all shook up: Roche, which has one of the highest research spends in the pharmaceutical industry, has launched a big overhaul of its research strategy in a bid to slash costs and speed up drug launches. The move is expected to lead to job losses at its research centres in Nutley, New Jersey, USA, and Kamakura, Japan -- two of the Swiss group's most vital centres. Kamakura will concentrate on research into fungal infections; Nutley will cut its research in oncology and inflammation and concentrate into metabolic disorders.
gene alliance: Human Genome Sciences (HGS), the US biotechnology company, has signed a 10-year alliance with Transgene, the Strasbourg-based biotechnology firm planning to float on the Paris stock exchange and on US Nasdaq exchange. HGS is one of the pioneers of in human gene analysis, while Transgene specialises in gene therapy.
In which diseases are treated by changing the genes in the body. The deal involves HGS taking a 10 per cent stake in Transgene. HGS will also license to Transgene the use of information on up to 10 genes.
power purchase: Texas Utilities Company, a US power corporation, said that it has agreed to buy Energy Group for US $10.2 billion in cash, attempting to knock previous bidder PacifiCorp out of the running and valuing the company's stock and debt at US $10.2 billion. Texas' new offer has already acquired the approval of the UK and the US regulators and has been actively backed by the Energy Group board. PacifiCorp has not made it clear whether it intends to bid again.
disease defence: British medicine delivery company Powderject Pharmaceuticals Plc recently announced that it had signed an agreement with Glaxo Wellcome Plc to develop DNA vaccines based on the former's know-how, beginning with a hepatitis B vaccine. Powderject, whose technology allows medicines to be delivered in dry form painlessly through the skin, said that the deal had the potential to generate payments to Powderject in excess of US $300 million, making it potentially Europe's largest drug research and development collaboration agreement. The deal grants Glaxo exclusive worldwide rights to use Powderject technology to commercialise a hepatitis B vaccine, currently in phase one trial being conducted by Powderject.
fight aids for less: After two years of secret international negotiations about drug profits and public health, Glaxo Wellcome Plc was expected to unveil a surprise plan to slash the price of the AIDS drug AZT for pregnant women in the developing nations by as much as 75 per cent. The plan, effective immediately, marks a landmark step towards getting AZT to the estimated three million infected pregnant women in the impoverished parts of the world that account for 90 per cent of the world's AIDs cases.
hot wheels: Avtozaz, Ukraine's largest carmaker, and Daewoo, South Korea, have signed an agreement to form a US $1.3 billion joint venture to produce 355,000 cars a year within two years. A new law which take effect on April 1 will ban imports to Ukraine of cars older than five years. Daewoo has also asked the Ukrainian government to impose a US $2,000-4,000 import duty on used foreign cars which could compensate with those it will make. Kiev's agreement to restrict imports removed a major obstacle to the signing of the deal.
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