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Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company, yesterday announced its intention to purchase the Swiss drug maker Nycomed for 8 to 10 billion euros ($11.4-14 billion). While the deal is not certain to close, it signals Takeda’s intention to purchase its way into the US and European markets.

Takeda acquired Cambridge, MA-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals in 2008 for $8.8 billion, the largest foreign acquisition ever by a Japanese company. The Millennium acquisition was intended to bolster Takeda’s competencies in genomics and oncology drug discovery. If Takeda is successful in its bid, Nycomed would enhance the company’s standing in treatments for gastric, respiratory and inflammatory disorders. Nycomed has operations in roughly 70 countries, with Europe representing 50 percent of the company’s sale and emerging markets 38 percent.

Takeda’s chief executive officer Yasuchika Hasegawa has pursued an aggressive M&A strategy since assuming control of the company in 2003. Historically, Japanese drugmakers intentionally remained small and were content doing business in local and other Asian markets. However, Hasegawa has changed the “game” and has forced some of Takeda’s rivals to emulate his global strategy. To that end, in recent years Daiichi Sankyo Company has purchased Plexxikon and Ranbaxy and Astellas acquired OSI pharmaceuticals as part of a westward expansion.

While Takeda remains Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company, net profit slumped 17 percent last year and the company is losing patent protection for its largest selling drugs, Prevacid (ulcers) and Actos (diabetes). Like Takeda, Nycomed sales are being hit by the loss of patent protection for its largest selling drug Protonix (antacid). Worldwide sales of the drug plummeted by almost 28 percent. Therefore, it would appear that Takeda’s pursuit of Nycomed is based more on its pipeline rather than currently marketed products.

Stay tuned for late-breaking news on the deal!

Until next time,

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

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Astellas, Japan’s second largest pharmaceutical company, yesterday announced that it will hire at least 300 new pharma sales reps in China as part of its ambitious plan to increase its global revenue stream by 17 per cent over the next five years.

Documents released by the company indicate that it expects sales to double in China by March, 2015 emphasizing the fact that emerging markets will likely drive the future growth of the pharmaceutical industry. Astellas hopes to expand the indications for Prograf, its top selling organ transplantation medication to include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus nephritis, ulcerative colitis and myasthenia gravis.

Earlier this month, Astellas revealed that it would purchase NY-based OSI pharmaceuticals for $4.0 billion. The purchase will provide Astellas with its first approved cancer drug (OSI’s Tarceva) and allow Astellas to establish a firmer footing in the US pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets.

Total worldwide net sales of Tarceva for 2009, were approximately $1.2 billion and OSI's share of those revenues were $359 million. In the first quarter of 2010, Tarceva sales grew 10%

While hiring 300 reps in China may be good for the Chinese economy, the OSI deal will likely result in job cuts and further exacerbate the growing unemployment rate in the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania region.

Unlike the US, there seems to be a growing need for pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D and sales employees in China and other parts of Asia. To that end, I hear that Beijing and Shanghai are lovely this time of year!!!!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting !!!!!!!!

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Melville, NY-based OSI Pharmaceuticals, the maker of the cancer drug Tarceva and arguably one of the most successful biotechnology companies in the New York metropolitan area, has finally agreed to be purchased by Japan’s Astellas Pharma.

Earlier this year, Astellas announced a hostile takeover bid for OSI. After a two month long battle, the OSI board agreed to sell the company to Astellas for $4.0 billion. According to the terms of the deal, OSI shareholders will receive $57.50 per share; a 55 per cent premium to the company’s share price in February. The price represents a 10.5 percent increase over Astellas’ original proposal of $52 per share.

Tarceva is OSI’s only product but sales last year reached about $1.2 billion. The drug has been approved to treat various cancers including non-small cell lung cancer (second line treatment) and first-line advanced pancreatic cancer. OSI has been trying to garner approval for Tarceva to treat other types of cancer in recent years. While sales of Tarceva have been growing annually, OSI’s new drug pipeline has been relatively thin.

OSI was founded in 1983 and is one of the oldest biotechnology companies in New York State. The company currently employs about 524 people. It is not clear what effect, if any, the acquisition may have on those jobs.

Astellas Pharma is Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company which has been on something of a buying spree to enhance its oncology portfolio and expand its US presence. Last year, Astellas lost a battle to acquire CV Therapeutics which was ultimately purchased by California-based Gilead Sciences for $1.4 billion.

Over the past few years Japanese pharmaceutical companies, flush with cash, have been aggressively pursuing American biotechnology companies with oncology expertise. Two years ago, Takeda Pharmaceuticals purchased Boston-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals for $8.8 billion to gain access to Velcade, its multiple myeloma drug and oncology drug pipeline.

The recent Japanese biotechnology buying spree is reminiscent of the Japanese real estate grab in the late 1980s which resulted in the sale of some of America’s iconic buildings including Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building. Ironically, those buildings are again owned by American companies and private equity groups! 

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!

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Merck of Germany announced on Sunday that it had agreed to purchase Millipore, an American supplier of laboratory products and reagents for biotechnology companies for $7.2 billion. The offer comes in the wake of the $6.0 billion offer made last week by Thermo Fisher Scientific one of the largest supplier in the world of laboratory reagents, supplies and equipment. While somewhat of an unconventional move for a healthcare company, Merck executives hailed the acquisition as a strategic move for customers, stakeholders and share holders of both companies.

In other news, Astellas Pharmaceuticals, Japan’s second largest pharmaceutical company said today that it tendered an offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Long Island, NY-based OSI Pharmaceuticals for $52.00 per share or approximately $3.5 billion in cash. OSI, which manufactures and sells Tarceva (erlontinib) a treatment for non-small cell lung and pancreatic cancer (which it co-markets by Genentech in the US and globally with Roche), has a strong oncology pipeline and is also developing treatments for diabetes and obesity. Despite early success with Tarceva, cash-starved OSI has been struggling of late. The acquisition of OSI provides Astellas with a strong pipeline and entrée into the growing US oncology market. OSI would also complement Astellas’ existing strength and franchises in urology and immunology.

While mergers and acquisitions were largely anticipated in the US biopharmaceutical sector over the past few years, the acquisition of American companies like Millipore and OSI Pharmaceuticals by foreign companies suggests that there may be chinks in the armor of once dominant US biotechnology companies. The economic crisis coupled with America’s waning innovation in the life sciences sector suggests that other US-based biopharmaceutical companies may be at risk. Although most foreign governments stumbled when attempting to develop the own internal biotechnology expertise, many cash-rich foreign companies recognize that purchasing US companies with marketed products offers them an opportunity to quickly and strategically gain a foothold in the ever-expanding biotechnology market.

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Buying!!!!!!!!!

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As you all know by now, Merck announced on Monday that it will purchase Schering Plough for $41.1billion in a deal constructed as a reverse merger. The reverse merger strategy was concocted to prevent the new company from losing the international sale rights to Remicade, Johnson and Johnson’s lucrative, blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug. According to the original deal inked by Johnson and Johnson and Schering Plough, Schering would have to surrender its rights to Remicade— which generated $2.1 billion in sales outside of the US last year —and golimumab (which is pending approval in Europe) if current ownership of Schering changes. Golimumab (CNTO 148) is Johnson and Johnson’s Centocor division next-generation human anti-TNF-alpha monoclonal antibody be developed as monthly subcutaneous treatment for adults with active forms of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.  Since the merger was announced on Monday, Johnson and Johnson hasn’t issued any public statements about the deal—prompting some analysts to speculate that Johnson and Johnson may well make a counteroffer to acquire Schering Plough. Others believe that Johnson and Johnson will challenge the new company’s international rights to Remicade and golimumab despite the great lengths that Merck and Schering Plough management went to structure the acquisition as a reverse merger. Stay tuned for updates.

In other merger news, US-based Gilead announced that it will acquire CV Therapeutics for about $1.4 billion. The deal tops the hostile takeover offer from Astellas Pharma of Japan. Gilead, an HIV drug manufacturer is purchasing CV Therapeutics—which sells the cardiovascular drugs Ranexa (chronic angina) and Lexican (reduces stress during cardiovascular surgical procedures)—to expand its therapeutic repertoire beyond virology. The stock prices of shares of Gilead and CV Therapeutics jumped after the announcement signaling Wall Street’s approval of the deal.   Nevertheless, it may be premature for Gilead and CV Therapeutics to begin celebrating—Astellas may very well tender a counteroffer!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!

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Astellas, a company formed in 2005 following the merger of Japanese-based pharmaceutical giants, Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, announced that it is hoping that 200 pharmaceutical workers in its production facility in Norman, OK will take early retirement to cut labor costs. The downsizing is in response to impending patent expiry of the company’s blockbuster urology product Flomax.

A company spokesperson said “The early retirement program seeks to reduce the workforce by about 30 percent, which would leave about 140 people at the Norman plant.” The loss of these jobs is likely to have a substantial economic impact on the small Oklahoma town many of whose residents have worked at the plant for over 20 years.

Astellas employees around 17,000 workers worldwide. When pharmaceutical jobs are cut in OK, you know the industry is in bad shape.

Hat tip to Ed at Pharmalot

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

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The US Food and Drug Administration said Monday it still had several "outstanding issues" with televancin an antibiotic being developed by Theravance Inc and Astellas Pharma of Tokyo. to treat skin infections.

The agency had canceled an advisory committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday that was set to evaluate the drug, televancin.

In a statement, the agency said that the meeting was being canceled to "allow time for the FDA to review and resolve several outstanding issues." The FDA said it would schedule an advisory committee meeting in the future, if needed.

Televancin is a once-daily injectable antibiotic that would be used to treat skin infections, including those caused by resistant bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In October the FDA issued a so-called approvable letter for televancin, suggesting it needed a re-analysis of clinical data and the resolution of manufacturing issues at a third-party manufacturer that was not specifically related to televancin. The FDA said it continues to review televancin's application but didn't give a timetable for completion of the review.

Earlier this month the FDA canceled a Feb. 28 meeting for another antibiotic, ceftobiprole that would also be used to treat skin infections. That drug is being developed by a unit of Johnson and Johnson Co. and Switzerland-based Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. The FDA is expected to make a decision on whether to approve ceftobriprole sometime next month.

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