Life Science Weekly inSite (Oct. 31 - Nov. 5)
A weekly round-up of biotech’s top stories from around the world
By Suvarna Bhatt, Feature Editor
The most popular news this week on BioSpace came from GlaxoSmithKline. On Tuesday, the company’s chief executive officer, Andrew Witty announced looming job cuts as the company plans to revamp its U.S. operations. Top management was scheduled to meet on Wednesday to outline plans of streamlining the business. Glaxo, the world’s second biggest drug company, announced earlier this year plans for 1,200 job cuts in research and development.
The second largest piece of news this week came from Amylin Pharmaceuticals who said it plans on holding meetings to see if it can improve shareholder value. The possible sale of the company is one way it may try to boost shareholder value. Officials at the company did not offer any comment on news of the company’s sale. On the same day, the pharmaceutical company was hit hard by news that the FDA rejected data for an experimental version of its diabetes drug Byetta, called exenatide LAR. The company is in development for the drug with Alkermes Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company. Amylin and Alkermes said the FDA was not sure that versions of the drug used in clinical trials made at Alkermes’ manufacturing facility were equal to versions made at Amylin’s Ohio facility.
Glaxo’s news of looming lay-off was confirmed on Wednesday, and sending Glaxo to the day’s top news slot. The company confirmed its reduction of about 1,000 U.S. sales jobs by the end of 2008 as part of a larger reorganization process. The job cuts will take the number of Glaxo sales representatives in the United States from 8,500 to 7,500. While the news is grim, the company said it is planning on adding jobs in its vaccines and specialty pharmaceuticals areas.
Taking the second top news-spot for Wednesday was news that private equity firm, EQT and Lyftet Holding made a $502 million offer for Q-Med. The cash offer for the company, which would be financed by equity, shareholder loans and bank debt, represented a 24 percent premium compared to Q-Med’s closing price on Friday. Lyftet is controlled by Q-Med founder and chief executive, Bengt Agerup.
Toward the bottom of the week’s most popular news was that Accumetrics’ appointment of a new chief executive officer, Mr. Timothy I. Still. Mr. Still has been serving as the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer since earlier this year. Accumetrics provides diagnostic tests for rapid platelet function assessment and is located in San Diego, Calif.
Another medical device/diagnostic company made Biospace’s most popular headlines on Friday. Cardiac device maker, Thoratec Corporation announced quarterly results that topped market estimates. The company attributed good earnings with help from its heart device HeartMate II LVAS. The company’s implanted heart pump HeartMate II LVAS helped generate a 68 percent increase in revenue in its cardiovascular division.
That’s it for this week’s leading biotech news from the BioSpace news desk…stay tuned for the following week’s top movers and shakers…
Suvarna Bhatt is a Feature Editor for BioSpace.com. Click here to contact her.
