Valeant reportedly considering Salix acquisition

After a period of inventory-accounting restatement and management upheaval, Valeant is ready to hit the acquisition trail again.

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 4, 2015

Valeant to make $296M 'stalking horse' bid on Seattle-based Dendreon

Dendreon, which has slid into chapter 11 and is best known as the proprietor of prostate cancer treatment Provenge, is on the bidding block, and Valeant is a top bidder.

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 2, 2015

Alexion COO Hallal named company's next CEO

The departing CEO, Dr. Leonard Bell, will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 30, 2015

Express Scripts claims it's saved US healthcare $4B through hep C deals

It's a bold statement. But does the math add up?

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 29, 2015

Largest US health insurer latest to give Harvoni preferred hep C drug status

Another win for Gilead—and a loss for AbbVie—as UnitedHealth, the nation's largest health insurer, gives Harvoni preferred status for all insured customers. 

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 29, 2015

Gilead to launch generic Sovaldi in India this summer

Gilead has been working with India's health ministry to find a workable solution to the problem of distributing generic Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) at an accessible price.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 28, 2015

Actavis to buy Auden McKenzie for $465M

The acquisition of Auden McKenzie will make Actavis the largest supplier of generics in the United Kingdom.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 28, 2015

Hindsight: Valeant CEO admits mistakes in approach to Allergan bid

Michael Pearson, CEO of Valeant, also said his firm would no longer be teaming up with activist investor Bill Ackman in acquisition quests.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 23, 2015

REPORT: Takeda COO Weber approached for vacant Sanofi CEO post

But Christophe Weber is reportedly not interested in the position. 

By Sy Mukherjee • Jan. 22, 2015

Salix Pharma reportedly exploring options, considering sale

Beset by excess inventory and the loss of a potential buy-out by Allergan, Salix is working with advisors to determine what comes next.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 22, 2015

Ambitious RNA biotech Alnylam raising $450M, looking for acquisitions

Alnylam is upping the ante by raising money, going after acquisitions, and setting a goal of three new marketed products and 10 clinical-stage candidates by 2020.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 21, 2015

BMS' new chief: COO Giovanni Caforio to replace CEO Andreotti in May

A changing of the guard in underway at Bristol-Myers Squibb.

By Sy Mukherjee • Jan. 20, 2015

UPDATED: Yet another major insurance company strikes hep C deal with Gilead

The largest provider of health coverage to US businesses has chosen to procure hep C drugs from Gilead (and not AbbVie), raising the stakes in this marketing battle yet again.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 16, 2015

Intrexon, Ziopharma invest $100M in MD Anderson cancer immunotherapy tech

The groups expect to get five candidates this year.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 15, 2015

J&J licensing IBD drug from microbiome specialist Vedanta

The drug leverages the power of the microbiome.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 14, 2015

Merck invests $50 million in Moderna

Moderna's messenger RNA therapeutics has attracted major pharma investors, including AstraZeneca, Alexion ---and now Merck. All told, Moderna has raised more than $800 million.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 14, 2015

Mersana Therapeutics expands $300M R&D pact with Takeda

This deal takes place in the context of Takeda's new CEO's promise of a more stringent approach to R&D.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 13, 2015

Roche buys majority stake in Foundation Medicine for $1.03B

The investment says a lot about Roche's confidence not just in Foundation, but in using genetics to help select cancer drugs.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 13, 2015

Cempra announces $100M stock sale after antibiotic impresses in pneumonia trials

If Cempra's antibiotic being developed for treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), solithromycin, is approved, it will be the first macrolide approved since 1988.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 12, 2015

Biogen Idec, Columbia University forge $30 million genetics research pact

The specifics haven't been revealed. But part of the deal involves the establishment of a genetics studies postdoctoral program at Columbia and a sequencing and analysis facility. 

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 12, 2015

Done deal: Shire acquires NPS Pharma for $5.2 billion

Irish company Shire finally sealed the deal with NPS Pharma, and in the process acquired drugs that will shore up its rare diseases drug portfolio.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 12, 2015

Genentech and Google-backed 23andMe strike Parkinson's research deal

The two companies will team up to sequence the genomes of 3,000 Parkinson's patients in an effort to research new treatments.

By Sy Mukherjee • Jan. 7, 2015

Gilead acquires Phenex's FXR liver drugs in $470 million deal

Gilead is working on development of therapies for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 7, 2015

Minnesota Investment Board will not support Medtronic-Covidien inversion deal

A key investor is expressing displeasure at the planned $43 billion merger between Minneapolis-based Medtronic and Dublin-based Covidien.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 6, 2015

Moderna raises record $450M from investors with groundbreaking RNA tech

That brings the company's private fundraising total up to $950 million.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 6, 2015