Hot News: Actavis Spurned $15 Billion Offer From Mylan, but will take over Warner Chilcott

Actavis Inc. (ACT) rejected a cash-and-stock offer from fellow generic drugmaker Mylan Inc. for $15 billion, deciding instead to pursue talks to take over Warner Chilcott (WCRX) Plc, said people familiar with the matter. 

The Mylan offer valued Actavis at $120 a share and would have created the world’s largest generic drugmaker, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. Mylan and Warner Chilcott both approached Actavis in recent weeks to discuss potential deals when news of merger talks with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX) leaked, said these people.

Mylan Inc., based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, made its offer in a letter to Actavis Inc. on May 7, one of the people said. 

Actavis is discussing a bid of more than $5 billion for Warner Chilcott, said another person. A deal could be completed in the next couple of weeks, that person said. 

Mylan, based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, made its offer in a letter to Actavis on May 7 that emphasized the cost savings that two large generic drugmakers could get by merging, one of the people said. Actavis rejected the offer, in which Mylan was offering more stock than cash, a couple of days later, the person said.

Actavis shares rose 1.2 percent to $121.90 at 1:34 p.m. in New York, after earlier climbing as much as 4.8 percent. Mylan advanced 0.8 percent to $29.43, while Warner Chilcott was little changed at $18.89. 

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA), an Israel-based drug company, has also looked at Actavis, said one of the people. Teva is more keen on smaller acquisitions and isn’t likely to pursue a bid, one of the people said. 

Warner Chilcott Process 

Representatives at Mylan, Teva and Actavis declined to comment. An official at Warner Chilcott didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment. 

More than a year ago, Warner Chilcott disclosed that it was in discussions with suitors and conducting a strategic review. Actavis was among those that considered an offer for the company during that process, said another person. 

In August, Warner Chilcott revealed that the talks had ended and that it would renew a share-buyback program and pay a special dividend, saying the measures would be more rewarding for shareholders. 

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Pfizer sells Viagra on its website in a drug industry first

Pfizer is testing the online-sales waters with a new program to sell Viagra directly to consumers. It's a natural choice: Makers of erectile dysfunction drugs have been working on packaging and formulation changes to make it easier--and more discreet--for men to use them. This new channel is about as discreet as you can get for a prescription drug. As the Associated Press notes, men don't even have to face a pharmacist.

It's not the first time a drugmaker has experimented with direct sales, but it's the first still-on-patent drug to be distributed this way. Pfizer itself tested a program it called Lipitor For You, which allowed brand-loyal patients to enroll online and receive the newly off-patent cholesterol drug directly from a specialty pharmacy. The company phased that program out last spring.

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Is GlaxoSmithKline prepping older products for spinoff? New division announced along with profits drop, sales slide

GlaxoSmithKline's waiting game continues. The U.K.-based drugmaker posted disappointing profits for the first quarter as sales took a backwards step, partly because of revenue lost in the sale of over-the-counter products. Now, the company is essentially in a holding pattern, counting on new drug approvals this year to reverse its long sales slide. So, analysts' ears pricked up when CEO Andrew Witty said it would sequester some older drug brands in a new division by next January. Is a spin-off coming?

GSK is already selling off two drink brands, saying they no longer fit with its global consumer-health aspirations. It unloaded a set of underperforming over-the-counter products last year. Creating a new, global established products business--comprising such big-name drugs as the heartburn remedies Tagamet and Zantac, and the migraine fighter Imitrex--of course raises the question of a spin-off, particularly because investors have responded so strongly to Pfizer's  recent slim-down efforts, including an IPO for its animal health business Zoetis. The sales of those to-be-gathered established products last year amounted to about £3 billion. "[L]ooks like a precursor to a spin-off to us," Jefferies analysts said (as quoted by Reuters).

Which Big Biotechs are hitting the gas pedal on R&D spending?

FiercePharma | By John Carroll 

The R&D numbers for the top 10 biotechs may only amount to a fraction of what you'll find in Big Pharma. But unlike the giants, which are trying to keep a lid on multibillion-dollar budgets, you'll find a much faster crowd when you turn your gaze to the biotechs. All 10 reported increases in their research spending for last year. And a few of them slammed their foot on the gas pedal.

Altogether the top 10 biotechs spent $11.8 billion on R&D in 2012, according to our research, a hefty 15% average increase over their 2011 performance. Compare that to the stable year-over-year record in Big Pharma, where doing more with the same amount of cash has become an industry mantra.

Drugmakers Including Bayer AG , AstraZeneca PLC and Johnson & Johnson, Pool R&D in $265 Million EU Project

Seven European drugmakers are to pool their research efforts with academic scientists and smaller companies in a new 196 million euros ($265 million) project designed to find tomorrow's medicines.

The project, backed by the European Union, is the latest example of the drugs industry exploring ways to share early-stage research, effectively taking lessons from the kind of open innovation that gave the world Linux software.

As part of the European Lead Factory scheme, pharmaceutical companies will contribute at least 300,000 chemical compounds from their in-house collections and a further 200,000 will be developed jointly by academia and small firms.

The idea is to use crowdsourcing to generate novel ideas for tackling certain diseases, which can then be tested by screening compounds using shared pharmaceutical industry know-how.

"It's a big change for companies because their compound libraries have usually been kept very secret," said Ton Rijnders, scientific director of Dutch non-profit group TI Pharma, who is helping to run the project.

"They are doing this because it is cheaper than building ever larger libraries on their own - and partnering with academics gives them access to innovative ideas."

The seven drugmakers involved in the scheme are Bayer , AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Lundbeck , Merck KGaA, UCB and Janssen, the European arm of Johnson & Johnson. Academic partners include universities in Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark.

 

The programme is supported by the EU-led Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), which supports early-stage collaborative research in conjunction with academia.

The IMI was set up five years ago in a bid to re-establish Europe as the "pharmacy of the world" and close a growing gap with United States and Asia on drug research. For academic researchers, the scheme will offer unprecedented access to industry chemical collections. Industry, meanwhile, should benefit from having independent scientists taking a fresh look at their assets.

 

Drugmakers often have scores of compounds sitting in warehouses or freezers with no apparent use, following initially promising tests that led nowhere. But there are many examples of drugs originally meant for one disease being repurposed for another. One high-profile case is AZT, originally an unsuccessful cancer drug that became the first effective treatment for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

 

The U.S. National Institutes of Health last May launched a similar pilot project to test experimental drugs provided by manufacturers and several other public-private drug research partnerships are at various stages of development.

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ICAP: Μείωση 39% στην αγορά ιατροτεχνολογικών προϊόντων την περίοδο 2010-2012

Σημαντική μείωση παρουσίασε την τελευταία τριετία η εγχώρια αγορά ιατροτεχνολογικών προϊόντων, γεγονός που οδήγησε σε αύξηση των ζημιών. Σύμφωνα με τα συμπεράσματα κλαδικής μελέτης της ICAP, το πρόγραμμα ανταλλαγής ομολόγων επηρέασε σε μεγάλο βαθμό την χρηματοοικονομική εικόνα του κλάδου το 2011. 

Ο κλάδος των ιατροτεχνολογικών προϊόντων καλύπτει μια ευρύτατη γκάμα ειδών και περιλαμβάνει από προϊόντα μιας χρήσης (π.χ. επίδεσμοι, γάζες κλπ.) μέχρι μηχανήματα υψηλής τεχνολογίας (π.χ. μαγνητικοί και αξονικοί τομογράφοι κλπ.). Η συγκεκριμένη αγορά η οποία εμφάνιζε υψηλούς ρυθμούς ανάπτυξης μέχρι το 2009, ενώ έντονη υποχώρηση παρατηρείται το διάστημα 2010-2012. Όπως αναφέρεται στην μελέτη, ο κλάδος αποτελείται από μεγάλο αριθμό εισαγωγικών και περιορισμένο αριθμό παραγωγικών επιχειρήσεων. 

Η ζήτηση των εξεταζόμενων προϊόντων προέρχεται κυρίως από τα κρατικά και ιδιωτικά νοσηλευτικά ιδρύματα, τα ιδιωτικά διαγνωστικά κέντρα, τα εργαστήρια, τα ιατρεία κλπ. Επίσης, για ορισμένες κατηγορίες προϊόντων η ζήτηση προέρχεται άμεσα από τους τελικούς χρήστες. Αναφερόμενη στην εξέλιξη και διάρθρωση της αγοράς, η Διευθύντρια Οικονομικών – Κλαδικών Μελετών της ICAP Group, κ. Σταματίνα Παντελαίου, αναφέρει ότι η εγχώρια αγορά ιατροτεχνολογικών προϊόντων παρουσίασε υψηλούς ρυθμούς ανάπτυξης κατά την περίοδο 1995-2009, σημειώνοντας μέσο ετήσιο ρυθμό αύξησης 12,3%. Ωστόσο την περίοδο 2010-2012 η αγορά κατέγραψε μείωση κατά 39%. Ο δημόσιος τομέας απορροφά διαχρονικά το μεγαλύτερο ποσοστό της εγχώριας αγοράς και σύμφωνα με εκτιμήσεις υπολογίζεται στο 70% τα τελευταία χρόνια, έναντι 30% του ιδιωτικού. 

Αναφορικά με την κατανομή της συνολικής αγοράς ιατροτεχνολογικών προϊόντων, εκτιμάται ότι το μεγαλύτερο μερίδιο καλύπτεται από τις κατηγορίες των “In Vitro” διαγνωστικών αντιδραστηρίων και αναλυτών, του αναλώσιμου υγειονομικού υλικού και των ορθοπεδικών ειδών. Συνολικά οι τρεις αυτές κατηγορίες κάλυψαν το 47% της αγοράς για το 2011 Τα τελευταία έτη οι διάφορες παρεμβάσεις για τη μείωση των δημοσίων δαπανών υγείας (όπως η διενέργεια κεντρικών διαγωνισμών, η δημιουργία του ΕΟΠΥΥ, η λειτουργία του παρατηρητηρίου τιμών, η μείωση των τιμών), επηρέασαν σε σημαντικό την εξέλιξη των πωλήσεων των εταιρειών του κλάδου.

 Επίσης, οι μεγάλες καθυστερήσεις πληρωμών από πλευράς δημοσίου, δημιούργησαν σοβαρά προβλήματα ρευστότητας σε ορισμένες εταιρείες. Περαιτέρω ιδιαίτερα αρνητική εξέλιξη για τον κλάδο ήταν το πρόγραμμα ανταλλαγής ομολόγων στο PSI, καθώς συμπεριλήφθησαν σε αυτό και τα ομόλογα με τα οποία είχαν εξοφληθεί οι εταιρείες του κλάδου για τα χρέη των νοσοκομείων του ΕΣΥ της περιόδου 2007-2009. 

Οι παραπάνω εξελίξεις, έχουν δημιουργήσει ανακατατάξεις και έντονη κινητικότητα στον κλάδο τα τελευταία έτη. Ορισμένες εταιρείες έχουν αναγκαστεί να περιορίσουν σημαντικά τις δραστηριότητές τους, ή και να τεθούν εκτός αγοράς, λόγω των σημαντικών προβλημάτων ρευστότητας που αντιμετώπισαν. Κάποιες πολυεθνικές εταιρείες επέλεξαν να μην έχουν αυτόνομη παρουσία και αποχώρησαν από την ελληνική αγορά, ενώ ανακατατάξεις παρατηρούνται και σε ότι αφορά τα προϊόντα και τους οίκους που εμπορεύονται κάποιες εταιρείες. Στα πλαίσια της μελέτης πραγματοποιήθηκε επίσης εκτεταμένη χρηματοοικονομική ανάλυση των επιχειρήσεων του κλάδου βάσει επιλεγμένων αριθμοδεικτών. 

Επίσης, συνετάχθη ομαδοποιημένος ισολογισμός βάσει αντιπροσωπευτικού δείγματος εταιρειών. Με βάση τον ομαδοποιημένο ισολογισμό από δείγμα 120 επιχειρήσεων (εισαγωγικών και παραγωγικών) ιατροτεχνολογικών προϊόντων, παρατηρείται ότι το σύνολο του ενεργητικού τους μειώθηκε κατά 20,5% το 2011/10. Τα συνολικά ίδια κεφάλαια των επιχειρήσεων του δείγματος παρουσίασαν κατακόρυφη υποχώρηση κατά 41,4%. 

Οι συνολικές πωλήσεις τους μειώθηκαν κατά 20,1% και τα μικτά κέρδη κατά 20,3%. Το γεγονός αυτό, σε συνδυασμό με την αύξηση των χρηματοοικονομικών δαπανών, είχε ως αποτέλεσμα την εμφάνιση αρνητικού λειτουργικού αποτελέσματος το 2011. Τα παραπάνω, σε συνδυασμό με την αύξηση των μη λειτουργικών εξόδων οδήγησαν στη δραστική επιδείνωση του ζημιογόνου αποτελέσματος (κατά 200 εκατ.). Αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι μόνο 49 από τις 120 εταιρείες ήταν κερδοφόρες το 2011.

E-details soar as pharmas slash sales forces

Reps remain the center of the universe when it comes to professional promotion, but new data show that non-personal promotion is gaining ground. 

A Cegedim Strategic Data (CSD) promotion audit with doctors has found spending on outreach to healthcare professionals through digital channels rose 40% worldwide in 2012.

In the US, e-detailing (one-on-one), email and e-meetings (group sessions) accounted for $534 million in promotional spending for the fourth quarter of 2011, and rose to $879 million in Q4 2012—an increase of 65%. 

In Europe, pharmas spent $90 million on those channels in Q4 2012—an increase of 40% over the same period for 2011. At the same time, sales forces were cut 10% in the US and 12% in the top five EU markets. “There are no real surprises with Cegedim's data,” said June Dawson, managing director at Publicis Health Communications Group, Europe, “as the numbers confirm what we see and have been saying for the past five years. We have been talking about sales and marketing transformation for awhile, but now it's very clearly happening.”

“Pharma marketing in Europe is not lagging as it is fundamentally different,” explains Dawson, “In emerging markets there seems to be more of a focus on tactical quick wins with mobile, social and sales force effectiveness. This shift from emerged to emerging is only going to increase, not reduce.”

Larry Mickelberg, Chief Digital Officer at Havas Worldwide, sees nowhere to go but up for digital channels: “There can be no doubt that market forces and customer media behaviors favor, and will continue to favor, a rise in the importance of digital channels for healthcare and pharmaceutical brands.”

These three segments are still a small drop in the bucket--CSD projects total, worldwide promotional spending at $90 billion for 2012. That said, such a rise in one media channel could also signal a rise of digital budgets overall as marketers and pharma companies alike continue to employ a more holistic approach, favoring multiple channels.

“For the past years, there has been significant budgeting for spend in digital channels…this will continue to increase,” said Mickelberg, “but mere discussions of volume of spend will cease to be any real indicator of the health or vibrancy of marketing efforts in this space. Successful efforts will be service-based experiences that are consistent…and that propel audiences across touchpoints and across the health journey.”

E-detailing grew 73.9% from 2011 to 2012. That rise, Mickelberg said, is also seen in his business: “We do see e-detailing continuing to rise due largely to cuts in sales forces in some regions, but even more from the near ubiquitous use of iPad and other tablet platforms by reps worldwide.”

“On the HCP front, we're also seeing the rise of new customer service digital experiences,” Mickelberg said. “There is clearly a great deal of resource and focus on HCP digital experiences. We are just scratching the surface with the first generation of how these platforms will continue to radically change the rep/physician dynamic.”

While the future of e-detailing seems promising, e-mailing may be scrapped for other, more personal, approaches—according to Mickelberg: “In general, I would disagree that e-mailing is growing that sharply, certainly for our clients, as we believe there are more effective means to convey personalized information, motivation, service and support.”

Promotional spend continues to accelerate in Asia, too. China saw a total marketing spend increase of 20%, to nearly $2 billion, according to CSD. 

Jerry Maynor, marketing and business development director for the US at Cegedim, told MM&M, "In the US, traditionally defined online details and meetings are growing slowly while in markets like Japan, they are becoming an important part of promotion. E-details in Japan, delivered by appointment, can comprise up to a third of promotional activity for some major brands.”