PharmaDeals Review Business Commentaries
Dr Fintan Walton, PharmaVentures’ CEO, provides monthly comment on topical biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry issues. Includes access to Fintan’s commentaries broadcast on PharmaTelevision.
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The Strategy behind Galapagos' Expansion
From issue 77 of the PharmaDeals Review (2006-11-01)
In little more than a year, the genomics-based drug discovery company Galapagos has transformed itself from a 'target discovery and validation company' into the Galapagos Group, an organisation with facilities across Europe, the US and Japan, which has the capability of taking drug targets through to clinical candidates. This has largely been the result of two acquisitions: first, that of BioFocus in September 2005, and second, the purchase of the drug discovery service operations of Discovery Partners International in June 2006. In a recent interview with Fintan Walton, CEO of PharmaVentures, Onno van de Stolpe, the CEO of Galapagos, discussed the strategy behind these two deals and the significance of the company's ongoing collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). This article is based on that interview, and incorporates quotations from it.
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Therapy Focus: Spinal Cord Injury
From issue 77 of the PharmaDeals Review (2006-11-01)
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most difficult and complex traumas the human body can sustain. In the US, it is estimated that there are 10,000-12,000 new SCIs each year and that some 250,000 Americans are currently living with SCI. In addition, the cost of treatment and aftercare for sufferers is phenomenal: estimates suggest that the average lifetime costs directly attributable to SCI for an individual injured at age 25 range from US$0.6 to US$2.8 M. In this feature, we investigate the therapies that are available for people with SCI, why this is such a developing field and what the future holds for this relatively small but vital market sector.
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Drastic Measures: Ligand Sells All its Marketed Products
From issue 76 of the PharmaDeals Review (2006-10-01)
It is not often one hears of a company taking the decision to sell its entire commercial operations, but that is exactly what Ligand Pharmaceuticals did early in September 2006. Following months of shareholder uncertainty and years of non-profitability, Ligand finally decided to take the somewhat drastic measure of disposing of its five marketed products across two deals with King Pharmaceuticals and Eisai; a move that earned the company close to US$0.5 B in cash and will assist in its move to become an R&D and royalty company.
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A Hostile Genzyme and AnorMED Unrest: Changing Times for the Biotech Industry
From issue 76 of the PharmaDeals Review (2006-10-01)
AnorMED, of Vancouver, British Columbia, has become noteworthy of late as a company of firsts within the biotechnology industry. The company spent much of the initial half of 2006 embroiled in a public battle between its Board of Directors and one of its largest investors: the hedge fund Baker Brothers Advisors. Now Genzyme, one of the world's largest biotech companies, has made an unsolicited offer for AnorMED of US$8.55 a share in cash, valuing the company at US$380 M. This feature discusses the tactics employed by hedge funds and the possible reasoning behind Genzyme's hostile biotech-biotech offer.
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Paying the Right Price in Biotech Acquisitions
From issue 76 of the PharmaDeals Review (2006-10-01)
In this feature, Rupert Winckler, from Healthcare Investment Banking at Piper Jaffray, discusses the reasons why the forecast M&A (merger and acquisition) boom in the biotech industry never happened, the recent run of acquisitions by big pharma of development-stage biotechs, and how much these big pharmas are paying for the biotechs. The latter aspect is illustrated by data on target NPVs (net present values) vs. offer prices for a selection of private and public companies, showing the discounts (or premiums) to these target NPVs actually obtained.
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