Asia

Pharma outsourcing continues to swell

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Outsourcing is still on roll--it's just not rolling quite as fast as it did last year. Such is the conclusion of Contract Pharma's 2008 outsourcing survey, which found that 52 percent of companies plan to boost their outsourcing spend by 6 percent or more, compared with 62 percent last year.

At the same time, fewer companies expected spending the same or less on outsourcing this year--16 percent versus 22 percent last year. So while more pharma firms plan to farm out more work, they're not expecting their outsourcing growth to be quite as brisk this year as last.

Another interesting group of stats in the survey dealt with Asian contracts. Only 30 percent of respondents said they would probably or definitely send work to Asia this year; 46 percent said they probably or definitely wouldn't. But the breakdown by company showed that Big Pharma and generics makers were most likely to ink an Asian deal in 2008: 33 percent and 36 percent, respectively, said they'd "definitely" outsource to Asia this year. Another 7 percent and 14 percent said "probably." To read up on preferred vendors and more, check out the full survey.

- see the brief in Contract Pharma

Falling dollar, falling drugmaker prices

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Is the U.S. drug industry bargain-basement land right now? Analysts say that the low, low dollar means low, low prices for pharma companies. Rivals in Asia and the Eurozone could snap up drug companies just like they've bought up Manhattan condos.

Takeda Pharmaceutical agreed to pay $8.8 billion for Millennium Pharmaceuticals--a 15 percent discount, as the dollar has fallen 15 percent against then yen since early 2007. Roche bought Ventana Medical for $3.4 billion--and though the price was higher than what the Swiss drugmaker originally bid, it still represented a double-digit discount because the dollar has sunk against the euro. Other examples, according to Pharmalot: Eisai's buyout of MGI Pharma for $3.9 billion, Novartis' 77 percent-stake acquisition of Alcon for $39 billion, and so on.

In Vivo worries that foreign buyouts might be against the national interest, considering the intellectual property at risk. Some U.S. companies might be able to get Congress to shield them from unwanted foreign takeovers, the blog suggests. Bioterror research, anyone?

- check out the Pharmalot item
- see the coverage from In Vivo

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Pfizer plots big outsourcing push

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

The U.S.'s loss is Asia's gain. Pfizer is the latest drug maker to announce it's looking to outsource a big chunk of its manufacturing, mostly to Asia--30 percent, to be exact. Currently, the company farms out about 15 percent.

The motivation, of course, is cost-cutting. As part of a company-wide restructuring earlier this year, Pfizer announced it would shut down plants in Brooklyn, NY, and Omaha, NE, plus sell a plant in Germany. Presumably the company intends to hire others to take over that work, and perhaps other projects as well.

Meanwhile, the company launched its tender offer for Coley Pharmaceutical Group at $8 a share. Some 27 percent of Coley's shareholders already pledged to accept Pfizer's offer, which expires December 28.

- see the outsourcing article from CNN Money
- read the latest on the Coley deal in a Pfizer news release

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Behind the scenes of GSK's overhaul

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:59:56 -0400

Outgoing GlaxoSmithKline CEO Jean-Paul Garnier is shouldering the heavy load of layoffs and restructuring to give his successor Andrew Witty (photo) a clean slate when he takes over next May, the Times of London is reporting. "I did not want the new chief executive to start with this project," Garnier said.

The story includes some behind-the-scenes nuggets about the restructuring plan, too. For instance, each sales person at Glaxo costs up to $200,000 annually, including salary, and produces on average $2 million in sales. Internal trials showed that fewer sales people could sell more each--so the sales force of 24,000 is likely to sustain a sizable portion of the thousands of job cuts expected. Garnier also says British pharma is suffering from a lack of home-grown scientists. Too much of the industry's science talent comes from Asia--and then goes back to Asia.

- read the report from The Times

Related Articles:
GSK taps Witty as next CEO. Report
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Glaxo to cut $1.4B on falling sales. Report
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Biotech industry struggles to recruit talent. Report

SPOTLIGHT: India's Lupin buying Japanese generics maker

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 06:59:52 -0400

Apparently all of pharma is looking to Asia--even the Asians. India's Lupin paid $60 million for a 79 percent interest in the Japanese pharma Kyowa to establish a "beachhead in the second-largest pharmaceutical market." Release

Just who is Glaxo's Andrew Witty?

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

If yesterday was Andrew Witty's debut as heir apparent to the GlaxoSmithKline CEO suite, then today is the morning-after gossip session about his prospects. Here's a sampling:

He's young--just 43--so he has the luxury of thinking long-term strategy; he could be at Glaxo's helm for 20 years.
He has his work cut out for him, considering Glaxo's stock decline over the past six years. Investors are impatient.
He's a details man, but not a control freak
He's a motivator, a visionary
He's passionate about unlocking value
His international experience will serve him in good stead as Glaxo looks to expand in Asia
If he's so charismatic, why doesn't he step up to the mike?

And so on. As with any executive appointment, this one raises as many questions as it answers. All the Monday-morning quarterbacking in the world won't predict exactly how his tenure will unfold. But who doesn't love to speculate?

- see the article from the San Diego Union Tribune
- read this Financial Times report
- here's the Telegraph's skeptical commentary
- read what analysts think of Witty

Related Articles:
GSK taps Witty as next CEO. Report
At GSK, a public race for the top spot. Report
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Riled investors look for big changes at GSK. Report
GSK chief outlines big plans in R&D. Report

Results from our reader survey

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Publisher's Note

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who took the time to respond to the reader survey we launched two weeks ago. In general, you are happy with the direction of FiercePharma. The team here is pleased with the overwhelmingly positive response, compliments, and comments.

We are, however, equally grateful for the constructive comments and feedback. In particular, we heard the feedback on overlaps with FierceBiotech and concerns about editorial tone. We'll continue to work to make FiercePharma a trusted resource for daily news.

Here's a bit more about the readership and your views:

77 percent rated FiercePharma four stars or above (on a scale of one to five)
80 percent of you are in North America (but want news from Europe and Asia!)
Almost 70 percent of you have advanced degrees
65 percent make purchasing decisions
64 percent supervise others
The potential webinar on Personalize Medicine was the most popular topic with Trends in Venture Capital close behind.

Finally, a number of you asked about opportunities to interact with others in the Fierce community. Based on this feedback, we are tentatively planning networking events at next year's DIA and BIO conferences. If you have any interest or thoughts about this idea, please let us know in the comment section of this site.

Thanks again for your feedback.

Best,

Sean Griffey
Publisher, FiercePharma

P.S. Remember to send your story ideas and news to our editors--Maureen Martino and Tracy Staton. Sponsorship inquires should be directed to Arsalan Arif.

Pharma execs practice positive thinking

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Throw a bunch of pharma execs into a room with financial analysts, and what do you get? Almost unmitigated hope. Thinking positive is a must when analysts are around, so as industry leaders stand up to address Bear Stearns' healthcare conference this week, they're trumpeting the growth in overseas markets, and soft-pedaling unpleasantness like layoffs and restructuring.

Wyeth EVP Jim Connolly credited the overseas market with the success of its pneumonia vaccine Prevnar, the company's second-biggest seller; he said Prevnar sales rocketed to $1.2 billion in the first half of 2007, a 32 percent increase, and projected annual sales of $3 billion by 2009.
Medtronic CEO William Hawkins predicted double-digit international growth pegging China as the big gorilla of overseas markets. Within 10 years, he said, China will supplant Japan as the company's second-biggest market. Meanwhile, the company's cutting 900 jobs.
Pfizer CEO Jeffrey Kindler said Asian and Latin American markets are growing at twice the rate of those in developed countries, and cited his company's new plants in China and new R&D in India and Korea as part of a strategy to take advantage of that growth. Pfizer, of course, is embroiled in a multibillion-dollar restructuring that includes some 10,000 layoffs.

- check out the report from CNNMoney

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Asian countries push big pharma boom

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 06:59:57 -0400

We already knew Asia was the place to be for pharmaceuticals these days, but it's nice to have our instincts confirmed by experts. PricewaterhouseCoopers has released a study based on interviews with 185 top pharma execs in the Asia-Pacific region. The verdict? Not only are China, India, Singapore and their neighbors poised to become huge pharmaceuticals consumers, but big producers as well.

Asian countries are falling all over themselves to attract pharmaceuticals manufacturing and development, with China and India leading the way. Western companies are plowing money into facilities in China, and in India, the clinical trials market ($150 million) and contract manufacturing ($350 million) are poised to reach $1 billion each by 2010. But while China is focused almost solely on generics, Indian companies are doing their own development. Hey, a little competition never hurts.

- here's the report from the Bangkok Post
- check out this link to the report

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India's biotech future is bright. Report