Mention New Jersey to someone on the street, and he or she is likely to think of Springsteen, the Sopranos, or (God forbid) Snooki. But PharmTech readers know that New Jersey is an important state for the drug industry. Many big companies, such as Johnson and Johnson, sanofi-aventis, Novartis, and Pfizer, have headquarters or other offices in the state. And the Garden State’s drugmakers are facing the same difficulties that confront the industry at large. Read more »

Sanofi aventis and Genzyme have finally agreed on a deal for Sanofi’s acquisition of the Cambridge, MA-based biotechnology company. The agreement values Genzyme at roughly $20.1 billion, or $74 per share, according to a joint statement by the companies. Read more »

The Federal Trade Commission opposes them. Lawmakers have tried and failed to abolish them. Soon, the US Supreme Court may rule on their legality. The future of pay-for-delay agreements, which pharmaceutical companies use to postpone the introduction of generic drugs to the market, could hang in the balance. Read more »

Buying a new company isn’t an easy process, as clearly shown by one of the industry’s most talked about potential mergers: Sanofi and Genzyme have been talking for months now, but there’s still no indication that a deal will take place. Sanofi made a tender offer last year to acquire the company at $69 per share, but had to extend the original December 2010 deadline to 21 Janaury 2011 after less than 1% of shares were tendered. The tender offer is still open, but there’s no indication that the result will be favorable to Sanofi. Read more »

There was no joy in Paris, at least at sanofi-aventis (Paris) headquarters, on Friday. When the company’s offer to acquire Genzyme (Cambridge, MA) at $69 per share expired that day, fewer than 1% of the biopharmaceutical company’s outstanding shares had been tendered. In response, sanofi extended its deadline to January 21, 2011 without modifying the terms of its offer. Why should the company expect a different result in six weeks’ time? Read more »

Genzyme, Genzyme, Genzyme… Most of us won’t have missed the company’s name splashed across dozens of news stories this week relating to a potential acquisition, the selling of its genetics unit and 1000 layoffs. First of all, there’s the ongoing question of whether Genzyme will succumb to sanofi-aventis’ acquisition offer. Genzyme reportedly rejected the offer of $69 per share at the end of August, but sanofi has yet to offer a higher price. Sanofi CEO Chris Viehbacher is still hoping for a “reasonable price”, according to a Reuters article, though he also added that he expects the process to be slow. A report from Bloomberg also speculated that the offer may have to be upped to $75 per share to please Genzyme investors. Read more »

Now it’s official. Rumors about sanofi-aventis’s (Paris) desire to purchase Genzyme (Cambridge, MA) have stirred speculation for weeks. The French drugmaker laid its cards on the table on Sunday by publishing its offer letter to Henri Termeer, Genzyme’s CEO. Sanofi proposed to pay $69 in cash per Genzyme share, or a total of about $18.5 billion, to acquire the biologics manufacturer. On Friday, Genzyme shares closed at $67.62.

Termeer’s response came this morning. It can be summed up in two words: nothing doing. Read more »

Have you ever allowed yourself what you thought was ample time to drive somewhere, only to be delayed by a construction crew that was repairing the roads? Obviously, things don’t always work out as we plan them. Judging by its latest announcement about its facility ameliorations, Genzyme (Cambridge, MA) must have learned this lesson, too. Read more »

The past two weeks have seen dozens of third-party headlines speculating about sanofi aventis possibly making a move to acquire Genzyme. Officially, there has been no word with both companies remaining extremely cagey about any of the details. However, Reuters, Bloomberg and a few other sources claim to have squeezed out a few dribbles of information from “people familiar with the situation” and anonymous staff members. So let’s take a look at what may (or may not be) the current situation. Read more »

In the current economic slump, generic versions of branded drugs have become a bigger thorn in innovators’ sides than before. To safeguard their profits for just a bit longer, many companies have paid generic-drug manufacturers to delay the introduction of their products to the market. US and European authorities have called these arrangements anticompetitive, though, and events on Capitol Hill last week indicate that they might not be tolerated much longer. Read more »