In one of the biggest pharmaceutical deals in history, U.S. drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb announced last Thursday its plans to acquire Celgene in a cash and stock deal valuing the rival drugmaker at roughly $90 billion, including debt. As the news of the deal hit the market, shares of Celgene jumped 28% in midmorning trading to ~$85 per share, while shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb tumbled 11% to trade at $47 per share. Under the terms of the deal, Celgene shareholders will receive $50 in cash for each share held along with one Bristol-Myers Squibb share or $102.43 per share, a premium of 53.7% to Celgene's Wednesday close. Both companies have faced investor wariness about their growth prospects in the recent past.But once the deal goes through, it is expected to create a company which would be a pharmaceutical leader in cancer and immunologic disease treatments, with huge growth prospects. According to analysts, the deal is a big win for Celgene, which had just overc

In one the first large mergers of 2019, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced it is buying Celgene Corp, for about $74 billion.The merged company will have many so-called blockbuster cancer drugs under its umbrella. The deal will create a company with nine treatments bringing in more than $1-billion in annual sales and a significant potential for growth in oncology, immunology and inflammation and cardiovascular disease. Talks opened in September, with Bristol-Myers approaching Celgene, according to a Rueters report. Celgene shareholders will receive one Bristol-Myers Squibb share and $50 in cash for each share held, or $102.43 per share, a premium of 53.7 per cent to Celgene’s Wednesday close.

More than 250 prescription drugs will have price increases, according to a Reuters report.The news agency says that during a White House meeting with members of his Cabinet, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he expected to see a tremendous decrease in drug prices.  The overall number of price increases was down by around a third from last year, when drugmakers raised prices on more than 400 medicines, according to data provided by Rx Savings Solutions, which helps health plans and employers seek lower cost prescription medicines.

The stock price is growing much faster than the company’s earnings or sales. If we look at the daily chart, you can see that the stock price has been trending higher over the last nine months.The last time we saw this same scenario was in mid-October and the stock jumped from below $37 to over $41.50. If you look back over the last two years, the stock has gained 57.3% while the S&P is up 17.5% over this same time period.

Shares of the health-care conglomerate Johnson & Johnson dropped another 1% on Thursday.This happened after the company lost its motion to reverse a $4.7 billion jury verdict awarded to women who blamed ovarian cancer on asbestos in the company’s baby powder and other talc products. According to the report published by New York Times, the ruling was upheld by a circuit court judge in Missouri, Rex Burlison, who oversaw the trial in the case.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2019. Following the merger, GSK plans to spin off the consumer healthcare segment and list it on a London stock exchange within three years, as it plans to focus more on its pharma business.Expecting to save 500 million pounds (about $632 million) by 2022 from the deal, GSK plans to reinvest up to 25 percent of the cost savings into the company's innovation efforts.  For Pfizer, too, the deal should allow more room for the company to concentrate on its prescription drug business from which it makes most of its revenues.  

Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline are planning to combine their consumer healthcare units and spin-off the joint venture.The new company would be the world's largest seller of over-the-counter drugs in the world with medicines such as Advil, Panadol in their inventories. The benefits of separating into two companies — one focused on prescription medicines and the other on consumer health — outweigh the advantages that come with a more diversified structure, Glaxo CEO Emma Walmsley told reporters on a conference call.

The signature smell is hard to forget.Johnson and Johnson’s baby powder, a product that was once considered simple, benign, and ubiquitous among new mothers is now the subject of intense legal allegations. READ MORE...

According to a Reuters report, Johnson& Johnson was aware of the presence of asbestos in its baby powder samples but failed to notify authorities. Citing documents and depositions, the report suggests that Johnson & Johnson’s raw talc and finished powder sometimes tested positive for traces of asbestos – an information known to the company’s executives and mine managers from 1971 to the early 2000s.A jury in Missouri had awarded $4.7 billion in July to 22 women who alleged that the products contained asbestos which caused them to develop ovarian cancer. According to its latest quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Johnson & Johnson faces over 9,000 cases related to its body powders with talc.

Pfizer shares have been downgraded to neutral from overweight by JP Morgan Chase. "We clearly have seen a positive shift in Pfizer's narrative, which is now focused on the re-acceleration of the company's top and bottom line growth beyond 2020," J.P. Morgan's Chris Schott said about the pharmaceutical company. "However, with the company now trading in line with peers and the broader market, we see this improved core story as better reflected in valuation," Schott stressed."And with further upside to shares likely tied to either additional pipeline success or positive new launch momentum (largely 2020+ events), we are moving to the sidelines.

Akorn Inc.’s CEO Rajat Rai is stepping down, following a court ruling that allows Fresenius SE to walk away from a $4.3 billion acquisition of the generic pharma manufacturer. Delaware Supreme Court ruled that a decline in Akorn’s revenue and its other financial weaknesses that emerged prior to the acquisition’s closing was reason enough for German healthcare firm Fresenius SE to have the right to cancel the deal.Rai agreed with company directors that his departure “will be treated as a resignation for good reason,” according to an Akorn's filing Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Investors may know Eli Lilly (LLY) as a venerable member of the Big Pharma club whose bread and butter now comes from diabetes treatments.But analysts say Lilly stock is due for a boost from the drug giant's burgeoning migraine prevention and immunology medicines. READ MORE...

Over the last six months, drug manufacturer AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) has been confined to a downward trend with a channel defining the different cycles of the trend.Given the current situation is showing such a scenario, it could be a sign that the stock is getting ready to get hit with another downswing. From a fundamental perspective, AbbVie as a company has been performing far better than its stock would indicate.

Amgen Inc. is slashing prices of its cholesterol fighting drug Repatha, amidst rising healthcare costs and increased regulatory surveillance to protect patients from exorbitant medicine prices. The biopharmaceutical company will reduce the U.S. list price of Repatha by -60% - from more than $14,000 a year to $5,850.In Q2, revenue from Repatha was $148 million – which beat estimates, was still much lower compared to analysts' previously high expectations about its success.

A federal magistrate who reviewed a test-case of the class action suit though which thousands of municipalities are seeking billions of dollars in damages has deemed that the injuries claimed by the plaintiffs cannot be ignored without a further hearing. Among the many companies named in the suit are Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Purdue Pharma Inc., McKesson (MCK), and AmerisourceBergen Corp (ABC), some of whom make drugs and some of whom distribute them.The suit alleges that the companies understated the risks of the drugs, overstated the benefits, and ignored suspiciously high volumes of the drugs being ordered. President Trump and other officials have taken action to stamp out the opioid epidemic which has escalated to ghastly proportions, claiming around 100 American lives every day.  Parallels exist between the current lawsuit and the Big Tobacco case of the 1990s, in which governments were able to extract a $246 Billion settlement from tobacco companies.

Geron Corp. shares plunged more than -70% on Thursday, as Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Biotech unit ended partnership with it on the cancer drug imetelstat. About the collaboration not coming through,  Janssen said, "The decision not to continue the collaboration is the result of a strategic portfolio evaluation and prioritization of assets within the robust Janssen portfolio" ." Geron's stock price  dropped to $1.99 at 9:44 a.m. in New York, with the company losing  $750 million in market value.    

That marks a whopping +48% increase since last year. Apple went ahead with $45 billion worth of buybacks during the first half of 2018, which is triple the amount its spent during the same time period last year.Other companies with substantial share repurchase increases includes Amgen, Cisco, AbbVie and Oracle (as mentioned in the Goldman Sachs report).  For the full year 2018, share buyback authorizations among all US companies will exceed $1 trillion for the first time ever (according to Goldman Sachs projections).

pharmaceutical giant  GlaxoSmithKline Plc.  is reportedly seeking bids for its Indian consumer-health arm. According to a Bloomberg report, Nestle SA, PepsiCo Inc. and Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc.The UK Drugmaker had earlier indicated its plans to review its strategies related to Horlicks and other nutritional products.

Ongoing trade disputes, political divisiveness, geopolitical threats, and tense feelings about Russia meddling have no doubt weighed on investor sentiment.Uncertainty hangs over the market like a dark cloud. But there's sun poking through those dark clouds, and it's none other than U.S. corporate earnings reports!

Here is a brief summary of the news – and all positive! China apparently decided to print more money, build more speed trains, wonderful airports, more freeways.)  One of the largest European banks – UBS - just reported great earnings.  Manufacturing index out of Germany is much better than expected.  On this side of the pond, earnings continue to impress – Google yesterday was a pleasant surprise, but others (Verizon, Biogen, Eli Lily, Lockheed Martin) are doing very well. 10 year Treasuries yield is approaching 3% again and the gap between 2-year Treasuries and 10-years is increasing again. Are we out of the woods?