Biotechnology news from around the world.
- 10 year tax break for San Francisco biotechs
- Bristol-Myers settles class-action for US$300 million
- Fisher Scientific completes merger with Apogent
- Monsanto and Syngenta battle for GM market
10 year tax break for San Francisco biotechs
July 22 – San Francisco's board of advisors have approved a 10 year exemption to the city's 1.5 per cent payroll tax for biotechnology companies that set up operations in the city. A seven-to-four vote backed the tax exemption, designed to lure start-up biotech companies to the city, which is said to have failed to capitalise on the industry's growth with the University of California, San Francisco medical research school having spun off 70 biotech companies none of which has established itself in the city. 'The problem San Francisco is faced with is that we're the only city with a payroll tax for biotech companies,' said Michela Alioto-Pier, who proposed the exemption. Some 850 biotech firms are located throughout the San Francisco Bay area. 'What we're really looking to do is to generate a new industry for San Francisco,' said Alioto-Pier. The San Francisco's board of supervisors expects to give final approval to the tax exemption this week.
[Source: Reuters]
Bristol-Myers settles class-action for US$300 million
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. will pay US$300 million to settle a class action lawsuit regarding its investment in ImClone Systems Inc. The suit stemmed from a 2001 announcement in which Bristol-Myers said it would invest US$2 billion in ImClone to gain marketing rights for the ImClone cancer drug Erbitux. Shareholders accused the company of making an overly optimistic statement about the drug's chances for approval by the US FDA. The FDA's approval for the drug earlier this year saw a judge in Manhattan dismiss the shareholder suit in March, but shareholders appealed the dismissal. The suit alleges Bristol-Myers overstated revenue between 1999 and 2001 by US$2.5 billion. Bristol-Myers said it would pay the settlement out of legal reserves boosted earlier in the year. Federal prosecutors in New Jersey are still investigating the company's accounting.
[Source: Associated Press]
Fisher Scientific completes merger with Apogent
August 2 – Fisher Scientific International has completed its $4.0 billion merger with Apogent Technologies, providing Fisher Scientific with a $1.1 billion footprint in the high-growth life-science market. In a stock-for-stock exchange, Apogent shareholders received 0.56 shares of Fisher Scientific common stock for each share of Apogent common stock they owned. Based on Fisher's closing price of $58.20 on July 30, 2004, the transaction has a value of $32.59 per Apogent share. Apogent shareholders will be contacted with instructions on how to exchange their shares for Fisher Scientific stock. The transaction will substantially increase the company's cash flow and financial flexibility to pursue additional growth opportunities. Fisher Scientific also expects that shareholder value will be driven by the enhanced margins and earnings and revenue growth resulting from Fisher's combination with Apogent.
[Source: Business Wire]
Monsanto and Syngenta battle for GM market
July 28 – Syngenta has files a lawsuit against Monsanto and Monsanto Technology LLC over monopolising the market for biotech corn seed in the US. The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Delaware, claims Monsanto has engaged in a pattern of illegal and improper activities to maintain its monopoly in key corn traits. Monsanto said Syngenta's claims were without merit and designed to deflect attention away from Monsanto's allegations that Syngenta is acting improperly. Syngenta's announcement of its lawsuit came after Monsanto initiated a patent infringement suit in the Federal Court in Illinios on Tuesday to stop Syngenta Seeds from 'developing, using and selling' a herbicide-tolerant corn seed similar to a Monsanto Roundup Ready corn product. Monsanto has also filed an amended complaint in State Court in St Louis, alleging Syngenta was not meeting contractual obligations for the licensing of a herbicide-tolerant soybean product called Roundup Ready. That action came as part of an ongoing breach of contract lawsuit in Missouri State Circuit Court in St Louis. In its initial lawsuit, Monsanto asked the court to limit Syngenta to commercialising only one brand of Roundup Ready soybeans. Monsanto's amended complaint, seeks damages and asks the court to terminate Syngenta's soybean license entirely.
[Source: Reuters]
