WSJ: Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Split-Off Of Mead Johnson

The Wall Street Journal reports that drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said on Sunday it would split off its Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. business so that it can focus on its bio-pharmaceutical business.

Under the terms of the deal, New York-based Bristol, which has an 83% economic interest in Mead, will give Bristol shareholders roughly $1.11 in Mead shares for each $1 in Bristol shares they tender. The ratio will be determined by a 10% discount to the daily volume-weighted average prices of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Mead Johnson common shares over a three-day period in early December.

New York-based Bristol said the deal, which it expects will be accretive to earnings per share beginning in 2010, is part of its divestment strategy that would allow it to transition from a traditional drug company into a biopharmaceutical company.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Split-Off Of Mead Johnson

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When Is Revenue Not Revenue for Biotech Firms?

Nicolas Morgan of Genengnews.com writes that newly proposed changes to accounting rules may help public biotech and pharmaceutical companies and others avoid the nightmare scenario suffered by Impax Laboratories last year when the SEC revoked the registration of its common stock, essentially eliminating the public market for the company’s securities.

The SEC has designated the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) as a private organization responsible for setting accounting standards for U.S. public companies. One arm of FASB, the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), holds public meetings to identify and resolve accounting issues occurring in the financial world.

For more information, please see Morgan's article it is entirety.

When Is Revenue Not Revenue for Biotech Firms?

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Biopharma Updates Across the World

This recent post on Biopharmatoday sheds some light on recent biopharma developments from around the world including India, China, Japan, and around the Pacific. Some of the highlights from the article include President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from the Philippines signing a new legislation that will transform the nation's top regulatory group. Under the new Act the Bureau of Food and Drugs will replace the Food and Drug Administration. In Europe, Roche became the first multinational pharma company to establish a research and development center in China.

Make sure to take a look at the post for the rest of the updates.

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Biopharma IPO Is a Healthy Sign

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Cumberland Pharmaceuticals had, by traditional standards, a poor initial public offering last week but a closer look at the offering shows success.

Cumberland's revenue grew 25% in 2008. It has another product coming to market soon that could redouble that growth. But 70 times earnings is a dizzying valuation all the same.

Cumberland's product portfolio makes the rich multiple all the more impressive. Its biggest current product, Acetadote, is an intravenous version of a drug treating Tylenol overdoses. The oral form of the drug is generically available. According to the prospectus, protection from competition comes not from patents, but from "trade secrets and proprietary know-how" as well as marketing exclusivity, granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that expires in 2011.

Will we see Cumberland's offerings pick up for the remainder of 2009 and early 2010?

Biopharma IPO Is a Healthy Sign

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Bringing in the Green

Porcher L. Taylor, III and David E. Kitchen write on the green initiatives that Pharma must do in order to be environmentally friendly and help boost their brand image and ROI. In their piece, Bringing in the Green, Taylor and Kitchen lay out simple plans that Pharma should consider when aiming to be green. These initatives, according to the writers, are clear and compelling financial, corporate-citizenship, and consumer-management arguments for the industry to aggressively become eco-friendly. The first pharma company that adopts these Green practices and markets itself in this way may have a major competitive advantage within reach. To read their practices, review the article here.

We'd like to hear your thoughts on green inititatives throughout Pharma on our Future of BioPharma LinkedIn group and greenPharma LinkedIn group. Join us today!

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