Mergers and acquisitions propel the pharmaceutical sector. Signal in contrast with investments in research, which continue to fall: -14% in the last year
La fiammata di aprile, un luglio di trimestrali record, l’intreccio di trattative che, in questi giorni, ha riacceso i riflettori. Big Pharma sta cambiando pelle, e non ha intenzione di fermarsi. L’ultimo affondo è firmato Roche, che offre 10 miliardi di dollari per acquistare il 40% che ancora non controlla della giapponese Chugai. Nonostante le smentite di rito l’operazione, con cui il colosso svizzero punta a rafforzarsi in Asia, potrebbe essere annunciata in settimana. Se si concretizzerà, farà volare oltre quota 260 miliardi di dollari il valore degli affari conclusi nel corso del 2014 nel settore farmaceutico, bio-tecnologico e medico. Un primato storico, secondo i dati di Mergermarket, il doppio rispetto allo stesso periodo del 2013, ma pure un segnale in controtendenza rispetto agli investimenti in ricerca, che continuano a scendere: -14% nell’ultimo anno. Insomma il risiko – ragionano gli analisti – è soprattutto finanziario: basta guardare i numeri degli Stati Uniti, dove l’S&P Pharmaceuticals Index, l’indice di settore, in un anno ha fatto un balzo del 32,38%.
The climbing season
Within three months, Roche was shopping in the US, buying Seragon Pharmaceuticals for $1.7 billion, and in Denmark, where it paid out $450 million for Santaris Pharma. However, the hyper-activism of the Swiss is small compared to the maxi-takeover bid unleashed by Pfizer, which in the spring put up to 120 billion on the plate for its rival Astrazeneca. Offer also rejected due to resistance from the British government, but the soap opera is not finished. Instead, the takeover of Allergan (a Californian company that produces botox) attempted by William Ackman, the US hedge fund magnate, has ended, and very badly. An operation whose value is estimated at 46 billion dollars which triggered the investigations of the SEC, the US stock market authority.
Between slowdowns and changes of pace, the most significant agreement is the one signed between Novartis and the British GlaxoSmithKline, which is worth 28.5 billion dollars. In detail, the big Swiss bought the oncology branch of Glaxo for 16 billion and sold him its vaccine division for 7.1 billion. An alliance was then created between the two industries with a 10.9 billion turnover in consumer products, from the painkillers Voltaren and Excedrin to Sensodyne toothpastes. For the moment, however, vaccines against the flu remain excluded from the agreement: from the Swiss group they let it be known that a different buyer will be sought "to maximize its value". Not even Bayer misses a beat, which bought Merck's over-the-counter drugs for 14.2 billion dollars.
The patent knot
Behind the wave of acquisitions there is above all the need of the groups to strengthen themselves to face the advance of generic drugs and the barrage of expiring patents. «It is better to be the leader in a specific sector, rather than in the back-up positions in various fields», is the reasoning of Johan Utterman, Swiss, manager of Lombard Odier Im.
The Italian way
Italy also participates in the grand ball of mergers. Not always with the right pace. At the beginning of August, Moody's placed the "B1" rating of Rottapharm under observation, for a possible downgrade. billion. There is also a lot of Italy behind the maxi check for 15.3 billion issued by the US Walgreen to take over the 55% of Alliance Boots, led by Stefano Pessina. The former nuclear engineer transformed the pharmaceutical business of the Naples family into the giant Alliance UniChem, which in 2006 was "married" to the English Boots.
