In February Moderna Therapeutics, Cambridge-based (near Boston) biotech group, smashed a record for the fastest time between identifying a virus ( Covid-19) and creating a vaccine ready to test on humans in 42 days. Juan Andres, a former Novartis executive to help it ramp up manufacturing of its experimental drugs and vaccine at the new…
The US Scientific equipment maker, Thermo Fisher with a market capitalisation of $122bn, has agreed to buy Dutch diagnostics group Qlagen for $11.5bn in a move to extend their disease testing capabilities as the world is gripped by the Coronavirus outbreak. Qiagen, a provider for sample and Assay technologies for molecular diagnostics, applied testing, academic…
Nurofen-Dettol and Durex owner Reckitt Benckiser have a headache as Reckitt posted a £3.7 billion loss yesterday as it took a £5 billion charge on its takeover of baby formula maker Mead Johnson. Reckitt which also owns Cillit Bang acquired baby milk maker Mead Johnson in a mammoth £13 billion ($16.6 billion) deal in 2017.…
Consort Medical, medical devices makers was snapped up today by a Swedish rival Recipharm for £505m, delivering a boost to City Investors. Consort Medical whose brands include Besapk Asthma inhalers. ASIC medicine making facility and disposable syringes has eight manufacturing sites across the UK and employs over 2000 staff. The bid is a 39 per…
Walgreens Boots Alliance has held talks with a private equity group on a $70bn deal to go private. Aggressive deal making by Stefano Pessina the Italian billionaire who owns 16 per cent of the global pharmacy group has assembled a business that spans 25 countries and generates $34bn in revenues. Shares in the company rose…
Pfizer is expected to announce today that it will combine its off-patent drug business with Mylan, the generics drugmaker with a market value of $9.5bn. The US drugmaker is expected to create a new unit with larger seller of off-patent and generic medicines including Lipitor and Viagra. Mylan shareholders will hold just over 40 per…
Tests on three American blind patients – two men and a woman- who were legally blind produced exciting results according to Olav Hellebo, CEO of UK bio-tech Firm ReNeuron in Bridgend ,Wales. Before the procedure the three could read only the largest group of letter on a special eye test chart, as they had retinitis…
GlaxoSmithKline has entered into exclusive final negotiations to sell its Indian nutrition business to Unilever ending several months of auction process for the£3.28bn ( $4bn) unit that includes the prized India’s Horlicks malted drink brand. The Anglo-Dutch consumer company beat a rival bid from Swiss food and beverage group Nestle which was eyeing up to…
Dr. Richard Sackler, a billionaire pharmaceuticals executive, and whose family own Purdue Pharma, the company behind the painkiller OxyContin, which was granted a patent in January this year for reformulation of a drug used to wean addicts off opioids who have been blamed for spurring the US Opioid crisis stands to profit from the epidemic…
Amazon has acquired Pillpack an online pharmacy group that delivers prescription drugs to the homes of patients with chronic ailments, sending investors deviating from traditional drug store chains. Amazon plans to start selling prescription drugs in its quest to make itself a one-stop shop for everything from clothing, batteries to television, film, food and…