Biotechnology news from around the world.
- ACLARA BioSciences announce new CEO
- Bristol-Myers Squibb seek to revive market credibility
- Chiron names old GSK executive as new CEO
- Composition of paroxetine review panel may be subject to judicial challenge
- GSK and Flamel enter $75m drug delivery agreement
- GSK and Sigma enter licensing agreement
- Novo denies Roche takeover speculation
- Zonagen terminates Lavipharm merger
ACLARA BioSciences announce new CEO
20 March – ACLARA BioSciences has announced the appointment of Thomas Klopack as CEO, effective immediately. Klopack brings over 25 years of experience commercialising new technologies and managerial expertise. He formerly served as CEO of Aurora Biosciences where he oversaw revenue growth from US$15m to US$90m from 1998 to 2002.
[Source: BioSpace]
Bristol-Myers Squibb seek to revive market credibility
19 March – Having restated company earnings after a US$900m accounting blunder, put down to an error of timing in revenue recognition, Bristol-Myers Squibb are now seeking to restore the company's credibility. Share prices have fallen 60 per cent since current Chief Executive Peter Dolan took control in May 2001. Analysts are now speculating that a likely remedy is to replace him, or merge with another drug manufacturer. If Dolan is to stay, it is being demanded that the company begin giving detailed figures about expected sales and profit margins in place of the current information that Wall Street has found difficult to interpret.
[Source: Reuters]
Chiron names old GSK executive as new CEO
20 March – Chiron Corporation has named former GlaxoSmithKline executive Howard Pien as its new Chief Executive Officer and President. Outgoing CEO Sean Lance will continue to serve as Chairman. Russell Greig, currently a Vice President of Business Development, will assume Pien's former post at GSK.
[Source: Reuters]
Composition of paroxetine review panel may be subject to judicial challenge
22 March – A panel established to review GlaxoSmithKline's paroxetine and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors generally, may be challenged by sufferers of side effects of the drug on the basis that some members comprising the panel have links with the drug industry. It has been alleged that two members of the panel hold shares in GSK, and that the review consequently lacks independence. A spokesman for the US department of health commented that the panel members are professionals of the highest standing and that there has never been any evidence that any member has acted other than with the highest integrity.
[Source: BMJ]
GSK and Flamel enter $75m drug delivery agreement
31 March – GlaxoSmithKline has licensed a drug delivery system from French company Flamel Technologies in a deal worth up to A$75m. GSK will reformulate one of its existing drugs using Flamel's Micropump controlled release technology. Flamel will receive US$2m upfront, with further payments contingent on milestones.
[Source: Reuters]
GSK and Sigma enter licensing agreement
24 March – Sigma-RBI has entered a licensing agreement with GlaxoSmithKline under which products developed by GSK will be made available to scientists in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic sectors. Sigma-RBI director Dr. Keith Watling said that the products will be invaluable to researchers worldwide investigating biological mechanisms underlying cancer, pain, inflammatory disease, neurodegeneration, psychiatric disorders and cardiovascular disease.
[Source: Pharmalicensing]
Novo denies Roche takeover speculation
31 March – Novo Chief Executive Henrik Guertler has denied that it has received an offer from Roche for its stake in Novo Nordisk. Speculation had been mounting that Roche was interested in Novo Nordisk as a means of invigorating its stake in the diabetes treatment market. Novo, which holds 27 per cent of shares in Novo Nordisk, but controls some 70 per cent of voting power, was an obvious avenue for staking such a claim. This speculation followed from Roche's offer of A$2bn last month for Swiss entity Disentronic. Disentronic is the world's second largest maker of insulin pumps.
[Source: Reuters]
Zonagen terminates Lavipharm merger
31 March – Zonagen Inc., which entered a merger agreement with Lavipharm Corp and certain Lavipharm stockholders on 20 October 2002, has terminated the agreement. The agreement provided that if the merger was not completed by 28 February 2003, either party was entitled to terminate unilaterally. The decision to terminate was based on the fact that the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. had informed Zonagen that the proposed merger with Lavipharm would constitute a 'reverse merger' and that post-merger, Zonagen would have been required to apply for listing on the Nasdaq. If it did not meet the listing requirements, it would have been delisted from the market. Zonagen's Chairman of the Board, Martin Sutter, commented that having no assurance that it would meet the initial listing requirements, together with other considerations, contributed to the Board's decision that the proposed merger was not in stockholders' best interests.
[Source: Pharmalicensing]
