Divergent paths for Big Pharma January 30, 2009

“Mega mergers in Big Pharma will be born out of weakness”, states Eli Lilly’s CEO, John Lechleiter, as quoted by Reuters. Lechleiter was interviewed by CNBC today discussing the Pfizer/Wyeth combination and his own company’s differing tack.
CNBC also interviewed David Brennan, AstraZeneca’s CEO after announcing almost 7,500 job cuts and flat sales for 2009. [...]

Steven Burrill talks with Beaker on the economy, Part I January 27, 2009

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If you have ever listened to Steven Burrill present on the state of the life sciences industry, you already understand his reputation as one of its most popular and knowledgeable thought leaders.
Recently, Beaker’s own Beth Perry sat down with the Chairman & CEO [...]

Steven Burrill talks with Beaker on the economy, Part II January 27, 2009

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Wyeth & Pfizer make their case online January 27, 2009

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The power of social media was put on display today, courtesy of the Pfizer/Wyeth PR department. In addition to their announcement this morning, Pfizer & Wyeth launched a new website to promote their transaction. PremierBioPharma.com allows users to explore the merger from the [...]

Merck & Schering Plough up next? January 27, 2009

The latest discussion among those rumbling about the WyPfi deal is the potential for additional consolidation within the pharmaceutical industry.
If it happens, the most likely dance partners being suggested are Merck & Schering Plough, most due to the strength of Merck’s financial position and Schering Plough’s pipeline. For certain, this is nothing [...]

Pf-yeth deal gets done…quickly January 26, 2009

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Within less than a week, the $68 billion Pfizer/Wyeth deal went from lukewarm to complete. While most in the industry know that these two companies have been courting each other for months, the final act passed rather quickly this weekend. We have a few observations, outside [...]

Roche & Genentech reach a deal? January 23, 2009

We do our best to shy away from rumor & innuendo on Beaker.
However, from a variety of reliable sources who work in the Bay area, we are hearing that Roche & Genentech have reached a conclusion to their much publicized courtship.  According to many HR executives and employees at Genentech, it is quickly becoming common [...]

A watershed moment for stem cell research January 23, 2009

Kudos to Tom Okarma & his team at Geron for their persistence and belief to move embryonic stem cells into the clinic and human trials.   Geron announced today that it has received approval from the FDA to launch a small (10 patient) trial in patients with spinal cord injuries.  If predictions [...]

Parting gifts from President Bush to the life sciences industry January 22, 2009

Recently released are the best & worst stock performers during the era of the Bush presidency. Interestingly, three of the top ten are life sciences companies that emerged spectacularly along with their average annual return over the past eight years: Celgene (29%), Intuitive Surgical (26%), and Gilead Sciences (38%).
Are these companies that [...]

A Hiring…”Frost” January 15, 2009

Introduced by one prominent HR executive and adopted by several others, the term “hiring frost” is becoming popular in the life sciences industry as a reflection of the cautious attitude most employers are taking toward any upward changes in their employee headcount in this economic environment.
Across the industry, smaller companies have shown much more susceptibility [...]