Healthcare

Aetna lays out its insurance value for CVS

31 Oct 2017

Revenue at the $56 billion health-coverage firm fell 5 pct last quarter, partly from dumping some Obamacare policies. But profit jumped 48 pct. That offers alluring protection for CVS, whose pharmacy and drug-benefit business is threatened by rising competition and transparency.

Aetna bid is a defensive prescription for CVS

26 Oct 2017

The drugstore and pharmacy-benefit company’s $66 bln offer for the health insurer should generate some savings. More important, it could help the firm resist Amazon’s entry into drug distribution, and the unpleasant side effects of transparency and low margins that may follow.

GSK’s new CEO held hostage by dividend cult

26 Oct 2017

The British pharmaceutical company’s market value slid by 6 bln pounds after Emma Walmsley suggested big deals and dividends might not be compatible. Being flexible is perfectly rational – unlike investors craving for high payouts at the potential expense of growth.

Animal-health spinoff may be just the Rx for Lilly

24 Oct 2017

The $90 bln outfit is weighing the sale or float of its pet and livestock drug business. Lofty valuations make it tempting to raise cash when the firm’s core pharma business has pipeline stumbles. But FDA approval for its arthritis treatment is the real prescription investors seek.

Novartis gets brief respite from problem children

24 Oct 2017

The Swiss drugmaker’s troubled eyecare unit performed better in the third quarter, reducing pressure for a quick sale. Its generic business still faces challenges despite beating forecasts. The group’s devotion to its stake in rival Roche, however, remains hard to justify.

Mediclinic takes advantage of sickly Spire

23 Oct 2017

The operator of hospitals in South Africa and the Gulf has bid 1.2 bln pounds in cash and shares for its UK peer. Spire Healthcare has been hit by a scandal, government cuts, and an executive vacuum. Mediclinic is offering a stingy premium and too much of its unappealing stock.

Investors choke on generic-drug deal complexity

17 Oct 2017

The merger of Amneal with Impax, worth some $9 bln in combined enterprise value, brings scale, savings and a bigger business for a respected CEO. But the larger firm is private, its owners are selling down, and there’s a wacky tax element. No wonder Impax owners aren’t loving it.

Allergan’s latest drug wheeze has bad side-effects

16 Oct 2017

The firm’s stock fell 5 pct after a judge invalidated a key medication’s intellectual property and said using a Native American tribe to protect the patents was a “ploy.” Allergan’s plan was too clever by half. With President Trump on the warpath, it does the industry no favors.

Effort to kill Obamacare may only make it stronger

12 Oct 2017

After failing to coax Congress to repeal the plan, President Trump now wants U.S. agencies to find ways to offer cheaper options with less protection. It subverts his predecessor's signature policy in the short term, but increases the odds that in time government programs expand.

Smith & Nephew could use surgical activism

11 Oct 2017

U.S. hedge fund Elliott is building a stake in the artificial knee and hip maker. Talk that the company could be taken over has surfaced more often than actual bids. Agitating for bigger profit margins and a breakup may be more rewarding than hopes for a bigger deal.

Syngenta puts Beijing’s unspoken promises to test

10 Oct 2017

The Swiss seed company’s Chinese parent and its state backers disagree over whether they stand behind its legal bills. It’s a dynamic found across China’s financial system: implicit guarantees are common, and rarely tested. The government has good reason to keep things ambiguous.

Cox: Where are the taxpayers’ private jets?

28 Sep 2017

Corporations long ago learned that hangars full of airplanes present an easy target for activists. Even mighty GE is grounding its fleet. So it's puzzling to see Trump's civil servants flying in such high style. It makes firing HHS director Tom Price his easiest call to date.

Viewsroom: Trump tax overhaul will be a long slog

28 Sep 2017

The U.S. president and Republicans want to reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 pct from 35 pct. After a blistering defeat over Obamacare, the prospects of significant reform are slim. Meanwhile, Equifax’s CEO slinks out of the building. Plus: Puerto Rico’s prayer for relief.

Bloated U.S. healthcare spending has silver lining

21 Sep 2017

The first drug that works by silencing targeted genes by Alnylam is heading for FDA approval. It’s hot on the heels of another that treats cancer by using modified immune cells. New therapies are proliferating, thanks in part to America’s unsustainably large healthcare budget.

China’s drugmakers boast Big Pharma option value

18 Sep 2017

The U.S. listing of Zai Lab highlights a new breed of innovative eastern upstarts specializing in drugs made from living cells. Some have already won financial backing by Western rivals. It is one reason to believe China can produce the world’s next blockbuster drug.

Healthcare’s nonprofit status belongs in the grave

13 Sep 2017

Publicly traded Centene is buying tax-exempt insurer Fidelis for $3.75 bln. The seller’s priest-CEO earns an ungodly sum. Exorbitant pay is rife in nonprofit healthcare, yet is rarely tied to community benefit. Euthanizing these firms’ tax break would be a social good.

U.S. healthcare for all inches toward mainstream

13 Sep 2017

Though the idea has kicked around for years, Bernie Sanders has been shouting into the Washington wind. Democrats will now give his universal-coverage pitch fresh momentum. It's a pricey plan, but one that warrants fresh consideration given rising costs and Obamacare strife.

Cheap genetic tests leave insurers exposed

8 Sep 2017

23andme’s value is getting a 50 pct booster shot thanks to its simple, affordable way of checking if you’re a high risk for Alzheimer’s and the like. Those who are may want more health, life and disability coverage. That will make the dysfunctional U.S. healthcare system worse.

Elliott shows tail wags dog in German M&A

4 Sep 2017

The U.S. investor has nudged Bain and Cinven into paying minority shareholders in drugmaker Stada 12 pct more than others got last month. Germany’s odd rules and passive investing make it all too easy for holdouts who own small stakes to throw their weight around.

Elliott’s Stada shakedown is cheeky but rational

31 Aug 2017

The hedge fund wants the private equity firms buying drugmaker Stada to pay 74.40 euros for its minority stake. That’s nearly 50 pct above the firm’s value before Bain and Cinven began bidding. Yet Elliott has a point: the buyers could pay up and still make a respectable return.