Bio/Pharma Business

Interphex2007, New York, NY (Apr. 25)-The future of the life science industry lies in biotechnology, and the industry is set to see more heated debates on healthcare and drug safety, according to G. Steven Burrill, chief executive officer of Burrill & Company, who presented today?s keynote address, "The Future of the Life Science Industry."

Interphex2007, New York, NY (Apr. 24)?Reflecting the advances of the pharmaceutical industry as a whole and the success of individual companies in the growth of the pharmaceutical industry, Bill Cook, founder and CEO of Cook Group Inc. in a keynote address at Interphex2007 described the benefits of keeping a company private and touched on the future of medical devices.

Toronto (Apr. 17)-Patheon, Inc. plans to restructure its current network of six pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in southern Ontario, Canada as part of its strategy to focus on manufacturing prescription pharmaceutical products and to improve its profitability.

Chalfont St. Giles, UK (Apr. 16)-GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric, acquired Wave Biotech LLC, a supplier of disposable manufacturing technologies and processing equipment for the biopharmaceutical industry.

Forty years ago, investors and business speculators shuddered at the prospect of working with India's pharmaceutical industry. The industry was plagued by archaic patent laws and insufficient infrastructure, and only multinational companies (MNCs) were able to exploit its crude resources and monopolistic legal framework. Struggling in the shadows of these MNCs were the Indian pharmaceutical entrepreneurs and a handful of producers. Because more than 70% of the pharmaceutical market value was in the hands of MNCs, India's indigenous pharmaceutical industry was floundering. Its amount of exports was negligible, and the domestic market outlook was bleak because of onerous government regulation.

The pharmaceutical industry plans moderate increases in spending for equipment and machinery in 2007 as expenditures hold steady.

As big pharmaceutical companies restructure and reevaluate the way they do business, contract research and manufacturing organizations could reap greater financial rewards.

Berlin and Basel, Switzerland (Mar. 26)-Bayer Schering Pharma AG and Novartis reached an agreement over multiple sclerosis therapy ?Betaseron.?

Paris (Mar. 15)-Sanofi-Aventis plans to close its manufacturing site in Waterford, Ireland.

Bangalore, India, (March 14)-Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is expanding its research and development (R&D) capabilities in India.

Kenilworth, NJ (Mar. 12)-Schering-Plough Corporation agreed to acquire Organon BioSciences N.V., the human and animal health businesses of Akzo Nobel N.V., for EUR 11 billion ($14.4 billion) in cash.

Gurgaon, Haryana, India (Mar. 13)-Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited confirmed that it has made a nonbinding bid for the generic drug business of Merck KGaA.

Berlin, Germany (Mar. 2)-Estimating it would save approximately EUR 700 million ($917.7 million), Bayer HealthCare will integrate the activities of its Pharma division with those of the former Schering AG, Germany.

As big pharmaceutical companies restructure and reevaluate the way they do business, contract research and manufacturing organizations could reap greater financial rewards.

London (Feb. 22)-AstraZeneca unveiled further details of its plan to reduce staff at certain production facilities and announced a $120-million investment in a new process research and development (PR&D) facility in the United Kingdom.

Princeton, NJ (Feb. 15, 2007)-Ranbaxy Inc., confirmed that federal officials conducted a search of its New Jersey offices on Feb. 14, 2007 and commented on its reported plan to acquire Merck's generics business.

InformexUSA, San Francisco (Feb. 14?16)-Several contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) and technology providers used InformexUSA to announce plans to expand manufacturing capabilities, increase service offerings, and ramp up other investments.

InformexUSA, San Francisco (Feb. 12?Feb. 14)-Custom manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates are gathered at InformexUSA this week, with companies announcing investment plans and unveiling new technology

InformexUSA, San Francisco (Feb. 14)-NPIL Pharma unveiled a $100-million investment program in formulation development and manufacturing services.

InformexUSA, San Francisco (Feb. 14)-Almac Sciences plans to collaborate for cytotoxic fill-and-finish services with the Center for Pharmaceutical Science and Technology (CPST) at the University of Kentucky.

St. Louis, MO, (Feb. 8)-SAFC, the custom manufacturing and fine chemicals unit of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, is seeking to build a footprint in Asia, eying possible acquisitions in India and China.

Osaka, Japan (Feb. 2)-Tanabe Seiyaku Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation agreed to merge, with the closing planned for merger scheduled to take effect Oct. 1, 2007.

Sixty deals were completed in 2006, with a total value of $2 billion.

Tokyo (Jan. 18)-Tanabe Seiyaku Co. Ltd. confirmed it has had discussions with Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation over a possible merger between the two companies, but that no definite decision has been made for such a deal.

London (Feb. 1)-AstraZeneca PLC unveiled a plan to improve asset utilization within its global supply chain that involves rationalizing production assets and cutting staff. The company made the announcement as part of its fourth quarter and full-year 2007 financial results.

The recent struggles of Cardinal Health's and Patheon's contract dose manufacturing businesses offer a lesson on good business practices.

Cardinal Health (www.cardinal.com) agreed to sell its contract services unit, Pharmaceutical Technologies and Services (PTS), to The Blackstone Group (New York, NY, www.blackstone.com) for roughly $3.3 billion in cash.

Indianapolis, IN (Jan. 11)-Eli Lilly and Company announced several strategic changes to its global manufacturing operations. The changes include termination of construction of a planned insulin manufacturing plant in Virginia, staff reductions in its operations for small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and investments in manufacturing biotech-based drug products

Darmstadt Germany (Jan. 8)-Merck KGaA closed on its roughly CHF 16.6 billion ($13.3 billion) deal to acquire a majority stake in the European biotechnology company Serono (Geneva, Switzerland), officially launched Merck Serono SA as a new entity within Merck KGaA, outlined its integration strategy, and announced plans to divest its generics business.

Berlin and Leverkusen, Germany (Dec. 29)? Bayer Schering Pharma AG was officially launched as a new company following the acquisition of Schering AG (Berlin, Germany) by the Bayer Group (Leverkusen, Germany).