 |
|
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
|
|
 |
 Pure, Small Pharma
Hoping to see a merged Lilly, an acquired Roche, a tax-optimized GlaxoSmithKline, or an increasingly diversified Pfizer? Not if their chief executives get their way. These are among the companies talking in the past month about the hottest new trend in pharma: Getting...or staying...small.
In the cases of Roche and Lilly, it's a defense of the status quo. Lilly CEO John Lechleiter continues to make his case for staying independent every chance he gets--which is some measure of how much pressure he is feeling to do exactly the opposite. More...
More By Karl Thiel
|
|
|
 |
Head-to-head studies are exactly the kind of thing we need if we as a society are to make better treatment decisions and do a better job of allocating scarce healthcare dollars. They can also be great marketing tools for the winner. The head-to-head study of Novo Nordisk's Victoza and Lilly/Amylin/Alkermes' Bydureon, however, illustrates why such studies aren't always easy to interpret. The surprising (at least to the sponsors) failure of Bydureon to match the efficacy of Victoza took a big chunk out of Amylin's and Alkermes' stock prices. But as a patient, I'm not sure I'd be so eager to trade Victoza's very slightly better efficacy for the much higher rate of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea reported with the drug. Undoubtedly that's the spin sales reps will put on Bydureon if they win approval.
-KT
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
So...Johnson & Johnson, fresh from one of the worst years in its history--one marked by massive product scandal, dodgy recall strategies, Congressional inquiries, inept efforts to contain the problem or deal with the press, and remarkable success in tarnishing one of the world's most respected brands--gave its chief executive a pay raise. Sure, William Weldon took a 45% cut in his year-end bonus, but increases in salary and other perks means he took home just 7% less in 2010 than he did the prior year. Go figure. GlaxoSmithKline's Witty, for what it's worth, took a 24% cut in overall remuneration--and didn't get his salary raised--because of missed profit targets at the U.K. pharma.
-KT
|
|
|
|
 |
We'll take a break from the ongoing Actelion and Genzyme dramas (well...a little on the latter further down...) to look at some other deals: The ink isn't even dry on Human Genome Sciences' approval of Benlysta, and it's looking to its pipeline through a rich deal with FivePrime Therapeutics for an inhibitor of the fibroblast growth factor, which is thought to play a role in tumor survival and growth. $50 million upfront for a drug that is only now entering phase 2 may be the kind of deal a biotech is more likely to offer than big pharma these days. And Seattle Genetics has kept busy--not just with Abbott Labs but also Millennium/Takeda--all since submitting for FDA approval of Brentuximab Vedotin at the end of February.
-KT
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
• BioMidwest (Deerfield, Illinois)
Astellas Pharma US
Senior Director, Strategic New Product Planning
The Senior Director, Strategic New Product Planning (SNPP) is a critical leader in the continuing development and growth of the Astellas Pharma US, Inc. product portfolio. In addition to providing commercial input for select Astellas developed compounds, the Senior Director, SNPP is also responsible for the recommendation and commercial assessment of potential in-licensing candidates from domestic or global sources.
• Southern Pharm (Boca Raton, Florida)
Biotest Pharmaceuticals
Vice President Clinical and Regulatory Affairs
The successful candidate will provide technical leadership, strategic direction and oversight for successful planning and execution of all technical and manufacturing activities associated with Anacor's active drug substance (process, analytical development, validation, technology transfer, manufacturing, and supply chain logistics) at contract development and manufacturing organizations (CMOs).
• Biotech Beach (San Diego, California)
HUYA Bioscience International
Chief Financial Officer
The Vice President, Finance & Chief Financial Officer will have complete responsibility for the Companys global finance, treasury and controllership functions, and the Companys consolidated worldwide tax position, insurance, banking and investor relationships. The Vice President, Finance & Chief Financial Officer will also play a central role in the strategic partnering and licensing, which is an important part of the Companys growth strategy.
• Genetown(Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Vice President, Sales and Sales Operations
The successful candidate will build and deploy specialty and primary care sales forces to drive the growth of a near-term, innovative, first-in-category product with blockbuster potential. This individual will need to work collaboratively with a U.S. commercial partner and internal departments to coordinate all sales activities and functions to establish a synergistic, high-performing, team-oriented, ethical sales culture.
Get Noticed! Add your resume to the BioSpace Career Center!
See more than 5,000 job postings in the BioSpace Career Center!
|
|
|
 |
Bio NC Career Fair
Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center, Monday, April 4, 2011, 11am to 4pm
. Job seekers can spend a day with HR representatives and Hiring Managers from top biotech, pharma, and medical device companies in the south east region.
|
|
BioMidwest Beach Career Fair
Hyatt Regency Woodfield Schaumburg, Monday, April 4, 2011,
11am to 4pm. Job seekers can spend a day with HR representatives and Hiring Managers from top biotech, pharma, and medical device companies in the Midwest region.
|
|
|
 |
Stealth start-up Nimbus scored some prominent backers in its seed round, including Bill Gates. Fifteen years ago, this might have been a "tool" company, partnering its unique technology for calculating water energies at drug binding sites as a royalty-driven means to improve lead optimization for partners' drugs. But today, it is a drug discovery company--albeit one pursuing an interesting business model that sets up each candidate in a separate company, ready for acquisition.
-KT
|
|
|
|
 |
A National Public Radio piece this month highlighted Forest Labs in talking about offshore tax havens and corporate tax avoidance strategies with yummy-sounding food-and-drink names like "the Dutch sandwich" and "the Double Irish." Coincidentally (I assume), GlaxoSmithKline chief exec Andrew Witty spoke out this month to the Guardian about such practices. One company that has actually gotten in a tussle with U.S. and U.K. tax authorities over international transfers is AstraZeneca, but it found them more forgiving than it first feared. It will pay only $1.1 billion to resolve its disagreements, far less than the $2.3 billion it set aside. (The tax issue at AstraZeneca involved accounting for inter-company sales of goods and services rather than a tax haven strategy.)
-KT
|
|
|
|
 |
So far this year regulatory news, at least on this side of the Atlantic, has been dominated more by rejection and delay than new approvals. But there were some high profile green lights month--perhaps most notably Human Genome Sciences' Benlysta for lupus, the first new treatment in over 50 years. Another disease for which there have been few options, melanoma, also has some new hope. Bristol-Myers' Yervoy was approved, and may be followed by a Roche/Plexxikon drug for the same illness in 2012. The success of the latter product in clinical studies helped drive the acquisition of Plexxikon this month by Daiichi for up to $935 million. The Bristol drug is an immunotherapy and could have other potential applications.
-KT
|
|
|
|
 |
Karl Thiel is an analyst for The Motley Fool, a columnist for BioWorld Today, and a contributor to Nature Biotechnology. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
You may contact Karl Thiel at Karl.thiel@biospace.com.
BioSpace, Inc.
9100 E. Panorama Drive, Suite 200
Englewood Colorado 80112 U.S.A.
Phone: 877-277-7585
Fax: 800-595-2929
|
BioSpace, Inc.
90 New Montgomery Street, Suite 414
San Francisco, California 94105 U.S.A.
Phone: 877-277-7585
Fax: 415-576-9217
|
Join us for even more up-to-the-minute news, jobs, and career fairs!
If someone forwarded this news to you and you'd like to
receive your own complimentary monthly copy, simply join the BioSpace BioPharm Executive here.
Safely unsubscribe from Biospace.com e-mail at any time by managing your account here.
|
|
|
 |
|