If you’re trying to keep score following all the moves in & out of the consumer products industry by traditional life sciences companies….good luck.

In what’s considered a late inning rally by Sanofi Aventis, the company announced a $1.9 Billion acquisition yesterday of Chattem, a company based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Never heard of them?  Well, they make a variety of retail products such as Selsun Blue, Cortizone, Gold Bond foot powder, and BullFrog sunscreen.

This deal marks a continuing trend for pharmaceutical companies both into and out of the consumer products realm.  On one side are the purists who push for focus and discipline in a Big Pharma business model.  Allergan spun off its vision care business. Bristol Myers Squibb is spinning off its Mead Johnson.

On the other side are those companies that relish the diversification in their product portfolio and the stability provided by having such a cash cow as part of their revenue stream. Examples include J&J, Abbott Labs, and Merck (who won their slice of the pie in their deal with Schering Plough).  Then there is the poster child for confusion in Pfizer, who sold their entire consumer products portfolio to J&J in 2006 only to buy back in this year in their deal with Wyeth.  Secretly their new CEO never wanted to sell it and told J&J’s CEO of his jealousy toward their diversified product portfolio.

Confused?  Well, not to be outdone, one of the world’s largest consumer products companies did a reverse pivot in announcing its departure from the pharmaceutical business this year:  Procter & Gamble.

In examining this latest deal for Chattem, remember that Chris Viehbacher from Sanofi Aventis came from GSK, one of the more stable layers in this game with a successful & lasting consumer products division.  All in all, consumer products are reliable, predictable and don’t have a patent cliff associated with their lifecycle strategy.   But keeping up with the Joneses appears to be a popular trend among Big Pharma CEO’s looking for a way to stabilize their businesses in the face of so little new product innovation.

In an exclusive interview with The Street, the founder of Genzyme is calling for the head of Chairman & CEO Henri Termeer.  Sheridan Snyder founded Genzyme in 1981 and ran the company until recruiting Termeer as his successor.  Now after a bevy of failings at the company, Snyder is publicly voicing his criticism.

“A CEO change at Genzyme would be a good idea.  Henri has had a good run of 20-plus years but what Genzyme needs now is for someone new to come in with higher energy and a different vision.  This would help the company.”

“Henri is a very bright guy but he’s also the most autocratic manager I have ever seen.  He’s someone who demands absolute loyalty from everyone, but this has created a tense, sterile environment.”

“Henri is one tough S.O.B.,” Snyder says. “He will fight like a monster because his ego and pride are longer than the Charles River.  He won’t just bow out.”

For certain, these are tough words for a CEO to hear from the person who hired them.  In fairness to Snyder, Genzyme has had a rough 2009.  Quality issues riddle their manufacturing processes, which have led to new product delays, production stoppages and a loss of revenue.  The company has lost of a quarter of its value in the past twelve months.

Congress has announced that the Senate will vote to approve new healthcare legislation on Christmas Eve, delivering on a promise to President Obama to press the issue before the holiday break.The bill would have huge ramifications across the life sciences industry that appear, at this point, to be inevitable. Taxes, levies and other cost cutting reductions will be mandated for all who manufacture healthcare products. In this CEO interview, Beckman Coulter CEO Scott Garrett offers his company’s viewpoint.

Sol Barer, CEO of Celgene, is not the most visible or PR savvy executive in the life sciences industry. His is, however, in the unique position as Founder, Chairman and CEO of one of the biggest biotechnology companies in the world. Last I checked there were not too many of that breed operating his company with a market cap of over $25 billion.

In this interview, he talks about the next frontier for Revlimed as a first-line treatment for myeloma and Celgene’s recent acquisition of Gloucester, a mostly unknown private entity, for over $600 million. If you haven’t paid attention to the upper ranks of the biotechnology industry, this is the company that will sneak up on you with $3B in annual revenue, 25% growth, $3B of cash in the bank a $25 Billion market cap twice as big as Biogen Idec or Genzyme and approaching that of Gilead Sciences. This is what happens when you develop two rock star cancer treatments from your pipeline through to commercialization without selling to Big Pharma.

The result, without question, Celgene is now one of the superstars of the biotechnology industry.

John Lechleiter, CEO of Lilly, is a really great Public Relations CEO. He shows up on CNBC with Mike Huckman on a regular basis. He is very visible at industry events and with investors. Alongside GSK’s Witty, Novartis’ Vasella, and J&J’s Weldon, he is as visible a Big Pharma CEO as you’ll find in the industry.

Truth is Lilly has a huge patent cliff upcoming, most notably Zyprexa & Gemstar. All this in the wake of losing Prozac to generic competition just a few years ago. And, the company is doing its best to stave off investors’ worries that the hit to their top line revenue won’t be devastating to the company.

To his credit, CNBC’s Huckman asks the right questions and Lechleiter gives a fair answer. In the end, it all comes down to getting approvals to replace those drugs falling off patent and cutting costs to eliminate overhead and give the company a better shot at meeting profit expectations. Finally, Lechleiter does a great job outlining the industry’s posture toward health care reform which looks to be eminent in Congress.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, CEO Bill Weldon had a chance to relish in the diversified position of his company when so many drug makers are looking for more balance in their revenue stream. At the same time, Weldon acknowledges that the trend continues to sway back and forth:   “For years we were criticized; in today’s environment we’re praised.” Both large and midsize companies have changed their mind a few times in the past decade, including Allergan, BMS, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and many others.

Finally, he offers up a dig for Pfizer, mentioning conversations with Jeff Kindler about J&J’s acquisition of Pfizer’s consumer health business three years ago: “He [Kindler] has told me numerous times his regrets” about the sale.  As many know, Pfizer has since moved back into the consumer products realm with its acquisition of Wyeth.   This after abandoning the sector by selling its division to J&J for $16 billion in 2006.

As we’ve written before Kindler has a special place in his heart for J&J and his secret admiration of their product diversity in no secret.

The entire life sciences industry, pharmaceutical & medical device manufacturers alike, is awaiting the outcome on Capitol Hill of any final healthcare legislation and how it will affect their businesses.

In a last minute twist of fate, one Senator is pursuing an amendment that would add a ‘poison pill’ to the bill, at least from the perspective of Big Pharma.  Senator Byron Dorgan from North Dakota has sponsored an amendment that would allow for importation of drugs from countries such as Canada.  At the same time, Dorgan understands the polarizing nature of such an amendment:  “People are walking on eggshells.  If we pass legislation allowing people freedom to import drugs, the pharmaceutical industry might not support the health care bill.”

The FDA has chimed in with their concerns over safety.  In a letter to the Senate, Commissioner Hamburg stated that imported drugs are a threat because the agency “does not have clear authority over foreign supply chains.”

However, others are arguing the risk is worth the savings noting the billions that the government and consumers will save with a more competitive pricing market.

PhRMA sent the following statement to Ed Silverman in response to his post on Pharmalot: “It would be a huge mistake for Congress to pursue policies that could expose Americans to counterfeit and substandard drug products and potentially weaken the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Homeland Security by crippling their ability to protect public health and safety. The recent announcement by FDA about counterfeit H1N1 influenza products entering the US from foreign countries is just one example of how importation proposals could put patients’ health and safety at risk. Simply put, Congress should not be playing Russian roulette with the safety of patients.”

As we’ve written earlier this summer, PhRMA cut a deal with the White House to limit industry exposure under health care reform to $80 billion over 10 years.  Once that ‘agreement’ became public knowledge, many cried foul.  Now that arrangement appears in jeopardy as Congress considers a provision that would alienate all of its Big Pharma supporters.

Update 12/15

The measure (thankfully) failed today by a margin of 51-48 with over 60 votes needed for approval.  Senators had earlier claimed they had 60 votes on their side.  However, the influence of the pharmaceutical industry seems to have put this issue to bed, quickly and without much media fanfare.

Following a reorganization, many in the medical device industry were surprised when Medtronic announced its intention to recruit from outside the company to fill a newly created position to leads its Cardiology business. Most in the industry wondered where they’d find suitable candidates in such a tightly-wrapped industry wrought with non-compete issues.

Now firmly committed to two business units, Medtronic has made its choice.  The company named Mike Coyle as EVP, Cardiology reporting to Bill Hawkins, the CEO of Medtronic.  In this role, he will lead the Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management (CRDM), CardioVascular and PhysioControl businesses. Most eyes will now be focused on Pat Mackin (CRDM), Scott Ward (Cardiovascular) and Brian Webster (PhysioControl) who lead the divisions now reporting to Coyle and were not offered the role to lead the group.

Mike Coyle is best known for running the Cardic Rhythm business at St. Jude Medical until 2007 when he stepped aside from that role.  Since then he has been involved in private equity & venture capital as well as having served on a number of Boards for medical device companies.

In making this move, Medtronic has taken a bold step to recruit the best talent from the across the industry (not just within their own ranks) to lead the most critical part of their business.  And in doing so, they may have also realigned the succession plan in Minneapolis.

For those who missed it last week, the CEO of Novartis paid a statesman’s visit to little ol’ Holly Springs, NC. The occasion was the grand opening of the Novartis cell-based manufacturing facility for vaccines, the first of its kind. When fully operational, the plant will have the capacity to produce enough vaccine each year to protect half the US population from the threats like the H1N1 virus.

I’m sure Mike Huckman from CNBC and even Mr. Vasella himself had to, at one point, look up Holly Springs on a map to find its place jsut outside the Raleigh Durham ‘triangle’.   The region has a loyal following in the life sciences industry, originally founded on R&D and manufacturing centers for some of the industry’s largest companies.  But following GSK’s move of its US headwuarters to Research Triangle Park earlier this year, the Novartis commitment is another feather in the cap of the North Carolina life sciences industry.

For years, leading life sciences companies have looked to Asia as the next frontier. While a popular & almost necessary strategy for any global organization in the life sciences, to date most significant investments in China or India have been measured only by unrealized potential.

Still, the move makes sense for a number of reasons. First, employee cost is low. While the talent market in China remains challenging and competitive, it is improving. Secondly, the markets are simply too big to ignore. While underdeveloped and fraught with risk, the population volume dictates the future potential of the region as healthcare matures and the patient base grows exponentially in the coming decades.

Until very recently, China was not always the obvious bet. A westernized culture, a friendly government and an advanced infrastructure made Singapore the pick for most Asia Pacific headquarters. But again, the growth in northern China and the improvements in the supporting business environment in places like Shanghai have turned the tide. While many companies maintain their Asia Pacific HQ in Singapore, almost all understand the necessity to be in (not just near) northern China.

Announcements last week by two of the life sciences industry’s largest employers again validated the life sciences industry’s ongoing curiosity and commitment to operations in China.

Novartis plans to pump a billion dollars into its R&D operations in China over the next five years, expanding its scientific ranks in the Asian economic powerhouse from 160 to 1,000 as the pharma giant constructs a new research complex designed to rival centers in Europe and the U.S.

The strategy includes expanding its Institute for BioMedical Research in Shanghai and a global ‘technical center’ for research and manufacturing in Changshu. These moves easily make Novartis the largest biopharma R&D operation in China.

In the same news cycle, Pfizer announced its own plans to expand R&D operations in central and western China, specifically, a new R&D centre in Wuhan and expansion of its existing R&D facility in Shanghai.  According to Allan Gabor, Pfizer’s Regional President in China, Pfizer’s R&D operations in Wuhan will support global clinical drug development programs while Shanghai will remain the operations hub of Pfizer’s R&D in China.

For most of us working in the US or Europe, these announcements come across as ‘a world away’ and literally they are.  Still, the globally diverse workforce of the future that is sure to evolve in the coming years for true multinational life sciences companies includes a signficant presence in China.  As Novartis CEO Dan Vasella said it best on a recent trip to Shanghai: “You have to ask yourself where do you need to be down the road, and clearly it is here.”