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☆ How a boutique bank that rode last year's healthcare M&A streak into the big leagues plans to continue to compete with the JPMorgan's of the world
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It was more than double the value of the next-largest deal, a Japanese healthcare merger that clocked in at $22 billion. And, for its part, Seagen tapped advisors at two boutique firms: Centerview and MTS Health Partners. "We want to be the preeminent healthcare bank. Last year, during a healthcare M&A boom that's expected to continue this year, the bank onboarded 14 new staffers, including the partners, a company spokesperson said. Advertisement"We are absolutely in growth mode looking to have high-quality bankers who are capable of generating business off of this platform without all the accoutrements of a big bank," Weisenfeld continued.

Persons: Seagen, Andrew Weisenfeld, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Dealogic, Weisenfeld, —, Curtis Lane, Bear, Daun Chung, Ryan Stewart, Reed Alexander Organizations: Service, Pfizer, Guggenheim, Centerview, MTS Health Partners, MTS, Goldman, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Partners, CTI, New, Bear Stearns, London Stock Exchange, Seagen, Medicines, Novartis, Chase Securities, Health Partners, Guggenheim Securities, Triple, SVB Securities, Solomon Partners, Citigroup Locations: Wall, New York City, Seattle

SummaryCompanies Q2 sales and earnings beat estimatesReiterates full-year guidanceNo revenue from COVID vaccine in Q2Shares up 3.1% in early tradeCompany is largest drugmaker in ChinaLONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca (AZN.L) on Friday delivered better-than-expected profits and sales in the second quarter as a strong performance of its blockbuster cancer drugs helped offset the loss of COVID-19 vaccine sales. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker posted an adjusted profit of $2.15 per share, up 25% and exceeding the $1.98 per share expected in company-compiled consensus estimates. Total revenue in the quarter was $11.4 billion, up 6% and beating company-compiled analyst estimates of $10.97 billion. Excluding COVID medicines, sales in China grew by 7% at constant exchange rates in the quarter, the fourth consecutive quarter of growth on that basis. AstraZeneca is the largest drugmaker in China, which accounted for 13% of last year's revenue.

Persons: Swedish drugmaker, Pascal Soriot, Markus Manns, Alexion, drugmaker, Maggie Fick, Radhika Anilkumar, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Josephine Mason Organizations: AstraZeneca, UK's, Pfizer, Moderna, U.S, Union Investment, Thomson Locations: China LONDON, Swedish, China, London, Bengaluru

☆ AstraZeneca to buy Pfizer's rare disease gene therapy portfolio for up to $1 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoJuly 28 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca (AZN.L) said on Friday its unit Alexion has agreed to buy U.S. drugmaker Pfizer's <PFE.N> early-stage rare disease gene therapy portfolio for up to $1 billion, plus royalties on sales. AstraZeneca bought Alexion in 2021. It focuses on rare diseases and plans to close the deal in the third quarter, the British drugmaker said. AAV capsids have been shown to be an effective mechanism for delivering therapeutic gene cargos for gene therapy and gene editing, the company said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Alexion, drugmaker, AAV, Yadarisa, Nivedita Organizations: AstraZeneca, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Pfizer says supply of some drugs may be disrupted after NC tornado
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said over 30 drugs, including injections of painkiller fentanyl and anesthetic lidocaine, may see supply disruption after a tornado destroyed a warehouse at its Rocky Mount, North Carolina, plant last week. The company sent a letter late last week to its hospital customers saying it had identified around 64 different formulations or dosages of those more than 30 drugs produced at the plant that may experience continued or new supply disruptions. The company has placed limits on how much supply of those drugs its customers can buy. It said the list was "based on Pfizer market share and inventory levels of less than 3 months across our Pfizer distribution centers and the wholesale chain." The Rocky Mount plant is one of the largest factories for sterile injectable medicines in the world.

Persons: Albert Bourla, Michael Ganio, Michael Erman, Aurora Ellis Organizations: YORK, Drugmaker Pfizer Inc, Pfizer, American Society of Health, System, Thomson Locations: North Carolina

☆ Pfizer plant in North Carolina damaged by tornado
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] The roof of a Pfizer facility shows heavy damage after a tornado passed the area in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S. July 19, 2023. July 19 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Wednesday its plant in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, which is one of the largest sterile injectable product facilities in the world, has suffered heavy damage from a tornado. A company spokesperson in an emailed statement confirmed that the Rocky Mount facility was damaged and the drugmaker was assessing the situation to determine the impact on production. The Rocky Mountain facility employs over 4,500 professionals, according to Pfizer's website. Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rocky, Sriparna Roy, Shailesh Organizations: Pfizer, ABC, WTVD, REUTERS, Drugmaker Pfizer Inc, Thomson Locations: Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ These cheap stocks pay safe and high dividends
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( John Melloy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Finding stocks paying high and safe dividend yields is getting harder as recession fears cause companies to hoard cash. With that in mind, CNBC Pro sought to find stocks that are paying high dividends that they can afford. Here was our criteria using data from FactSet: Dividend yield above 4%. Current forward price-earnings ratio is cheaper than its average forward P/E of the last five years. (Forward P/E looks at a share price relative to the consensus earnings estimate for the next 12 months.)

Persons: Dow, drugmaker, Carter's Organizations: Dow Jones, CNBC Pro, drugmaker Pfizer, Pfizer

☆ Pfizer, Flagship Pioneering to invest $100 mln in drug discovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 18 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer (PFE.N) and venture firm Flagship Pioneering on Tuesday said they would invest $100 million together to develop up to 10 new potential drugs for areas including internal medicine, oncology, infectious diseases and immunology. Flagship, which has incubated biotech companies, most famously Moderna Inc (MRNA.O), and Pfizer will each invest $50 million. Flagship's drug discovery initiative Pioneering Medicines will lead the exploration process. Paul Biondi, president of Flagship's Pioneering unit and a former top Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY.N) executive, said the partnership will take advantage of Flagship's abilities to develop novel technologies towards bigger disease areas. Drug developers such as Denali Therapeutics (DNLI.O), Foghorn Therapeutics (FHTX.O) and Sana Biotechnology (SANA.O) are some of the other companies backed by Flagship.

Persons: Paul Biondi, Biondi, Mikael Dolsten, Foghorn, Bhanvi, Michael Erman, Shilpi Majumdar, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: drugmaker Pfizer, Moderna Inc, Pfizer, Flagship's, Bristol Myers Squibb, Flagship, Therapeutics, Foghorn Therapeutics, Sana Biotechnology, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, New Jersey

☆ Antibiotic Shortage Could Worsen Syphilis Epidemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Benjamin Ryan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A new shortage of a type of penicillin crucial to the fight against syphilis is alarming infectious disease experts, who warn that a protracted scarcity of the drug could worsen the U.S. epidemic of the sexually transmitted infection. The shortage, announced by the drugmaker Pfizer in a letter last month, involves Bicillin L-A, a long-acting injectable antibiotic also known as penicillin G benzathine. The company cited significant increases in demand because of the rising rate of syphilis infections, as well as Bicillin’s recent use as an alternative to amoxicillin, another antibiotic that has periodically been scarce and is prescribed for more general infections like strep throat. Steven Danehy, a spokesman for Pfizer, said it would likely take about a year for the company to ramp up production by 50 percent at its plant in Rochester, Mich., and ultimately manufacture enough Bicillin to meet demand and shore up reserves. Syphilis has been on the rise in the United States since 2000, reaching 176,713 cases in 2021, which was an increase of nearly 75 percent since 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Persons: Bicillin, Steven Danehy Organizations: Pfizer, Centers for Disease Control Locations: Rochester, Mich, United States

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Planisware is working with investment bankers on strategic options, including a stock market listing of the French software group, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Rothschild (ROTH.PA) is acting as financial adviser to Planisware, two of the people, who declined to be named, said. BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) and Citigroup (C.N) have been lined up to arrange a possible initial public offering (IPO), one person added. Private equity group Ardian, which holds an undisclosed stake in Planisware through its growth capital arm, declined to comment. In France, IPO volumes plunged in 2022 to levels similar to the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

☆ Moderna posts surprise quarterly profit despite waning demand for Covid vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Moderna on Thursday blew past estimates for first-quarter earnings and revenue, posting a surprise quarterly profit, despite lower demand for Covid vaccines, its only marketable product. The biotech company generated first-quarter sales of $1.9 billion, driven by Covid shot revenue deferred from 2022. Moderna maintained its full-year guidance of around $5 billion in revenue from its Covid vaccine, which will come from signed government contracts for the shot. But Covid shot demand is still falling as the pandemic eases and the U.S. shifts to an annual vaccination schedule rather than repeated booster doses. Moderna in April said it hopes to offer a new set of life-saving vaccines targeting cancer, heart disease and other conditions by 2030.

☆ Pfizer ready to launch RSV vaccines for older adults, pregnant women in US, Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PUURS, Belgium March 9 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer (PFE.N) is ready to launch its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for both older adults and pregnant women in the U.S. and Europe later this year, executives said on Thursday. Both Pfizer and British drugmaker GSK (GSK.L) have RSV vaccines they hope to launch in the U.S. and Europe this year, pending regulators’ approval. “We are anticipating approval in both the U.S. and Europe in time for rollout in the fall,” Kena Swanson, Pfizer's head of viral vaccines research & development, told a media briefing at the company's biggest manufacturing and packaging site globally. GSK told Reuters on Wednesday that it is also ready to launch its RSV vaccine for older adults in the U.S. this year without supply constraints. GSK last year voluntarily stopped its clinical trial of its own RSV vaccine on pregnant women and is currently only pursuing the use of its vaccine on older adults, a company spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday.

☆ EU silence over Pfizer COVID contract talks is problem that won't go away -watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly speaks during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium February 28, 2023. The Commission said in June 2022 that it no longer had the texts, which later drew criticism from the EU ombudsman. O’Reilly argued many people would understand why von der Leyen approached Bourla to plead Europe’s case for vaccines, as tens of thousands of people on the continent were dying from COVID-19. It has proposed to other EU institutions that they do the same, the spokesperson added. In February, the New York Times said it was suing the Commission over failure to release the text messages.

☆ Pfizer, Valneva to stop testing Lyme disease vaccine in some U.S. patients
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Bhanvi Satija | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Pfizer company logo is seen at a Pfizer office in Puurs, Belgium, December 2, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna GeronFeb 17 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and France's Valneva (VLS.PA) will stop testing a Lyme disease vaccine in roughly half of U.S. patients in a late-stage study, the companies said, citing a breach of clinical trial guidelines by a third-party contractor. Pfizer still expects to submit marketing applications for the experimental vaccine in the United States and Europe in 2025. The trial was expected to include around 6,000 participants aged 5 and older across Europe and United States, where Lyme disease is highly endemic. Paris-listed shares of Valneva fell nearly 10% to 5.72 euros following the news and U.S.-listed shares of Pfizer were down marginally in premarket trading.

☆ Pfizer to sell all its drugs in low-income countries at non-profit price
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Pfizer Inc FollowJan 17 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Tuesday it will offer its full portfolio of drugs, including off-patent medicines such as chemotherapies and oral cancer treatments, on a not-for-profit basis to 45 low-income countries in the world. In an expansion of the company's "An Accord for a Healthier World" program, which is aimed at increasing access to innovative treatments in some of the world's poorest countries, Pfizer said it will now offer a total of 500 products. When the drugmaker launched the program in May 2022, it offered only its patented medicines including COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid and its big-selling breast cancer drug, Ibrance, at a not-for-profit price. Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. FDA, CDC see early signal of Pfizer bivalent COVID shot's link to stroke
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 13 (Reuters) - A safety monitoring system flagged that U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and German partner BioNTech's updated COVID-19 shot could be linked to a type of brain stroke in older adults, according to preliminary data analyzed by U.S. health authorities. An ischemic stroke, also known as brain ischemia, is caused by blockages in arteries that carry blood to the brain. "Although the totality of the data currently suggests that it is very unlikely that the signal in VSD (Vaccine Safety Datalink) represents a true clinical risk, we believe it is important to share this information with the public," the health authorities said. Pfizer and BioNTech said in a statement that they have been made aware of limited reports of ischemic strokes in people 65 and older following vaccination with their updated shot. This safety concern has not been identified with Moderna's (MRNA.O) bivalent shot and both the CDC and FDA continue to recommend that everyone aged 6 months and older stay up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccination.

☆ Pfizer's hemophilia B gene therapy succeeds in late-stage study
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Thursday its experimental gene therapy for the treatment of hemophilia B, a rare inherited blood disorder, met its main goal in a late-stage study. The drugmaker licensed its hemophilia B gene therapy from Roche's (ROG.S) Spark Therapeutics unit in 2014 for a $20-million upfront payment. Pfizer plans to discuss the late-stage data with regulatory authorities in Europe and the United States and share additional data for the experimental therapy at a scientific conference in early 2023. According to government data, the estimated prevalence of hemophilia in the United States is 12 cases per 100,000 males for hemophilia A and 3.7 cases per 100,000 males for hemophilia B. In November, the U.S. health regulator approved the first gene therapy, CSL Ltd and uniQure's Hemgenix, to treat hemophilia B.Pfizer is also testing other experimental gene therapies in late-stage trials as potential treatments for the bleeding disorder hemophilia A and muscular disorder Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

[1/2] People line up at a makeshift fever clinic set up inside a stadium, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Beijing, China December 19, 2022. "We stand ready to help any country in the world with vaccines, treatments, anything else that we can be helpful with," he said. "We want China to get COVID right," Blinken said earlier this month. “China faces a very challenging system in reopening,” Powell said, adding that its manufacturing, exporting and supply chain remain critical. Officials set up health centers and apps that told people with symptoms how to avoid infecting others, he said.

☆ U.S. ready to help China on COVID-19 surge if Beijing asks - White House
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The United States is prepared to help China deal with a surge of COVID-19 infections if Beijing requests assistance, the White House said on Wednesday. John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, told reporters that China has not requested help at this stage. "We have made that point that we are prepared to help in any way they might find acceptable. China began shifting away from the "zero COVID" policy just this month, after protests against the economically-damaging curbs that had been championed by President Xi Jinping. The change has spurred concerns about a surge in COVID cases.

☆ Gilead, Kite in process of pausing Twitter advertising
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O) said on Monday the company and its unit Kite were in the "process of pausing advertising" on Twitter, after Elon Musk completed his takeover of the social media company. In a statement to Reuters, Gilead said it was monitoring its advertising spend and waiting to better understand how community standards and content moderation will be handled on Twitter now. Gilead joins a growing list of U.S. companies, including General Motors (GM.N) and General Mills (GIS.N), who have either paused or are in the process of re-evaluating advertising on the social media platform. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported Oreo maker Mondelez International Inc (MDLZ.O) and U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) had also temporarily halted advertising with Twitter. Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Scholz secures agreement allowing expats in China to use BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Andreas Rinke | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Nov 4 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced an agreement on Friday to let expatriates in China use the COVID-19 vaccine from Germany's BioNTech (22UAy.DE) and pressed for Beijing to allow the shot to be made freely available to Chinese citizens. On his first visit to China since becoming chancellor and the first by a G7 leader since the pandemic, Scholz said China and Germany had different approaches to fighting the virus but had a joint responsibility to eliminate it. The two countries "agreed on close cooperation in the fight against the pandemic," Scholz said in a briefing alongside the Chinese premier Li Keqiang. "This also includes an approval of the BioNTech vaccine for expatriates in China. I hope that the circle of eligible persons can soon be widened to a general free ability of the BioNTech vaccine," said Scholz.

☆ Pfizer, BioNTech start COVID-flu combination vaccine study
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 3 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and its German partner BioNTech SE have started an early-stage study to evaluate a combination vaccine targeting COVID-19 and influenza, the companies said on Thursday. The single-dose vaccine candidate is a combination of Pfizer's mRNA-based flu shot and the companies' Omicron-tailored COVID-19 booster shot. The early-stage study, which is being sponsored by BioNTech, aims to evaluate the combination shot's safety, tolerability and immunogenicity, or the ability to generate immune response. Rivals Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) and Novavax Inc (NVAX.O) are also developing combination vaccines targeting both COVID-19 and influenza. read moreReporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cheerios maker General Mills, Audi of America pause advertising on Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Packages of Cheerios, a brand owned by General Mills, are seen in a store in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 12, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew KellyNov 3 (Reuters) - General Mills Inc (GIS.N) and Luxury automaker Audi of America said on Thursday they have paused advertising on Twitter, days after the social media platform was acquired by billionaire Elon Musk for $44 billion. "We will continue to monitor this new direction and evaluate our marketing spend," a General Mills spokesperson said. Audi of America, the Herndon, Virginia-based U.S. unit of Audi - a Volkswagen Group (VOWG_p.DE) brand - said it would "continue to evaluate the situation." The two companies join top U.S. automaker General Motors Co (GM.N), which last week said it had temporarily halted paid advertising on Twitter.

☆ RSV vaccine race heats up with highly effective GSK shot
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Natalie Grover | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Data unveiled on Thursday showed GSK's (GSK.L) respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine was 82.6% effective in a keenly watched late-stage study involving older adults. The company is a key player in the race to develop a safe and effective RSV vaccine, which, if approved, is expected to generate billions in sales for its maker. If approved, Jefferies analysts have forecast $2.5 billion in global RSV vaccine peak sales in older adults for GSK. U.S. drugmaker Pfizer (PFE.N) in August disclosed positive Phase III data on its rival RSV vaccine in older adults. In trial participants with pre-existing conditions, the GSK vaccine was shown to be 94.6% effective, while in adults aged 70 to 79 it was 93.8% effective, the company said.

☆ Sen. David Perdue is raising big campaign money with DC lobbyists. He also traded stock shares of several of the companies the lobbyists represent.
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-09 | by ( Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The senator this year has bought or sold these companies' stock shares, according to an Insider analysis of federal records. The senator's stock trades have become a highly politicized issue, with Ossoff and Democratic allies spending millions of dollars on ads highlighting the controversy. Perdue sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of these companies' stock shares during 2020, an Insider analysis of Senate stock trade disclosure records indicates. The Perdue campaign and the fundraiser coordinator, Alice Perry of The Elevated Group, did not return several requests for comment. The Ossoff campaign declined to comment.

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