The US's planned withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty on February 2 risks paving the way for a major missile build-up in Europe by the US and Russia, and in Asia by the US and China. The treaty was signed between the US and USSR in 1987 and forbade both sides from developing and deploying ground-launched [...]
Eli Lilly and Loxo Oncology have entered into a definitive agreement for Lilly to acquire Loxo Oncology for USD235.00 per share in cash, or approximately USD8.0bn. We also noted, in 2018, that Lilly would undertake small to mid-size acquisitions, and this is likely the just the first of Lilly's 2019 deals, whilst expected to be the biggest. The transaction [...]
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company has announced new research collaborations in immuno-oncology (IO), an area of key strategic focus for the company. Through these collaborations, Takeda seeks to accelerate the discovery of next-generation cancer immunotherapies, including novel cell therapy approaches that may provide important opportunities for addressing the needs of patients with hard-to-treat cancers. Takeda is currently aiming [...]
Novartis has offered to acquire CellforCure in order to expand its manufacturing capacity for innovative cell and gene therapies. The proposed acquisition builds on an existing partnership between the two firms which involves contract manufacturing of Novartis' CAR-T cell therapy Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel). Specific cost details have not yet been announced; however, Novartis has stated that it expects the deal to be [...]
Marketing of pharmaceutical products is of serious ethical concerns. Companies’ sales representatives should be ‘adequately trained and possess sufficient medical and technical knowledge to present information about the products in an accurate and responsible manner’. Sales representatives are not allowed to exaggerate the capabilities of the product. Marketing of pharmaceutical products may bring potential risks [...]
Oman will continue to deepen bilateral ties with China, following the announcement of the establishment of a strategic partnership in May 2018. The two countries indicated their intentions to build on bilateral relations across a number of areas, deepening trade and investment ties, which have already been strengthening in recent years. Most importantly, China is [...]
Several bearish factors combined with a mature Fed hiking cycle will start to outweigh the more bullish catalysts, capping USD strength. Our neutral view is also underpinned by rising uncertainty across the G10 economies and we believe that the US dollar will trade sideways against its major peers given that we do not expect G10 [...]
We view it as likely that the Iranian authorities will devalue the official exchange rate and/or narrow the definition of ‘basic goods’ that qualify for imports at the current rate in 2019. The re-imposition and further tightening of US sanctions will drastically reduce oil export earnings and restrict cross-border financial transactions, leading to a sharp slowdown [...]
Merck & Co and Instituto Butantan have entered into a collaboration agreement to develop vaccines to protect against dengue virus disease. Instituto Butantan and Merck have licensed certain rights from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), for the development of live attenuated tetravalent vaccines (LATV). Instituto [...]
