Today’s Top Three in Pharma 012609

Of course, the huge news this Monday morning…Pfizer buying Wyeth. This will dominate the headlines for days. Before the deal was announced, Jim Edwards did some analysis on potential downsides – interesting stuff. This also means that the Wyeth-Crucell discussions are scuttled. And who else may be making deals in the days ahead?

My take, fwiw – While lots of folks focus on the stock premium, the synergies of the product mix, the cost savings by chopping overlaps, etc., few talk about the incredible disruption that now occurs with both companies, as extraordinary amounts of time, attention, money, and other resources are expended coming up with merger plans and processes. There are the terrible work inefficiencies that occur every time one of these mega-mergers creeps forward, as initiatives are stalled, employees are paralyzed by angst as to their future roles, recruites swoop in and cherry-pick talent, etc. It gets really messy as entire organizations are unwound and PEOPLE are transitioned from clear productive direction to fear and uncertainty, over many months. It’s ugly. As a solutions-provider for many pharma clients over the years, I’ve seen this unpleasant process many times. My heart goes out to the folks at Wyeth, who now have to wrestle with loads of questions, and very few answers…

Here’s a list of the Top Ten (by $ value) pharma mergers in the past (a couple are “in process” currently).

The multiple sclerosis pill development race accelerates. Whatever the outcome of the 2-company race to market, these two experimental drugs promise to be a great win for patients. Merck KGaA pulled ahead of Novartis in the race to develop the first pill for multiple sclerosis on Friday, announcing it planned to submit its drug cladribine for approval in mid-2009.

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