European Parliament Elections: Rebuilding European Pharma's Competitive Agenda

For European business, the perils of the immediate past are being replaced by the promise of the future, as the financial crisis appears to recede, and the prospect beckons of new opportunities under a new European Parliament and a new European Commission. The European Parliament elections this month will bring many fresh faces to Brussels, and every lobby group in town is already planning how to win their attention and hopefully their favour. Of even more significance, a new European Commission is due to take office in November, replacing the timid and tired ten-year administration of José Manuel Barroso with — it is hoped — a team bursting with renewed dynamism and energy, and with a readiness to listen to well-formed policy pitches.

What next for Pfizer? Perhaps a return to the popular breakup idea

Bloomberg| Drew Armstrong 

With prospects for an AstraZeneca Plc deal falling apart, Pfizer Inc.  Chief Executive Officer Ian Read is facing a new question from investors: What now?

There aren’t other ripe targets offering the triple benefits of a lower tax rate in the U.K., cost savings and new cancer drugs, analysts say. Without AstraZeneca’s promise of new growth, Read, 60, will likely return to an earlier plan to further break up what was once the world’s biggest drugmaker.

Read has split Pfizer into at least two units internally, with the idea they may one day be spun off on their own, potentially giving investors a choice between one business stocked with brand-name drugs and a second with older products.

While Read may have failed with AstraZeneca, he’s gained a reputation for doing what’s needed to please investors. Pfizer’s shares have gained 75 percent since he took over as CEO in December 2010. “He’ll do anything to get the stock price up,” said Jeff Jonas, an investor with Gabelli & Co. in Rye, New York. “As long as he continues to have that view, he’ll be fine.”