AbbVie could use some M&A to help it diversify beyond best-seller Humira, a popular biosimilar target. And that’s something its newest hire knows a thing or two about.
The Illinois pharma is bringing on Henry Gosebruch, one of JPMorgan Chase’s two co-heads of North American mergers, as its chief strategy officer. The appointment is “about enhancing our focus and recognizing the increasingly important role that corporate strategy and business development will play in our future,” spokesman Greg Miley told FiercePharma via email.
Gosebruch is no stranger to pharma–or to AbbVie. He eventually became one of JPMorgan’s top dealmakers in the space after joining the bank in 1994 as an intern, The New York Times notes. Gosebruch went on to advise on transactions like Forest Labs’ sale to Actavis (now Allergan), Merck’s Cubist takeover, and 2014’s ultimately failed tie-up between AbbVie and Shire.
Now, with Gosebruch in tow, more moves could be on the way for the Chicago-area drugmaker. Since abandoning the Shire deal, AbbVie paid $21 billion for Imbruvica-maker Pharmacyclics, but the company may need more deals if dire predictions that some analysts have for Humira hold any weight.
Citi’s Andrew Baum, for one, sees biosimilars making a big dent in the drug’s revenues as soon as 2018. “At year 3, biosimilars will achieve 36% U.S. market share in Humira patients and 25% in established Humira patients,” he wrote in February, forecasting that knockoffs would sink sales to $6 billion by 2022.
By Carly Helfand
Source: Fierce Pharma
Big Pharma has long seen the potential for AI and machine learning to accelerate drug development. But Novo Nordisk is going a step further by channeling $200 million toward the creation of a computer that will outrun anything in existence.
Current methods for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease rely on a complex combination of self- and caregiver-reported symptoms, a physical examination and either a PET scan or a spinal tap to look for evidence of amyloid plaque build-ups in the brain. But a new artificial intelligence-based method may make the diagnostic process a much more objective one.
There is lots of talk about diversity and inclusion in business, including in pharma and medtech. A new report by the Open Political Economy Network (OPEN), a think tank focusing on migration and diversity, released its “Minority Businesses Matter: Europe” report highlighting the successes and challenges of ethnic minority-owned businesses in Europe.
