Pfizer Tests Waters For Major Acquisitions (PFE, AMGN, WYE, GILD, BMY, LLY, SGP, CELG, GENZ, BIIB)
It hasn’t taken long for the speculation machine to roll down Wall Street in 2009. A report from the FT over the weekend shows that Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is willing to acquire some large rivals. We believe that this is a mere testing of the waters by the company now that its troubles have been persistent, but we also gave a whole list of these stocks in pharma and biotech which we feel are large enough to make an impact at the company. You can see our full synopsis on this at 24/7 Wall St. and here is the list of the names we included:
Stock (Ticker) MktCap
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $62.5B
Wyeth (WYE) $51.1B
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $47.5B
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) $47.3B
Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) $46.1B
Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) $28.2B
Celgene Corporation (CELG) $25.9B
Genzyme Corp. (GENZ) $18.4B
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $14.1B
JON OGG
January 5, 2009
E.D. Drugs Causing Amnesia?
There have always been some concerns about side-effects from drugs that treat erectile dysfunction or E.D. Some are sudden blood pressure drops, hearing loss, and some are erections lasting four hours or more. There are also other side-effects, but the newest may have a new twist: TEMPORARY AMNESIA!
A labeling approval change was approved this month from the FDA that will also list amnesia as one of the side-effects in many erectile dysfunction drugs from major pharmaceutical companies. While this is a rare condition, it is called “transient global amnesia.” Here are the companies with changes:
- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) for Viagra
- Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) for Cialis.
After looking around the news and doing some back-dating, it looks like the FDA already made some label changes in Bayer’s Levitra, marketed in the U.S. by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and
Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP). You can see the notes on WebMD here.
What is odd is that it is not even clear and doesn’t seem to have been proven that E.D. drugs are responsible for the temporary amnesia. As most E.D. users are older in age and/or because so much is tied to blockage, it might even be other issues entirely. Over that we can not speculate, or are last refraining from it. The drug companies haven’t said that there is a definite answer either.
Think of the good news though. This could become a great excuse builder in the world. Maybe the big head isn’t the big thinker for men after all. This might also be the best argument ever that two-fers are crucial so that you are sure to remember what you did.
“Honey, I know those pictures are proof I was caught cheating. But I can’t remember it!!!!!”
That’s about it, because any more might be inappropriate for a business site.
Have a good weekend, even you don’t remember it all.
JON C. OGG
AUGUST 22, 2008
Is Fish Oil & Red Yeast Rice Better Than Statins in Cholesterol Treatment?
University studies and private hospital studies are frequently deemed as difficult for Joe Q. Public to get in on from an investment or financial angle. But sometimes there is an opportunity to go against other established drug companies with blockbuster or mega-blockbuster drugs.
What if you were absolutely convinced scientifically that Red Rice Yeast & Fish Oil administered in certain controlled doses combined with education and regular habit reviews was as effective or more effective than traditional statins and pharmaceutical grade cholesterol treatments. While this is likely going to depend heavily on genetics and depend heavily upon the trial groups, a study is out that showed some phenomenal results that compared this head to head with patients taking Zocor, the statin from Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK).
We want to stipulate that this is a small group and that it really looks like the results may be skewed because of behavior. But the results area start and in an extreme could lead to many forms of alternative treatments.
The Mayo Clinic has issued some data that will at worst lead to much broader study comparisons. The extreme case could be catastrophic for major pharmaceutical drug makers of statins as these are billions of dollars per year in the U.S. alone.
In the July issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, a group of researchers from Pennsylvania examine whether an alternative approach to treating high blood cholesterol may provide an effective treatment option for patients who are unable or unwilling to take statins.
Researchers followed 74 patients with high blood cholesterol who met standard criteria for using statin therapy, and they were then randomly assigned to either the alternative treatment group or the statin group and followed for three months.
The alternative treatment group participants received daily fish oil and red yeast rice supplements, AND they were enrolled in a 12-week multidisciplinary lifestyle program that involved weekly 3.5-hour educational meetings led by a cardiologist, dietitian, exercise physiologist and several alternative or relaxation practitioners. The statin group received 40 milligrams of Zocor daily, as well as printed materials about diet and exercise recommendations.
At the end of the three-month period, participants from both groups underwent blood cholesterol testing to determine the percentage change in LDL cholesterol. There was a reduction in LDL cholesterol levels in both groups, but here is the breakdown of the results:
- The alternative treatment group saw a 42.4% reduction, and the statin group saw a 39.6% reduction.
- Members of the alternative therapy group also had a substantial reduction in triglycerides, another form of fat found in the blood, and lost more weight.
The doctor quoted acknowledged that a larger, multi-center trial with longer follow-up is necessary to determine long-term compliance with the alternative regimen. It noted that previous studies involving diet and exercise have found a high rate of patients are either unable to or unwilling to follow lifestyle recommendations. This study also noted that the “excellent adherence” in the alternative group was undoubtedly related to the intensive follow-up, education and support provided for this group.
This is an interesting finding when you consider the behavioral aspect. Those who have to attend meetings and those who stick to a regimen do well. But giving prescription drugs and just some educational material might not be the best bets here. How many of us are lazy? Many. How many of us get around to reading everything we are supposed to read? How many of us don’t want to bother? Many, on both counts.
I am no doctor but there are certain things that become evident if you have gotten the chance to deal with doctors and medicine. Without trying to damn an entire nation’s habits, it has grown more and more obvious that Americans would rather just take a magic pill rather than get to the heart of the matter (no pun intended). Diet and exercise alone unfortunately doesn’t work for everyone. Some are just pre-disposed to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or heart and arterial problems.
What percentage of those with high cholesterol and other physical diseases or issues would be helped with diet and exercise? The answer is many, albeit an undefined amount. Those will vary greatly depending on many factors from your race, your weight, your family history, your occupation, your general health levels, your activity, and your diet.
Regardless of how effective fish oil and red rice yeast combined with follow-on education and monitoring works, it is highly unlikely that Joe Public in America is going to make such a huge jump where everyone becomes fit and where everyone actually does what they are supposed to do (even what the KNOW they should do).
But this leaves a real opening here, and one that isn’t good for Big Pharma. Zocor is off of its exclusivity, but Merck recorded $876.5 million in 2007 sales from it (down from $2.8 Billion in 2006 when it had exclusivity). Merck’s Cozaar/Hyzaar to treat blood pressure saw $3.35 Billion in 2007 sales, and while that isn’t part of this study you know that many of the benefits in other regimens can further aid in this fight as well. Guess how much Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) shows Lipitor’s 2007 sales to lower LDL cholesterol. The answer is $12.675 Billion. Over at AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Crestor counted for nearly $2.8 Billion in 2007 sales.
It would be highly unlikely that such a study, even of broadened out significantly and even if results continued to show superiority, would kill drugs in the statin class to lower LDL cholesterol. We are a nation addicted to prescriptions. But the key here seems to be the rigorous “behavior modification” on top of the use of “alternative regimens” or traditional prescription medicines is key.
Now imagine if we could apply the same theory over to Type II diabetes. OK, time to get off the soapbox.
Jon Ogg
July 8, 2008
Pfizer & Ranbaxy Kiss & Make Up on Lipitor & Caduet Patents
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Ranbaxy Laboraories of India have settled their Lipitor patent litigation. The companies have entered into an agreement to settle substantially all of their patent litigation worldwide involving Lipitor.
Under the terms of the agreement, Ranbaxy will have a license to sell generic versions of Lipitor and Caduet in the United States effective November 30, 2011. The lawsuits between Pfizer and Ranbaxy over Lipitor and Caduet will be dismissed in the specified countries and Ranbaxy will drop its contesting of the validity of Pfizer’s patents in the specified countries. The agreement provides a license for Ranbaxy to sell generic versions of Lipitor on varying dates in seven additional countries on top of the U.S.: Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Australia.
The settlement will also resolve patent litigation with Ranbaxy over Accupril in the United States and Viagra in Ecuador.
The patent infringement litigation between Pfizer and Ranbaxy relating to Lipitor will continue in five other European countries: Finland, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Romania.
Jon Ogg
June 18, 2008
Big Pharma vs. Indian Generics, The Plot Thickens (PFE, TEVA, MYL)
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place. If you thought that Big Pharma drug companies being under fire because of generic drugs, the issues may about to be getting much more convoluted. There are reports that Pfizer may try to make an acquisition offer for a majority stake in the Indian generic giant Ranbaxy. This would be a counter-bid or counter-fight since Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo’s recent plan to spend up to $4.6 Billion to acquire a majority stake in Ranbaxy.
What is interesting is that Ranbaxy is India’s biggest drug maker. To make matter more complicated, Ranbaxy has been involved in many cases globally over launching generic versions before Pfizer’s patents expire on Lipitor as a cholesterol treatment. Ranbaxy may launch a generic version of Pfizer’s Lipitor as soon as 2010, although this will vary greatly depending on which country it pertains to.
The fighting between generic drug makers and name brand makers is an endless one. Teva Pharmaceutical industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) recently saw a huge hit to its stock because of a generic MS drug out of Mylan Labs (NYSE: MYL) of Teva’s blockbuster Copaxone. Guess where the generic is going to be made….. Mylan teamed with NATCO Pharma, out of India. The irony here is that Teva’s lion share of revenues come from generic drugs that it makes of other Big Pharma labels. The sword cuts both ways.
The wars with generics and Big Pharma makers are only going to get worse and are only going to get more complicated. Throw in the biotech angle and the recent moves where Big Pharma companies have been acquiring biotechs for their prized pipelines. Stay tuned.
Jon Ogg
June 13, 2008
Novadel Looking to Leave Pennyland (NVD, HNAB)
Novadel Pharma (AMEX: NVD) shares look ripe for the picking at these price levels, so much so that insiders can’t keep their hands off them.
The specialty pharmaceutical company develops oral spray versions of drugs already on the market, and has strong co-agreements in North America and Europe, including rumors of a potential oral spray formulation of Viagra in collaboration with Pfizer.
Despite the numerous products in development, strong cash position and relatively low debt the stock has been hurt substantially ever since its U.S. launch of Zensana was delayed after Hana Biosciences (NASDAQ: HNAB) had experienced manufacturing issues. The stock plummeted to a year low $0.16 per share, placing the stock deep into Pennyland.
But the company is moving forward with its plans, and continues to make strong collaborate and licensing agreements, including a manufacturing and marketing agreement with European BioAlliance Pharma for its anti-emetic oral spray formulation Ondansetron announced just two days ago. The stock was up to $0.30 and higher last week and now sits at $0.34.
Insiders continue to buy, and have been doing so ever since the stock went sub-$1.00 back in August of 2007. This is a strong signal that the company’s stock could be on its way out of Pennyland. If not, there could still be plenty of room to run from here.
Dr. Hisham S. Ayoub, DMD
May 27, 2008