Derek Lowe, an Arkansan by birth, got his BA from Hendrix College and his PhD in organic chemistry from Duke before spending time in Germany on a Humboldt Fellowship on his post-doc. He's worked for several major pharmaceutical companies since 1989 on drug discovery projects against schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, diabetes, osteoporosis and other diseases.
To contact Derek email him directly: derekb.lowe@gmail.com
Twitter: Dereklowe
Genzyme's stock has jumped straight up this afternoon, and word is that they're the target of the rumored Sanofi-Aventis takeover move. This is being attributed to "people with knowledge of the matter", which is generally shorthand for "people that we know are highly placed insiders but that we've agreed not to name".
You have to think that if GENZ hadn't had their manufacturing woes that this wouldn't be happening.
In the way of business cycles, traditional Pharma has run the course of being at the top of its game, and now finds itself in a decade or more of downward adjustment. There will have to be more downsizing, job losses and continued consolidations as major players feel obligated to fiddle and rework the business models.
Nothing will substitute for innovative, profitable new drugs, where the numbers are becoming year by year. In the end, big money will increasingly chase those increasingly smaller number of new entities.
Tough game against the Marlins, yesterday Derek! At least you weren't credited with a loss, just a no-decision cause Wagner was unable to close the game.
#5, Pharma is betting that biogenerics and emerging markets will go a long way to substituting for innovative drugs. In the decades it will take for those initiatives to run their course, maybe Pharma will get its innovation mojo back?
I guess it depends on the barriers to entry for biogenerics. It is obvious that they are higher than small molecule pharmaceuticals, so it will favor companies that already have the infrastructure for manufacturing biogenerics and have the liquidity to fund the trials.
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Derek should also talk about baseball instead of just the phrama industry. Pretty unusual that a blog run by an MLB pitcher doesn't even mention baseball.
The word I got from PharmaGossip is that Sanofi's offer was rebuffed by Genzyme.
(Reuters) - Biotechnology company Genzyme Corp (GENZ.O) has rebuffed a takeover approach by France's Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA), Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.
Shares of Genzyme, which specializes in expensive medicines for rare genetic disorders, rose more than 8 percent to their highest level since February 2009. Such a rejection could signal the U.S. company will hold firm unless it receives a higher offer from Sanofi or another drugmaker.
Sanofi and Genzyme declined to comment on the reported rebuff.
Sources told Reuters on Friday that Sanofi had approached Genzyme two weeks earlier with an informal bid to buy the company and was awaiting a response. On the same day, Sanofi cut its earnings outlook for the year after U.S. regulators approved a generic version of blood thinner Lovenox, Sanofi's No. 2 product.
1. Anonymous on July 23, 2010 10:27 PM writes...
I heard there was a recent ca. 50% reduction in their chemistry staff at the Bridgewater site. Anyone heard anything?
Permalink to Comment2. Anonymous on July 23, 2010 10:40 PM writes...
Sanofi Aventis Bridgewater NJ site that is!
Permalink to Comment3. Anonymous on July 23, 2010 10:41 PM writes...
Sanofi Aventis Bridgewater NJ site that is!
Permalink to Comment4. petros on July 24, 2010 2:20 AM writes...
Further support of such moves from the FT
Permalink to Commenthttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7ba187b4-96b1-11df-9caa-00144feab49a.html
5. Watcher on July 24, 2010 9:22 AM writes...
In the way of business cycles, traditional Pharma has run the course of being at the top of its game, and now finds itself in a decade or more of downward adjustment. There will have to be more downsizing, job losses and continued consolidations as major players feel obligated to fiddle and rework the business models.
Nothing will substitute for innovative, profitable new drugs, where the numbers are becoming year by year. In the end, big money will increasingly chase those increasingly smaller number of new entities.
Permalink to Comment6. MLBpitcher_and_MedicinalChemist on July 24, 2010 2:05 PM writes...
Tough game against the Marlins, yesterday Derek! At least you weren't credited with a loss, just a no-decision cause Wagner was unable to close the game.
Permalink to Comment7. Mike G on July 24, 2010 6:54 PM writes...
#5, Pharma is betting that biogenerics and emerging markets will go a long way to substituting for innovative drugs. In the decades it will take for those initiatives to run their course, maybe Pharma will get its innovation mojo back?
Permalink to Comment8. MLBpitcher_and_MedicinalChemist on July 24, 2010 8:25 PM writes...
@Mike G.
I guess it depends on the barriers to entry for biogenerics. It is obvious that they are higher than small molecule pharmaceuticals, so it will favor companies that already have the infrastructure for manufacturing biogenerics and have the liquidity to fund the trials.
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Derek should also talk about baseball instead of just the phrama industry. Pretty unusual that a blog run by an MLB pitcher doesn't even mention baseball.
Permalink to Comment9. eurail pass on July 25, 2010 8:16 PM writes...
Doesn't surprise me one bit.
Permalink to Comment10. David P on July 26, 2010 3:06 PM writes...
The word I got from PharmaGossip is that Sanofi's offer was rebuffed by Genzyme.
(Reuters) - Biotechnology company Genzyme Corp (GENZ.O) has rebuffed a takeover approach by France's Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA), Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.
Shares of Genzyme, which specializes in expensive medicines for rare genetic disorders, rose more than 8 percent to their highest level since February 2009. Such a rejection could signal the U.S. company will hold firm unless it receives a higher offer from Sanofi or another drugmaker.
Sanofi and Genzyme declined to comment on the reported rebuff.
Sources told Reuters on Friday that Sanofi had approached Genzyme two weeks earlier with an informal bid to buy the company and was awaiting a response. On the same day, Sanofi cut its earnings outlook for the year after U.S. regulators approved a generic version of blood thinner Lovenox, Sanofi's No. 2 product.
Permalink to Comment