Nature’s $5 bln IPO has good chance of flourishing 3 May 2018 The German science publisher is selling shares in a Frankfurt listing. A heavy debt load and a narrow focus on academic publishing are drawbacks. But Springer Nature is more cheaply valued than peers like RELX and will benefit if open-access science journals grow more dominant.
Celgene readies $10 bln mix of need and hope 17 Jan 2018 The drug group may buy Juno Therapeutics, a biotech promising ways to modify immune cells to fight cancer. The two already have a partnership, but Celgene needs to grow. If it’s also sensing real potential, it could pay an eye-watering price for a firm with no approved products.
Deals a better bet for drug giants than R&D 2 Jan 2018 Last year, U.S. regulators approved the most new therapies since 1996. Yet the return on research outlays for big firms, barely topping 3 pct according to Deloitte, is inadequate and falling. More focused, smaller firms are winning scientifically – and their owners financially.
Hadas: Fear not, you can get economics right 12 Jul 2017 The dismal science struggles to explain such basic issues as persistent disinflation, lingering post-crisis trauma and rising inequality. Unsuitable methodology is the primary culprit. A new “Blackfriars School" can help by asking better questions about what’s really going on.
Roche faces hard climb back from cancer setback 6 Jun 2017 A trial showed combining a new drug with the Swiss group’s Herceptin gave only a slight benefit to patients. That will make it harder to protect the blockbuster’s $7 bln of revenue from generic competitors. Roche could buy back shares, or rival drugmakers. Neither is cheap.
Actelion looks like a lose-lose for Sanofi 14 Dec 2016 The French firm is mooted as a buyer for the Swiss biotech group after J&J walked away. The financial logic looks equally strained, and overpaying would smack of desperation about Sanofi's own business. With drug prices under pressure, pharma M&A will not get any more rational.
Trading really is about survival of the fittest 19 Sep 2016 A new study finds trading prowess is linked to accurate detection of one's own heartbeat, a trait common in people with lower body mass indexes. Despite its limitations, the paper implies physiology has a profound role in markets, and that humans still have an edge on machines.