Patheon Bought, Again

There has been a lot of interest in contract research organizations (CROs), contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) and contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), especially in the M&A market. Half-way through May 2017, 19 of these deals have been  announced. With 14 deals and $14 billion spent this year, CROs have taken the spotlight. But CDMO deals are picking up pace, accounting for 21% of the 19 deals and $7.3 billion spent this year. Most of that total derives from one deal. On May 15, 2017, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: TMO) acquired Patheon N.V. (NYSE: PTHN), a CDMO focused on active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished drug product... Read More »

Health Care Deals Slide in April 2017

April usually doesn’t feel like February, at least, weather-wise. As far as healthcare mergers and acquisitions go, however, deal volume in April 2017 (103 deals) feels a lot like February’s deal volume (102). The chart below shows the clear winners and losers in April 2017. Deal volume was down 29% compared with the previous month (March, 145 deals), and slid 12% compared with the year before (April 2016, 141 deals). Healthcare services deal volume accounted for just 50% of April’s preliminary total. The services sectors typically account for higher percentages than the technology sectors (although that trend is reversed when it comes to dollar volume). The services side... Read More »

PE Firms Are Big on CROs

Private equity firms are taking big stakes in contract research organizations (CROs) in 2017. Through May 3, 12 CRO deals have been announced this year, up 140% from the same period last year, when only five deals were announced (these numbers do not include contract manufacturing organization deals). In late April, The Carlyle Group was rumored to be weighing the acquisition of Albany Molecular Research Inc. (NASDAQ: AMRI), a New York-based CRO. A week later, the private equity firm announced the sale of its majority stake in Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC (PPD), a global contract research organization that provides comprehensive, integrated drug development, laboratory... Read More »

Fresenius Injects $5.1 Billion into its U.S. Pharma Unit

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE: FMS) has been a busy deal maker. In 2016, its subsidiary Fresenius Helios bought the Spanish hospital chain Quironsalud for $6.5 billion, its Renal Care division acquired the rights to a chronic kidney disease drug for up to $282 million, and then a German-based cardiovascular medical device company for an undisclosed price. The company also picked up dialysis clinics throughout India and New York State, and other drug licenses in the meantime. Now, it has turned its attention to strengthening Fresenius Kabi, its sterile injectable medicines subsidiary. Biosimilars are a fast-growing segment within the pharmaceutical market,... Read More »

Abbott and Alere: The Wedding Is Back On!

It seems so long ago. Back in February 2016,  Abbott (NYSE: ABT) and Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR) announced their $5.8 billion deal. Abbott’s board okay’ed paying $56 per common share of Alere, representing a 51% premium to the company’s close on January 28, 2016. Abbott also assumed $2.6 billion of debt. The combination was expected to create a premier point-of-care testing business and to strengthen Abbott’s diagnostics presence. Alere’s main business is its point-of-care diagnostics and services, which are focused on the areas of infectious disease, cardio-metabolic disease, and toxicology. Point of care testing is a $5.5 billion segment, and one... Read More »

DaVita Divests Seven Dialysis Clinics

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) isn’t usually on the sell-side of dialysis deals. In fact, the company hasn’t announced a sale from its renal care division in the past five years. But in late March, the Federal Trade Commission ordered DaVita to divest its ownership in seven dialysis clinics. That order was part of a settlement resolving charges that DaVita’s $358 million acquisition of Renal Ventures Management, LLC would be anticompetitive. At the time of that deal’s announcement in August 2015, Renal Ventures operated 36 dialysis clinics in six states. The company’s two divisions, Multispecialty Physician Partners and Physician Venture Partners, operated infusion... Read More »