What's the secret to good worker attendance, retention, productivity, and the ability to attract top-notch recruits? Employee benefits. Which companies thrive and grow their businesses faster than their peers? Same answer: Those that offer better benefits to their workers.
During the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, much criticism was leveled at World Health Organization officials, accusing their response of being too heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. But according to a panel of independent experts, that wasn't the case.
Japan's health ministry says it's continuing its suspension of pediatric vaccines made by Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis, despite finding no connection between the vaccines and the deaths of four children. Both drugmakers are cooperating with the government and expect to be cleared.
Two pediatric vaccines have been suspended in Japan after the deaths of four children. Shares of Sanofi-Aventis and Pfizer, which make the drugs, have fallen in midday trading.
Pharmaceutical companies looking for fresh sources of profit are increasingly investing in a range of health care innovations that aren't drugs at all, from smartphone apps and educational websites to social media platforms and wireless devices, reports Ernst & Young.
What is preventing the French pharmaceutical group and U.S. biotech from reaching a merger agreement?
It seems that months of merger talks between French pharma Sanofi-Aventis and U.S. biotech Genzyme have entered the home stretch. This week, Sanofi is expected to offer $74 a share for Genzyme, with an option included potentially worth $5 to $6 a share.
Just after Genzyme announced that it signed a confidentiality agreement with Sanofi Aventis to allow the French drugmaker to examine its books, leaks about the potential deal started pouring out. The numbers and details vary, so this long battle may not be over yet.
Sanofi-Aventis announced its cancer drug candidate iniparib failed in a late-stage clinical trial. Other pharmaceutical companies have also experienced recent setbacks as they scramble to bolster their pipelines ahead of the patent cliff, when they will be forced to compete with cheaper generics.
Diabetes is a growing global scourge, but for Big Pharma it's more of a lifesaver -- and many drugmakers are cranking up their research efforts. After all, many existing drugs will soon be losing their patents, and diabetes could be a $55 billion market by 2019.
Led by the health insurance reform law, a flurry of drug and food recalls, key medical breakthroughs and plenty of layoffs and lawsuits, 2010 proved to be an exciting -- if not always positive -- year. Here's our rundown of the biggest health care stories.
The U.S. biotech is holding an analyst and investor meeting focused on the commercial potential of its multiple sclerosis drug Campath. The goal: to convince Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis to raise its hostile takeover offer in a battle that has now gone on for five months.
The FDA disappointed AstraZeneca and its investors by not approving its heart drug Brilinta, a blood-thinner that the company -- facing a severe patent cliff -- has high hopes for. If approved, it could be a multibillion-dollar blockbuster. But the FDA wants to see more analyses of results from a major study.
More than a year after AstraZeneca filed for approval, the FDA will make its decision on Thursday. A large study showed the blood thinner worked better than Plavix for treating acute coronary syndrome -- but approval isn't a sure thing, due in part to some oddities in the study's results.
Paris-based pharma Sanofi-Aventis has pushed back its offer deadline for Massachusetts-based biotech Genzyme by six weeks. All other terms, including the $69 per share bid, remain unchanged. So far, very few shareholders have responded.
By the time the world's smartest investors tell the SEC what stocks they hold, most of the gains they were after are already priced in. But a few of the companies Warren Buffett, George Soros, and their billionaire buddies have bought into still have a lot further to rise. Which ones? Read on ...
Big Pharma didn't rest Thursday, with Celgene, Sanofi-Aventis and AstraZeneca among the big names reporting earnings. A deal between Stryker and Boston Scientific and Sanofi and BMP Sunstone also made the headlines, as did some hiring from Teva. Bristol-Myers Squibb received the anticipated new approval for one of its cancer drugs. But it was Celgene that led drug stocks higher.
Genzyme, which makes drugs to treat leukemia and multiple sclerosis, has rejected a hostile takeover bid from French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis. The offer "dramatically undervalues" Genzyme, the company said Friday, putting its value about 30% higher.
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis says its multiple sclerosis drug teriflunomide significantly cut relapses in patients who took the once-daily oral treatment.
There's a new plot twist in the takeover battle between French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis and U.S. drugmaker Genzyme. A regulatory filing made by Genzyme on Thursday claims Sanofi may be willing to go much higher than its current $69 bid -- a claim the French company disputes.
Global pharmaceutical sales are expected to grow by 5% to 7% in 2011, thanks to robust growth in emerging markets, especially China, as well as new innovative treatments, and despite patent expirations and budget pressures in the developed world.
After months of courting U.S. drugmaker Genzyme, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis launched a hostile bid valued at approximately $18.5 billion, or $69 a share, for all outstanding shares of Genzyme common stock.
French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis announced a 10-year agreement with Covance on Thursday under which the Princeton, N.J.-based contract research firm will provide it with drug development services. Sanofi-Aventis will pay Covance between $1.2 billion to $2.2 billion.
Sanofi-Aventis, which has been unsuccessful recently in its courtship of U.S. giant biotech Genzyme, announced another setback today. A late-stage trial of NV1FGF did not meet its primary goal of preventing a major amputation or death from any cause over 12 months.
Sanofi-Aventis CEO Chris Viehbacher said Wednesday that he believes his French pharmaceutical company will eventually buy U.S. biotech company Genzyme at a reasonable price. However, he expects it will take some time to agree on a deal, and he won't rush into anything.
Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb plans to buy ZymoGenetics, its partner in developing a hepatitis C treatment, for $885 million. The move is part of a trend of pharmaceutical acquisitions as several big patents face expiration soon.
Several recent studies of drugs used to treat and prevent strokes appear to favor AstraZeneca's (AZN) Brilinta and Eli-Lilly's (LLY) Effient over Plavix. Plavix, co-marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), is the second best-selling drug in the world.