Today's Top Stories While announcing second-quarter earnings yesterday, Medicis Pharmaceuticals CEO Jonah Shacknai said he plans to get back to his normal schedule soon following a series of personal tragedies that kept him away from the office. Shacknai has been with his family since he lost both his 6-year-old son--who died after an accidental fall--and his girlfriend under "bizarre" and still unexplained circumstances. Now into the picture steps acquisition-hungry Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which, according to Wall Street Journal sources, has approached Medicis about a possible buyout. The WSJ notes Medicis stock has been underperforming lately as the investigation into the girlfriend's death continues, thereby making the company a potential bargain. So, Valeant might be able to pursue its goal of dominating the dermatology market by snapping up Medicis at an attractive price. Some Medicis products--such as the acne treatment Solodyn--would be natural additions to Valeant's stable. The timing might be right for Valeant for other reasons. During the conference call about Medicis' earnings, Shacknai sounded as if he might be open to a change, although he declined comment on the buyout talk. "At a time like this, you do a lot of introspective thinking," Shacknai said (as quoted by 10News). "We have obviously had an extraordinarily difficult time. We have undertaken some tragedies, some losses that one couldn't imagine experiencing in a lifetime." But then again, Shacknai took great pains to thank his co-workers and board of directors for their support, adding that these difficult weeks have made him appreciate his "cohesive, capable and experienced executive team" even more. He started Medicis himself back in 1988. "I expect to be on my normal calendar in the office doing all the things I had done previously," Shacknai promised during the call. - check out the WSJ piece
- see the 10News story
- get more from the San Diego Business Journal Related Articles:
Medicis shares drop on death at CEO's house
Medicis CEO's son dies after last week's accident Read more about: Valeant, Medicis Pharmaceutical, Jonah Shacknai
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| By Tracy Staton |  Comment |  Forward | < a href="http://links.mkt1985.com/ctt?kn=116&ms=MzU4NjQ5NQS2&r=MjM2NzI3MjAzMjcS1&b=0&j=MTEzMTU4OTM1S0&mt=1&rt=0" name="api_addthis_com_oexchange_37Ad5a84dEpFo7YvTn9A" > Twitter |  Facebook |  LinkedIn | World markets in free fall mode; rioting in London; intransigent U.S. politicians; no wonder investors are rushing to buy gold. Next, they'll be burying cash in coffee cans in the backyard. But actually, big drugmakers are one step ahead of the cash-hoarders. They've already been squirreling their money away. Billions of Big Pharma cash sits in figurative coffee cans around the world, waiting for executives to feel ready to spend. Some companies are saving up for the right acquisition to come along. Unfortunately for the U.S. economy, some plan to invest their money in emerging markets. Some are in the midst of share buybacks that will return a lot of their cash to shareholders as they try to soothe investors through their patent-cliff fears. But others are just saving up. And that's natural in the current environment. "Companies feel like they don't have strong confidence that things will be better in the next year," job-market watcher John Challenger told the Star-Ledger. "Why take risks right now?" Among the cash-rich drugmakers are Merck, which has stashed away an additional $1 billion this year. Johnson & Johnson has added another $3 billion to its stores, the newspaper reports, giving it some $27 billion on hand. Pfizer has beaucoups cash--$24 billion as of last week--especially in the wake of its $2.375 billion Capsugel sale. It's spending some of that money on shareholder dividends. - see the article from the Star-Ledger
- read the New York Post story Related Articles:
Should pharma refocus on customers, not shareholders?
Are drugmakers suffering from complexity?
Should Big Pharma spin off to goose shares? Read more about: Pfizer, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Big Pharma
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All the talk of deficit-cutting in Washington has drugmakers spooked--and has industry lobbyists working overtime. Pharma companies are fighting potential new Medicare drug rebates. Whispers about pulling the direct-to-consumer advertising tax deduction have surfaced again. As the next stage of cuts looms, who knows what other ideas Washington will come up with? And the U.S. cost moves come amid austerity measures elsewhere, especially in Europe, where even richer countries such as Germany have targeted drug prices for reductions. So, the U.S. threats seem even more dire; after all, prices have tended to be higher there than in other countries, and that's helped drugmakers suffering from price negotiations elsewhere. But as the Wall Street Journal Health Blog reports, analysts aren't as worried about U.S. austerity. Some of the potential cuts won't affect pharma directly: Medicare spending moves, for instance. If the government cuts reimbursements for cancer-drug therapy, oncologists will feel the hurt first. Sure, doctors may press for discounts up the line, but they can't mandate price cuts. What's more, some drugmakers are more insulated from government cuts. Roche and Novartis, for instance, Sanford C. Bernstein analysts said (as quoted by the WSJ). Merck, Sanofi and Pfizer may also have a measure of protection. - read the Health Blog post Related Articles:
Lilly chief scolds Germany for new pharma rules
CSL predicts profit drop on lower vax sales Read more about: Medicare, drug prices, Big Pharma, reimbursement
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| By Tracy Staton | Comment | Forward | < a href="http://links.mkt1985.com/ctt?kn=67&ms=MzU4NjQ5NQS2&r=MjM2NzI3MjAzMjcS1&b=0&j=MTEzMTU4OTM1S0&mt=1&rt=0" name="api_addthis_com_oexchange_VbBW7RIjhBhbaVsA0kJQ" >Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Roche's new melanoma treatment, dubbed Zelboraf, may get an early entry into the market. Sources tell Reuters the experimental drug could be approved as early as next week, months ahead of schedule. Apparently, some recently released data, which showed Zelboraf significantly cut the risk of death when added to chemotherapy, has inspired the FDA to move more quickly on the application. That would mean earlier-than-expected competition for Bristol-Myers Squibb's Yervoy, the breakthrough melanoma drug approved in March. Yervoy has been a boon for BMS, coming out of the gate with unexpectedly strong sales. Its sticker price of $120,000 hasn't appeared to deter uptake one bit, at least not yet. The two meds aren't exactly head-to-head rivals: Roche's drug targets a particular gene mutation that affects about half of all melanoma patients, so its potential market is somewhat smaller than Yervoy's, which works by stimulating patients' immune systems. In fact, they could become a melanoma-fighting cocktail if in-process trials prove the combination successful. Analysts have predicted that Zelboraf sales will peak at around $732 million, while Yervoy sales are expected to reach more than $1.4 billion. - read the Reuters story Related Articles:
Yervoy hits the market with $95M bang
Novartis, Roche blockbusters shine at ASCO
ASCO spotlight on Yervoy, Zytiga and more Read more about: Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Yervoy, melanoma
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| By Tracy Staton | Comment | Forward | < a href="http://links.mkt1985.com/ctt?kn=105&ms=MzU4NjQ5NQS2&r=MjM2NzI3MjAzMjcS1&b=0&j=MTEzMTU4OTM1S0&mt=1&rt=0" name="api_addthis_com_oexchange_5CPGejfmuM6GOgy4aR8A" >Twitter | Facebook |  LinkedIn | Genentech is selling off a small piece of its Oceanside, CA, campus to Gilead Sciences. The deal involves two buildings and 55 employees, all of whom will keep their jobs, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. That must be a relief to the Genentech folks, who well know that parent company Roche is in the middle of a cost-cutting push. According to the Union-Tribune, Gilead will pick up a facility where about 30 scientists work on processes for producing experimental drugs. The other building is a manufacturing plant where 25 employees turn out batches of drugs for clinical trials. Gilead plans to use its new facilities to make batches of an experimental cancer drug--that work is currently outsourced to a contract manufacturer--and to develop a production process for another in-development therapy. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Gilead said in a statement it expects the transfer to close during the third quarter. Genentech says the sale isn't the beginning of a wholesale unloading of Oceanside property. "Genentech is totally committed to Oceanside," spokeswoman Robin Snyder told the newspaper. "We want to be really clear about that." - see the Gilead release
- get the Union-Tribune story Related Articles:
DOJ subpoenas Gilead on manufacturing
Pfizer, Genentech and APP initiate recalls Read more about: Genentech, Gilead Sciences, California
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@FiercePharma: Study finds Revlimid's interaction w/Pgp affects blood levels, so dosing might need tweaks. 
