Biotech Giant Slashes Jobs

Peer benchmarking drives everyone higher

(NEWSER) - Amgen didn’t do terribly well under CEO Kevin Sharer last year—it eliminated some 2,700 jobs and its stock fell 3%. Yet Sharer pocketed a 37% raise, bringing his compensation to $21 million. Why? Because the board decided he should be paid “closer to the 75th percentile of the peer group.” It’s a common story in corporate America, the Washington Post laments. Almost all CEOs are paid by “peer benchmarking”—a move companies ostensibly take to keep top-notch execs from quitting—and it’s made executive pay quadruple since the 1970s. More»

(NEWSER) - Swiss drug giant Roche has succeeded in its quest to own biotech firm Genentech outright, and will purchase the 44% of shares it does not already own for $95 each, the San Francisco Chronicle reports today. The $46.8 billion deal comes after months of haggling, wherein Roche offered as little as $86.50 for shares Genentech valued at $112. Roche pledges to maintain Genentech’s San Francisco campus. More»

Swiss pharma bids $43.7B for remaining shares of biotech firm

(NEWSER) - Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche today offered $43.7 billion for the outstanding shares of Genentech, the San Francisco-based biotech firm in which Roche already owns a 55.9% stake, the Wall Street Journal reports. The $89-a-share offer is the latest in a series of big pharma companies, whose new drug development has been lagging, stepping up investment in the more productive biotech sector. More»

But analysts say Avastin sales slowing

(NEWSER) - Biotech firm Genentech said sales of its blockbuster cancer drug Avastin fueled a first-quarter profit increase of 12%, reports the Wall Street Journal, but the $600 million in sales was below analysts’ projected $622 million, causing some to grumble the drug may have reached a sales plateau. Genentech stock edged up 0.3% in after-hours trading. More»

Despite beating analysts' revenue and profit forecast, biotech's share price drops

(NEWSER) - Drug maker Genentech – struggling with near-flat sales of its two premier drugs, Avastin and Rituxan – managed to outperform analyst’s fourth quarter expectations – barely, reports the Associated Press. The one-time biotech uber star, which recorded phenomenal growth in each of the two previous years, showed only a 6.4% increase in profits on sales that rose 9% in the quarter. More»