Healthcare

Bayer’s inertia will make mounting problems worse

5 Mar 2024

The $30 bln seeds and drugs maker has ruled out a rapid breakup. Bayer could have used a consumer health sale to cut debt and offset bigger US litigation costs. Betting instead that it can grow its way out of trouble risks exacerbating a yawning discount to the sum of its parts.

Stolen razors are least of US drugstores’ concerns

1 Mar 2024

Walgreens and CVS have locked up items from deodorant to toothpaste. But a hyper-focus on theft is a reflection of drugstores’ more dire straits. Online competition, labor issues, and inflation are cutting into margins. Larceny is just the thing that pharmacies can control.

Healthcare’s $450 bln octopus becomes the kraken

28 Feb 2024

Trustbusters are probing UnitedHealth, which insures 53 mln patients and works with 10% of US doctors, while also managing pharmacy benefits and more. It’s hard to dispute the market power. Whether there’s abuse, and how to stop it without hurting consumers, is less obvious.

Europe shares’ granola rush will become thin gruel

26 Feb 2024

The STOXX 600 Index has hit a record, but local funds are seeing outflows. As in the US a small bunch of companies – the so-called GRANOLAS group – are behind the good news. But in the Old Continent they’re more dependent on weak economic growth rather than the AI revolution.

Too many drugmakers drool at anti-obesity trough

21 Feb 2024

Novo Nordisk’s and Eli Lilly’s jumbo valuations are luring rivals eager for a piece of the $100 bln weight-loss pie. This herd behavior has become a pattern in pharma, crimping returns on R&D. Despite slim odds of getting a big market slice, the temptation is too hard to resist.

The obesity drug craze is entering its next phase

8 Feb 2024

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk can’t keep up with demand for their weight loss medications. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss the hype among celebrities, the different approaches to prescribing them in the US and Europe, and how they can reshape the world.

Novo digs $11.5 bln moat around weight-loss jewel

5 Feb 2024

The pharma giant’s parent is buying US manufacturer Catalent. It helps Novo Nordisk keep up with soaring demand for obesity drugs, and makes it harder for rival Eli Lilly to catch up. With such limited capacity, Catalent’s rivals like $4 bln ROVI may soon be in play.

Capital Calls: Disney virtual reality

23 Jan 2024

Concise views on global finance: The $174 bln entertainment giant introduced a novel way for consumers to experience its brands through a partnership with Apple. Further connecting the dots between theme parks and the metaverse might bide Iger some time.

Obesity drug firms choose golden goose pricing

18 Jan 2024

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk can’t keep up with demand for weight loss drugs, yet they are offering big discounts to those whose insurance won’t help pay. That probably will harvest more eggs over time.

Capital Calls: Spanish pharma

9 Jan 2024

Concise views on global finance: Shares in Madrid-listed drugmaker Grifols fell up to 42% after Gotham City Research alleged that the company’s already elevated debt levels were higher than previously reported.

Rich nations can learn from Ireland’s health shift

9 Jan 2024

Dublin wants to build a universal healthcare system. Phasing out a US-like insurance model is bold and could require 20 bln euros from the state. Countries thinking of similar overhauls to deal with waiting lists and ageing citizens will need money and political consensus.

Corporate boards have lost the war on drugs

8 Jan 2024

Some directors at the six companies run by Tesla boss Elon Musk worry his drug use will hinder business. Dabbling in narcotics is rising while testing is falling, and legalization has normalized dope use. For corporate chieftains, though, even a little may be too much.

Bristol Myers new CEO grabs M&A by the horns

22 Dec 2023

Buying rival drugmaker Karuna for $14 bln is a big risk for just-installed Chris Boerner. Karuna’s schizophrenia therapy could see giant sales, but with much uncertainty and suboptimal patent protection. Pharma has shone in a dismal year for mergers. Even so, it’s a daring deal.

Aon’s $13 bln deal leaves it little room for error

20 Dec 2023

The US insurance broker’s purchase of rival NFP is a sensible bet on the market for selling financial products to mid-sized firms, at a not-so-sensible price. Aon argues growth will be rapid. Still, its wobbly acquisition history saddles it with a credibility deficit.

Price of Illumina’s Grail fail extends to board

19 Dec 2023

The gene-sequencing company finally conceded to selling the cancer-testing business it bought without regulatory approval for $7.1 bln. Its bravado will be costly, as Grail’s value has plummeted. Boss Francis deSouza already paid with his job; directors deserve to, as well.

Swiss pharma mega-deal has healthy prognosis

19 Dec 2023

In 2001 Novartis took a stake in Roche, yet a deal never happened. Over two decades later, the mooted acquirer is stronger and could gain from vast synergies and more heft in oncology. Making the $440 bln union a reality means overcoming family pride, and antitrust issues.

Ozempic overshoot will plump up bargain-hunters

18 Dec 2023

New weight-loss drugs are highly effective, but investors risk overestimating how fast change will occur and how many people will take the therapies indefinitely. Some companies regarded as victims, such as Zimmer Biomet, may even benefit. Contrarian investors may profit in 2024.

Oprah’s Weight Watchers is Ozempic-as-a-platform

15 Dec 2023

Obesity-fighting drugs should curb demand for hawkers of weight-loss regimens. But WW bought a telehealth firm that can push prescriptions, like those used by its celebrity backer, to customers. As insurers fund habit-forming programs, companies will find ways to take a cut.

Purdue mess pits drug victims against due process

5 Dec 2023

The $10 bln settlement ending opioid lawsuits is done and dusted, except for a case being reviewed by the Supreme Court. Justices’ discomfort over bankruptcy protection for the Sackler family has merit. But throwing out a deal means aggrieved parties just have to wait longer.

Capital Calls: Roche, Brookfield/Origin

4 Dec 2023

Concise views on global finance: The $224 bln Swiss drugmaker is splurging $2.7 bln on obesity drug developer Carmot; the Canadian investment firm’s joint $13 bln bid for Origin Energy has failed. The trick now is to show what lessons it’s learned from its 16-month-plus campaign.