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It is no secret that Sanofi-Aventis is facing a steep “patent cliff” in 2013 when some of its top selling drugs, most notably Plavix, will lose patent protection. Some analysts contend that the company can lose as much as a quarter of its annual revenue because of generic encroachment on blockbuster brands. Sanofi is narrowing its business to three areas -- diabetes, heart problems, and cancer -- and is seeking partnerships and acquisitions.

This past June, Sanofi inked a $398 million deal with US-based Ascenta Therapeutics to gain access to two experimental cancer drugs that are in preclinical development. Later that month, the company purchased TargeGen a privately held US biopharmaceutical company focusing on oncology R&D. Two months later, Sanofi announced that it had entered into a partnership with the Belfer Institute of Applied Cancer Science (part of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute) to gain access to additional experimental cancer treatments.

Today, Sanofi announced that it had reached an agreement with Germany-based  Merck KGaA to jointly study experimental cancer treatments. Both companies Merck will conduct early stage human trials of Merck’s MSC1936369B and Sanofi’s SAR245409 and SAR245408 experimental drugs. Under the terms of the agreement, each company will carry out an early-stage dosing test of the drug candidates. Sanofi will be granted a license to study the safety and effectiveness of the Merck compound when used with SAR245408. Merck will be given a license to work with Sanofi’s other medicine to study its use in combination with its experimental compound. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Yesterday, Sanofi announced that it had signed an agreement with Oxford University to conduct multi-phase clinical and translational research in oncology with INDOX, a network of cancer research centres established across India in partnership with the university's Institute of Cancer Medicine five years ago. According to the terms of the agreement Sanofi-Aventis has agreed to provide financial support to Oxford University in managing the INDOX network of eight cancer research centres across India. 

Based on this spate of activity over the past six months it would appear that Sanofi is executing its new long term strategic plan. Stay tuned for more news!

Until next time...

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

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I am certain that many of you may have noticed that the size of the life sciences industry is shrinking at an unprecedented rate. Big pharma companies flush with cash, near- empty pipelines and impending patent cliffs have embarked on a buying spree that is likely to continue for next years (or at least until the economy shows clear signs of resuscitation). Pfizer’s impending acquisition of King Pharmaceuticals is just another transaction in a long list of M&A deals that have occurred over the past three years.                             

According to an article in today’s NY Times, roughly $42.2 billion worth of pharma deals have been transacted so far this year. That number is close to the $45.8 billion in M&A transactions announced by the same time last year (excluding Pfizer’s acquisition of Wyeth and Merck’s purchase of Schering Plough). Unfortunately, these mega-merger deals almost always result in massive layoffs in the industry.

While blockbuster mergers may not be good for pharmaceutical employees, the behind the scenes players—investment bankers, brokers, advisers and consultants—make out extremely well. For example, according to an article in Pharmaceutical Technology Europe, over a three month period in 2009 pharmaceutical company merger and acquisition activities generated $500 million in advisory fees for investment bankers. Clearly, mergers and acquisitions are in the best interest of company executives and the investment bankers not pharmaceutical employees.

There is no question that the recession and the down economy are driving much of the M&A activity in the life sciences sector. And, industry consolation is to be expected during challenging economic times. However, while M&A may be in the best interest of pharma company shareholders in the short term, I don’t think it will help to insure American competitiveness and innovation in the life sciences over the long term. 

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting

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If you would have asked me that question before I became a professional recruiter and hiring manager, I would have suggested that body language plays a minimal role in the success or failure of a face-to-face job interview or business meeting. However, over the years, I have come to realize that body language is extremely important; and it may be the deciding factor in whether or not a job offer is proffered or a business deal is consummated.

To that end, Celina Jacobsen from the Career Overview Blog sent me a link to one of their posts. While much of the post wasn’t germane to life sciences career development, parts of it were spot on with regard to the importance of body language during job interviews and business meetings. With this in mind, I reproduced parts of the post that I think would be useful to BioJobBlog readers for career development insights.

Body Language and the Job Interview

Pay attention to your body language using these tips to ensure you are giving the best impression during a job interview.

1. Handshake. Everyone knows that a handshake is an important element of first impressions. Offer a firm handshake that shows confidence in yourself.
2. Don’t cross arms and legs. Crossing your arms or legs is seen as a defensive position and is not what you want to present to your prospective employer.
3. Sit or stand with legs slightly apart. When you sit or stand with your legs slightly apart, this gives the impression that you are self-confident.
4. Keep your hands and legs still. Fidgeting exudes nervousness. Instead, keep your hands relaxed in your lap and be aware of what your legs are doing.
5. Chair movement. If you are sitting in a chair that swivels, be sure you aren’t accidentally turning back and forth as it can be distracting and also makes you appear nervous.
6. Voice tone. Be aware of your voice tone qualities. Don’t be monotonous, yet don’t let your voice tone vary to such extremes that you sound excited or nervous. One helpful tip is to take a deep breath before speaking.
7. Be aware of the interviewer’s body language. Pay attention to what the person interviewing you is saying through her body language. Not only can you determine if she is interested in what you have to offer, you can also match your body language to the level of formality.
8. Palms up. Use hand gestures that keep your palms up, which indicate you are open and friendly. Gestures with palms down tell the interviewer that you may be dominant or aggressive.
9. Keep eyes focused. Shifty eyes moving all around the room will give your prospective employer the feeling that you are being dishonest, or at best, uncomfortable.
10. Active listening. Be an active listener during the interview. Make eye contact, nod your head while others are speaking, and interject a few verbal acknowledgements such as "yes" or "I see."

Body Language in Business and Career Development

What you say with your body language can convey as much to your business colleagues as your words. Learn how to manage your body language in a business setting to help promote your career.

11. Relax your shoulders. When many people feel tension, they pull up their shoulders. Be conscious of this and relax your shoulders. Not only will this help prevent neck and back pain, it makes you appear less stressed, too.
12. Be mindful of your head position. Holding your head level both vertically and horizontally indicates confidence and asks others to take you seriously. If you want to show that you are listening and open to the other person, tilt your head slightly to one side.
13. Use your hands. Hanging your hands down by your side during a presentation indicates depression. Instead, keep your hands active and use gestures to show involvement and energy.
14. Remove the opportunity for eye contact in conflict. If negotiations have turned sour or co-workers are disagreeing, moving them to a different form of communication that does not involve eye contact, such as email or IM, may diffuse the situation and allow for a better flow of communication.
15. Keep your hands out of your pockets. Standing with your hands in your pockets may send several signals to those around you, probably none of them what you intend. Unless you are trying to look less confident, as if you are holding yourself back, you are bored, or you are hiding something, then take your hands out of your pockets.
16. Women, learn the "business gaze". For women, a key element to being taken seriously is the "business gaze" or holding your line of sight on the area from the eyes to the mid-forehead. A gaze held lower indicates a more "social gaze."
17. Make eye contact with everyone. If you are in a meeting or giving a presentation, make it a point to make eye contact with each one of the people involved (unless it’s a packed house and physically impossible to do).
18. Watch your stance. Standing in a commando stance, with legs spread and hands on hips, tells others you are feeling disapproving, superior or are arrogant.
19. Keep your hands from behind your head. Sitting back with your hands clasped behind your head is another position that communicates arrogance or superiority.
20. Interruptions. If you are in the middle of a conversation with a superior or in a meeting that has been interrupted, it is best to look away from the person dealing with the interruption in an effort to give them privacy and to indicate you have disengaged yourself from something that is not your business.

I hope that you found these tips useful and apply them to your next job interview or business meetings.

Hat tip to CareerOverview.com

Until next time…

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

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Astra Zeneca announced today that it has agreed to market 18 of Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd.’s branded generic drugs in 9 emerging markets, marking the U.K. drugmaker’s first generic-drug partnership.

Unlike some its competitors, Astra Zeneca is very vulnerable to generic competition as many of its best selling products such as Nexium for ulcers, the antipsychotic Seroquel and Crestor for cholesterol. are near patent expiry. Industry analysts expect the company to lose as much as 25% of its sales revenue to generic encroachment by 2014.

The company joins a growing list of big pharma companies including Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis and GlaxoSmithKline that view generics as a viable replacement for revenues lost to generic competition for it top selling brands.

Last year, GlaxoSmithKline entered into joint ventures with the generic manufacturers Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (India) and Aspen Pharmacare Ltd (South Africa). Also, the company paid $246.5 million for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Pakistan and Egypt drug units and acquired UCB’s drug portfolio in Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America for $702 million; clearing signaling its intention to more aggressively pursue emerging global markets.

Likewise, Sanofi-Aventis bought Zentiva NV of the Czech Republic, Helvepharm AG of Switzerland, Medley SA of Brazil and Laboratorios Kendrick SA of Mexico to bolster its branded generics portfolio. The company also took control of the Indian vaccine and biologics manufacturer Shantha Biotechnics which suggest that Sanofi may be looking to biotech in the future.

Finally, Pfizer continues its pursuit of the financially-troubled German, generics giant Ratiopharm. Actavis of Iceland and the Israeli generics manufacturer Teva have also put in bids to purchase Ratiopharm. However, there are signs that Ratiopharm's board would prefer to be purchased by Pfizer rather than Teva or Actavis.

Look for other big pharma companies to enter into deals with or purchase branded or conventional generics manufacturers.

Until next time...

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

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Sepracor shareholders may be able to sleep better at night without the aid of the company’s top selling insomnia drug Lunesta after agreeing to be purchased on Thursday by Dainippon Sunmitomo Pharma of Japan. Dainippon will pay $2.6 billion for the rights to Lunesta and other drugs in Sepracor’s pipeline. 

This is the third deal in the last two year involving the purchase of American pharmaceutical companies by Japanese drug makers seeking to aggressively expand their reach into the US drug markets. Last year, Takeda Pharmaceutical purchased Cambridge, MA-based Millenium Pharmaceuticals for $8.8 billion and Eisai brought MGI Pharma of Minnesota for $3.9 billion. 

Sepracor, a specialty pharmaceutical company founded in 1984 focused on strategy of developing single isomers or chiral drugs and active metabolites of top selling drugs with the goal of developing a pipeline of proprietary pharmaceutical products. The company’s most successful product is Lunesta, a prescription sleep aid that had sales of almost $500 million in 2008.

Last January, the company layed off 20% of its workforce (350 sales reps, plus 410 contract sales reps) as Lunesta sales slumped because of competition from generic versions of Ambien and branded Ambien CR and revenue losses from its Xopenex COPD franchise. It isn’t clear whether or not more Sepracor will shed more jobs after the Dainippon deal closes sometime next year. 

Stay tuned for updates!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

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GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) inked a deal yesterday with the Indian generics manufacturer Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories giving it access to over 100 future generic drugs and a gateway to Asia’s emerging pharmaceutical markets. The therapeutic areas covered under the agreement include diabetes, cardiovascular, pain management, gastroenterology and oncology. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories is one of India’s largest generic drug manufacturers. Like many of its competitors, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories also have active development programs for new biotechnology drugs and biosimilar products.

UK-based, GSK joins a growing number of pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Merck and others that have entered into deals with major generic drug manufacturers—or purchased smaller generics companies—to gain access to generics pipelines and an ability to compete in emerging  non-branded pharmaceutical markets. Impending US healthcare reform and downward pricing pressures (resulting from increased global competition) have forced drug makers to reevaluate the role that generic drugs will likely play in future pharmaceutical revenue streams.

While generic drug makers have outstanding manufacturing capabilities, they generally lack the marketing, sales and distribution channels necessary to penetrate foreign markets and quickly ramp up drug sales. I suspect that the number of deals between pharmaceutical companies and generic manufacturers will continue to increase as many of the patents for multibillion, blockbuster drugs continue to expire in the next few years.

Until next time....

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

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The old baseball adage which says that  “you can’t tell the players apart without a program” is particularly apt when it comes to tracing the M &A activity that led to the creation of some today's largest pharmaceutical companies.

I used to be able to keep track of all of the moving parts  of most of these mergers but advancing age and unprecedented M&A activity in the pharma industry prevents me from successfully doing this any longer. To that end, about a week ago, the New York Times published a pretty cool and informative chart that historically traces the corporate mergers that lead to creation of Pfizer, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis and others.

Check it out!!!!!

Until next time...

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

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