GSK and Pfizer Remember yesterday, when it was reported that GlaxoSmithKline had outbid Reckitt Benckiser for Pfizer's consumer healthcare business? Since then, Reckitt pulled out of the process—and now GSK has done the same. Its shares had taken a dip on the news that it was likely to take over Pfizer's Advil-and-Centrum division. "While we will continue to review opportunities that may accelerate our strategy, they must meet our criteria for returns and not compromise our priorities for capital allocation," said GSK CEO Emma Walmsley. Financial Times
Pfizer CEO Ian Read is to step down as CEO of Pfizer and become the pharma giant's executive chairman. Albert Bourla, the company's chief operating officer, will become CEO. Bourla has been at the company for 25 years, and Read said he was the right person to "deliver the next stage of growth" at Pfizer. Fortune
GSK+Pfizer Pharmaceutical firms GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer are merging their consumer health units, with a combined value of $12.7 billion, and plan to spin off the new joint venture within three years. The remaining parent companies will be focused on riskier but more rewarding prescription drugs. Wall Street Journal.
Pfizer’s Dimitry Nuyten Jumps to Aduro for Chief Medical Officer Job Aduro Biotech has appointed Dimitry Nuyten to serve as its chief medical officer. Nuyten comes to Berkeley, Calif.-based Aduro from Pfizer, where he was vice president and immuno-oncology clinical development leader. Prior to Pfizer, Nuyten was an executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Earlier this year, Aduro announced a corporate restructuring intended to turn its focus toward cancer drugs currently in clinical testing. (Xconomy)
Pfizer and Array BioPharma Pfizer is shelling out almost $11 billion for Array BioPharma, a company that specializes in cancer treatment. Pfizer is already strong in breast and prostate cancer treatment, but the Array buy gives it a boost in treating colorectal cancer in particular. Wall Street Journal
Pfizer Named Top Dividend Stock With Insider Buying And 4.18% Yield(Forbes) In this series, we look through the most recent Dividend Channel ”DividendRank” report, and then we cherry pick only those companies that have experienced insider buying within the past six months. The officers and directors of a company tend to have a unique insider’s view of the business, and presumably the only reason an insider would choose to take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock in the open market, is that they expect to make money – maybe they find the stock very undervalued, or maybe they see exciting progress within the company, or maybe both. So when stocks turn up that see insider buying, and are also top dividends, investors are wise to take notice. One such company is Pfizer, which saw buying by Director Ronald E. Blaylock.
Pfizer vaccine Pfizer and BioNTech's big announcement yesterday, that preliminary trial data shows their candidate COVID-19 vaccine is at least 90% effective, sent the markets soaring and pandemic stocks (Zoom, Peloton) plummeting. Optimistic exuberance, perhaps—final data is still needed, some unknowns remain, and production and logistics challenges stand in the way of a speedy rollout—but infectious diseases experts are genuinely excited. And, by the way, the U.S. government's "Operation Warp Speed" did not fund this effort, as some (Mike Pence, Ivanka Trump) have suggested; it was the German government, if anyone. Fortune
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Research shows that Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine is likely to provide protection against the new, more-transmissible COVID-19 variants from the U.K. and South Africa that are freaking everyone out. The research specifically looked at responses to these mutant viruses from those who have been vaccinated with the companies' mRNA jab. Moderna, which uses similar technology in its vaccine, is also confident of its continued efficacy in the face of the mutants. Fortune
Pfizer efficacy Early findings from the U.K.'s COVID-19 vaccination program show one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to offer just under two-thirds protection against the coronavirus, and both doses to provide protection of 79%-84%, depending on age. That's less efficacy than the vaccine demonstrated in clinical trials, but still far from bad. Fortune