Ryan health plan would boost insurers
©Bloomberg Paul Ryan and family on stage at the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida Paul Ryan’s plan to overhaul Medicare would be a boon for health insurers, driving the elderly…
Scientists decode extinct humans’ genome
In an astonishing feat of DNA analysis, a German team has published the full genome of an extinct human group, the Denisovans, known only from a bone fragment and two…
AstraZeneca – a new big pill
A newly arriving chief executive has many tasks: strategy, turnround, growth, redecorating the corner office. Pascal Soriot faces all of these when he becomes the big pill at AstraZeneca on…
Roche executive named AstraZeneca chief
AstraZeneca has poached a top manager at Roche to be its chief executive, signalling the desire for a fresh direction at the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company following its boardroom shake-up in…
Eli Lilly reports hope with its drug for Alzheimer’s
Eli Lilly reported some hopes of slowed mental decline in people with Alzheimer’s disease on Friday, despite the failure of late stage clinical trials for an experimental drug. Shares rose…
Aetna / Coventry
It isn’t rocket science, or, to use a more fitting analogy, brain surgery. Health insurance is a scale business. Once the infrastructure to process and pay claims has been built,…
Healthcare Locums rejects US lawsuit
Healthcare Locums laid down the gauntlet this week when it said it would not file a defence against allegations of fraud levelled at the company and two of its former…
Nestlé’s Nespresso – caffeine kick
George Clooney does not come cheap. The actor has been the face of Nestlé’s Nespresso brand since 2005, so it is not surprising that the company wants to squeeze every…
Cinven poised to buy Mercury Pharma
Cinven, the private equity group, is poised to buy Mercury Pharma, a UK-based generic medicines business, for £465m from its rival HgCapital, according to individuals close to the transaction. The…
Acquisitions boost Hikma revenues
A raft of acquisitions and a buoyant injectables division have pushed up first-half revenues at Hikma Pharmaceuticals, offsetting a shrinking of sales at the Jordan-based drugmaker’s generics unit. The FTSE…
NHS hospital partnership decision delayed
An eagerly awaited decision on whether an NHS hospital can seek a tie-up with a private sector partner, potentially reviving charges that the coalition is seeking to “privatise” the NHS,…
Shionogi lured by tough UK drug pricing
A Japanese pharmaceutical company has said the UK’s tough rules on medicine approval is an important factor in opening its European headquarters in London. As the government promotes its life…
AstraZeneca sells drug rights to Pfizer
AstraZeneca has sold the global rights to Pfizer for an over the counter version of its leading heartburn drug Nexium, as it seeks to maintain revenues from the product by…
AstraZeneca signs Nexium deal with Pfizer
AstraZeneca raised its full-year earnings expectations after signing a deal to allow Pfizer the future rights to market an over-the-counter version of its top-selling heartburn medication. The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical group…
Sun Pharmaceuticals buys up rest of Taro
Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries, India’s largest drugmaker by market capitalisation, has agreed to buy out the remaining public shareholders of Taro Pharmaceutical Industries, gaining complete control of the US-listed drugmaker it…