April Deals May Flower Future Growth

Image Source: Iqbal Osman By Kris Rosemann Thursday, April 28, was marked by a surge of M&A activity, as major corporations continue to search for growth as global economic concerns remain and the US economy shows signs of slowing. The world’s largest economy, which is accustomed to slow starts to the year, saw seasonally-adjusted GDP grow at a 0.5% rate in the first quarter of 2016, the slowest rate for the first quarter since 2014. Though a rebound in GDP growth in the second quarter has followed in nearly every year since the Great Recession, a variety of global pressures has caused US GDP growth to slow on a quarter-over-quarter basis since the second quarter of 2015 when it nearly … Read more

Oncology News a Key Driver of Big Pharma

Image Source: Images Money By Kris Rosemann There’s no shortage of excitement in the pharmaceutical (XLV, IBB) sector as of late. It’s almost on a weekly basis that we hear of some pharma giant involved in a merger, attempted acquisition, or buyout rumor, but it makes sense that ongoing consolidation will be an theme across the group, particularly when considering the outlook for top-line growth across the biotech/pharma space, which remains weighed down by pricing pressures. More recently, for example, diabetes giant Novo Nordisk (NVO) noted that it expects average drug prices in 2017 to be down in the low- to mid-single digit range from 2016 levels after the completion of the majority of its negotiations with pharmacy benefits managers … Read more