Billionaires snap up former Merck Serono HQ for Geneva biotech hotspot
Two Swiss billionaires--Ernesto Bertarelli and Hansjörg Wyss--have joined forces to buy out the former Merck Serono facility in Geneva.
Specialty drugs to rocket upward by 67% by 2015
Drugmakers know that specialty products are where it's at these days. A recent IMS Institute report showed the U.S. drug market shrinking for the first time last year. But spending on specialty drugs posted double-digit increases. Almost 20%, according to a recent Express Scripts report, in fact.
Boehringer Ingelheim handed FDA warning letter
Boehringer Ingelheim, whose contract manufacturing facility in Bedford, Ohio, has been at the heart of huge drug disruptions in the U.S., is now feeling the sting of FDA inspectors at a key plant in Europe.
Amag pulls anemia drug batch after Swiss patient dies
Amag Pharmaceuticals and partner Takeda have run into a snag in Switzerland. Japan-based Takeda is recalling a batch of Amag's anemia drug Feraheme, sold as Rienso in the Swiss market, after several reports of hypersensitivity reactions, one of them fatal.
Pfizer offers share exchange to grant Zoetis its freedom
Pfizer is cutting the apron strings at Zoetis. Just months after its highly successful IPO, in which Pfizer sold off a 20% stake, the animal health business is set to become fully independent. Pfizer is offering a stock swap to its shareholders, who can exchange $100 in Pfizer shares for roughly $107 worth of Zoetis stock.
Merck to buy $5B in stock from Goldman Sachs in jump-start for repurchase plan
Generic competition, sales woes and R&D disappointments have put revenue on the decline and Merck in hot water, with the pharma giant earlier this month promising to buy back as much as $15 billion in shares. And yesterday, the company started in on a big chunk of that buyback, inking a deal to buy $5 billion of its own shares from Goldman Sachs.
Vermont passes assisted-suicide law, with drug-dispensing safeguards
The law includes safeguards, including requirements that terminally ill patients ask for the requisite drugs three times before they're actually dispensed.
Impax calls on former Teva, Watson execs to confront FDA issues
Having failed so far to get its extended-release Parkinson's drug Rytary to market, Impax Laboratories ($IPXL) is turning to asking three big-name specialists what it should do.
Does pharma spend more on marketing than R&D? A numbers check
So, do drug companies really spend more money on marketing than on R&D? In the Pipeline takes a look at that contention, and the cold hard facts are these: Probably not. But it's hard to tell for sure.
Will U.K. watchdogs change their minds on Avastin in ovarian cancer?
The U.K.'s cost-effectiveness police have been arresting Roche's Avastin development efforts once again. As Cover magazine reports, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has nixed two proposed uses for the drug in ovarian cancer, one of the hardest-to-treat forms of the disease.
Novo A/S snatches up antibacterials-maker Xellia as part of new investment strategy
Novo A/S, the Danish holding company of and major shareholder in Novo Nordisk, said today it is pursuing a new piece of its investment strategy focused on more well-established companies as it announced the $700 million purchase of anti-infectives maker Xellia Pharmaceuticals.
Warner Chilcott CEO up for $9.2M handshake after Actavis deal
As the dust settles around Actavis' announced buyout of Warner Chilcott, it's time to dig into some of the nitty-gritty details about "New Actavis." For instance, which of Warner's top people will stick around--and if they don't, how much severance might they collect on the way out? And just how big is the tax cut Actavis expects from making the deal?
Shire eyes takeover protection as bid rumors swirl, Mail says
Shire ($SHPG) is a perennial entry on everybody's favorite M&A target list. Now, according to the Daily Mail, Shire is putting its ducks in a row for a potential "special dividend" to counter any takeover interest. Word is, an £11 billion hostile bid is coming.
Ex-HGS director draws fire for plugging anthrax drug at Pentagon
According to a Los Angeles Times investigation, former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig talked up HGS' anthrax drug raxibacumab to his government contacts--at a time when he also served on the company's board.
Women want Apotex to pay for unwanted pregnancies
Forty-five women who had turned to Apotex for contraceptives to avoid having children are now looking to the Canadian drugmaker to help them pay for their babies, or their abortions, after they ended up pregnant.
GlaxoSmithKline, Ranbaxy among hardest hit in Indian price cuts
New price controls are on their way in India, and brokerage house HSBC has identified which companies are most likely to suffer from the cuts. Meanwhile, regulators are once again looking at new hurdles to foreign investment, inspired by another round of pharma dealmaking.
JVs like Pfizer, Hisun hookup provide Chinese companies shot at Western markets
Joint ventures with Chinese companies have been seen as a way for Big Pharma to get better traction in the exploding China market. But it is not a one-way street. Chinese companies see the tie-ups as a way to build their own capabilities and begin to tap lucrative Western markets.
Actavis nabs Warner Chilcott in a $8.5B stock swap
Actavis and Warner Chilcott have struck a deal. And it's bigger than the $5 billion-or-so that was bandied about while the companies negotiated. About $3 billion bigger, in fact: According to Actavis, the company will acquire Warner in a stock swap worth $8.5 billion.
20 Highest-Paid Biopharma CEOs of 2012
Call it a rite of spring. Every year about this time, FiercePharma takes a look at executive compensation in the industry, and we rank the highest-paid CEOs. If you're a regular reader, you'll notice that this year's list is longer than previous editions. And there's a reason for that: curiosity. Check out the report >>
Australian judge kills Merck Vioxx class action settlement
A federal judge in Australia has put the kibosh on a half-million-dollar settlement over ill effects of Merck's ($MRK) painkiller Vioxx, a drug that has spawned billions of dollars in litigation.
