AstraZeneca drug fails in key prostate cancer trial September 27, 2010 ASTRAZENECA’S experimental prostate cancer pill Zibotentan failed to improve survival in a late-stage clinical trial, dealing a fresh blow to the company’s drug pipeline. As a result, AstraZeneca plans no regulatory submissions for zibotentan at this time and a spokesman said yesterday it was discussing the implications of the setback with investigators working on other [...]
Sanofi-Aventis sticks to its $69 per share offer for drugmaker Genzyme September 27, 2010 Sanofi-Aventis has not changed its offer of $69 per share for drugmaker Genzyme, it said yesterday. Genzyme rejected Sanofi’s offer, claiming it had dramatically undervalued the US company. But Sanofi spokesman Jean-Marc Podvin said yesterday: “We have one offer at $69. No other offer has been made … We would like to enter into a [...]
Actelion shares fall after haemorrhage drug fails to impress in experts’ study September 27, 2010 ACTELION’S experimental drug Clazosentan is unlikely to make it to market after it failed in a late-stage study, dealing the biotech group another blow following a setback for its key drug Tracleer. Shares in the Swiss group closed down almost eight per cent at SwFr 40 yesterday. “The failure of clazosentan is bad news for [...]
Healthcare Locums sees profits drop as cuts bite September 27, 2010 SPENDING cuts by NHS managers have hit profits at medical staffing company Healthcare Locums. The firm said yesterday pre-tax profits dived 21 per cent to £6.8?m in the first half of 2010. Executive vice-chairman Kate Bleasdale said: “We have experienced challenging trading conditions in our NHS operations as a consequence of managers’ uncertainty over spending [...]
PZ CUSSONS BUYS ST TROPEZ FOR £63m September 27, 2010 Self-tanning products company St Tropez, whose fake tan spray is used by celebrities such as Victoria Beckham (left), has been sold again. Its UK owner LDC, the private-equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, sold the firm for £62.5m to PZ Cussons, the maker of Imperial Leather soap and Carex handwash, it announced yesterday.
Google keeps top ranking as best employer September 27, 2010 GOOGLE is the most attractive employer in the world, according to new research, which shows that fewer students and graduates are turning to the financial services industry for work. Up to 130,000 job seekers with either a business or engineering background have voted the internet giant into the top spot in employment consultancy Universum’s annual [...]
Wal-Mart set to offer $4bn for Massmart September 27, 2010 WAL-MART is in talks to buy South Africa’s Massmart, in a $4bn (£2.52bn) deal that would give the US retailer a big presence in fast-growing Africa and boost its emerging markets strategy. Wal-Mart has made a non-binding proposal of 148 rand (£13) per Massmart share, valuing it at around 30 billion rand (£2.7bn), a premium [...]
Vivendi sells its NBC stake September 27, 2010 Vivendi has offloaded its stake in NBC Universal to General Electric (GE) for $2bn (£1.26bn). The French conglomerate sold a third of its 20 per cent stake and says it will sell the remainder for $3.8bn when GE completes a separate deal with entertainment firm Comcast. Earlier this month Vivendi chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy said [...]
Southwest to expand its presence with AirTran buy September 27, 2010 SOUTHWEST Airlines is to purchase AirTran Holdings for $1.04bn (£656m) in cash and stock in a deal that will allow Southwest to expand its presence in major East Coast US markets. The merger, announced yesterday, is the first among leading low-cost US airlines and the second notable deal this year after United Airlines and Continental [...]
Takefuji eyes bankruptcy as it becomes the biggest Japanese lender to collapse September 27, 2010 JAPAN’S Takefuji Corp is preparing to file for bankruptcy with $5.2bn (£3.2bn) in debts, making it the biggest consumer lender to fail under the weight of court-ordered interest repayments and tighter lending rules. Takefuji, which has been considered at risk for failure because it doesn’t have the financial backing of any of Japan’s big banks, [...]
