Most Clicked BIO SmartBrief Stories
1. Roche offers $43.7B for outstanding Genentech shares
BIO SmartBrief | Jul 21, 2008
Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding offered $43.7 billion to buy the remaining shares in Genentech in a move that would give it complete control over the U.S. biotech firm. Merging the strengths of both companies "will create significant value and result in benefits for patients, employees and shareholders," Roche Chairman Franz Humer said. Wall Street Journal, The (subscription required) (07/21) BBC (07/21)
2. Roche's offer for Genentech surprises workers, analysts
BIO SmartBrief | Jul 22, 2008
Genentech's executives have not commented on Roche Holding's $43.7 billion takeover bid, but some employees are concerned that the offer was too sudden and could unsettle the companies' partnership. Analysts expect Roche to make a higher bid, one that reflects the potential of the U.S. biotech firm's pipeline. Roche's move could encourage other major drugmakers to consider acquiring profitable biotech pioneers, industry experts said. Wall Street Journal, The (subscription required) (07/22) Reuters (07/21) CNNMoney.com (07/21)
3. RNAi gets boost with Roche acquisition of Mirus Bio
BIO SmartBrief | Jul 23, 2008
Roche Holding purchased Mirus Bio Corp. in a $125 million deal that grants it access to the U.S. firm's gene-silencing technology. The acquisition brings the Swiss drugmaker "closer to creating fully enabled RNAi therapeutics," a Roche official said. Reuters (07/22)
4. Genzyme, PTC sign $100M deal for genetic-disorder drug
BIO SmartBrief | Jul 18, 2008
Genzyme has partnered with PTC Therapeutics to develop and market PTC-124, a drug candidate in Phase II development for rare types of cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The deal calls for Genzyme to pay PTC $100 million up front and gives Genzyme exclusive rights to sell the drug outside the U.S. and Canada. American City Business Journals (07/17) Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.), The (07/17)
5. Roche's bid stirs fear about Genentech's public profile
BIO SmartBrief | Jul 23, 2008
Roche Holding's $43.7 billion takeover offer for Genentech raised concerns that the U.S. biotech company may disappear from public attention, following the example of MedImmune and other firms that were acquired by Big Pharma. Genentech may lose its identity if it "becomes simply a research subsidiary of Roche," an analyst said. The Swiss drugmaker said Genentech would continue to operate independently. Forbes (07/22)
6. Report: Biotech sector gets $1.1B in venture-capital funding
BIO SmartBrief | Jul 21, 2008
Venture capitalists invested $7.4 billion in 990 deals during the second quarter, with $1.1 billion going to the biotech industry, according to a report by the National Venture Capital Association and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The report, however, noted that venture-capital investments dropped slightly from $7.5 billion during the first quarter and that early-stage deals are drawing less funding. Washington Post, The (07/19)
7. SEC filing: Advanced Cell Technology may cease operations
BIO SmartBrief | Jul 18, 2008
Advanced Cell Technology may be forced to shut down operations if it fails to raise additional funding by July 31, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. "If we are unable to raise additional funding, we will be forced to either substantially scale back our business operations or curtail our business operations entirely," the company said in the filing. Wall Street Journal, The (subscription required) (07/17) Boston Globe, The (07/17)
8. Analysts expect more firms to outsource drug development
BIO SmartBrief | Jul 22, 2008
Drugmakers have been tapping contract research organizations to reduce development costs, and analysts predicted that clinical-trial outsourcing will double in the next five years. Within three years, larger CROs will acquire specialized companies to expand their capacity, prompting drug companies to sell parts of their business to them, analysts predicted. Guardian (London), The (07/20)
9. Scientist translates genetic activity into music
BIO SmartBrief | Jul 18, 2008
A Harvard Medical School researcher working on a computer program that can translate protein and gene activity into music found that harmonic chords indicate good health and discord signals disease. The program may help doctors detect diseases earlier by determining health-related changes in gene expression, the scientist said. MIT Technology Review (07/18)
10. FDA to launch fellowship to recruit younger staffers
BIO SmartBrief | Jul 21, 2008
The FDA announced a two-year fellowship program to attract physicians, chemists, statisticians and other science professionals to the agency, to help replace the hundreds of scientists who are retiring. About 30 to 40 people will be accepted for the first program, set to start in October, with some of the fellows expected to stay on as full-time FDA employees after they finish the program. CNNMoney.com (07/18)
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- Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc
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- Genentech
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- Roche Holding
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