson’s stock after an Oklahoma judge ordered the drugmaker to pay $572 mln for its part in fomenting addiction to painkillers. Yet the state represents only about 1% of Americans and this is just one of a torrent of cases. Optimism looks misplaced.

Bristol-Myers passes $74 bln deal’s first big exam

26 August 2019

The drugmaker is stretching to buy ​rival Celgene. To smooth U.S. antitrust review, it put its target’s blockbuster psoriasis treatment on the market. Amgen has won that prize, for an unexpectedly rich $13 bln. That’s a boost for Bristol-Myers’ deal rationale – and its timing.

Kirin’s Japanese makeover is only half pretty

7 August 2019

The Japanese brewer is buying 30% of cosmetics and kale juice maker Fancl for $1.2 bln. Diversifying away from booze makes sense; rivals are doing it too. But paying a multiple of almost 40 times earnings, over twice the buyer’s own, for a minority stake is not a good look.

British drug group can’t even give away opioids

6 August 2019

Mallinckrodt suspended a plan to spin off its painkiller business to shareholders. It was a too-transparent attempt to shield itself against legal liabilities from thousands of lawsuits. With falling sales, hefty debt, and a potentially big settlement looming, its future is grim.