Melanie Sena is community editor of Pharmaceutical Technology.

Melanie Sena

, a research and consulting firm, AbbVie’s recent $54 billion acquisition of Shire and subsequent relocation to Ireland will mean substantial tax savings for the US pharmaceutical giant.

Aparna Krishnan, MS, GlobalData’s analyst, and Joshua Owide, GlobalData’s director of Healthcare Industry Dynamics, said the rational for the deal consisted of a mix of portfolio diversification, operating cost synergies, and tax savings. Shire, which itself relocated to Ireland from the UK back in 2008, has since seen a notable drop in its tax expenses, with a five-year average effective tax rate (ETR) of 20.6% between 2008 and 2013, compared with 36.9% in 2008. By comparison, AbbVie’s ETR was 22.6% in 2013.

In terms of underlying assets, Shire will provide AbbVie with a portfolio that includes a number of niche drugs used in orphan diseases. According to GlobalData, the particular importance of Humira to AbbVie’s business should not be understated, as the drug accounted for 56.7% of the company’s top-line sales in 2013.

“Humira could face competition from adalimumab biosimilars as early as December 2016 in the US and April 2018 in other markets. However, even after assuming the entry of these treatments, Humira will remain AbbVie’s leading franchise far into the future, with a net present value of $37.6 billion and a free cash flow of over $60 billion through 2029,” adds Owide.

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AbbVie's relocation to Ireland following Shire's acquisition could lower its annual tax expense by as much as 7% over the next 15 years.

AbbVie's Acquisition of Shire Could Save $8 Billion in Taxes

 has proposed designs for its new Global R&D center and corporate headquarters in Cambridge, UK. The plans for the new facility, which will be located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC), include designs for the global center, an R&D enabling building, and an energy center.

The new site will bring together AstraZeneca’s small molecule and biologics research and development activity, opening up more opportunities for biologics and small molecule combinations. The CBC will be the new UK home for biologics research and protein engineering carried out by MedImmune, AstraZeneca’s biologics arm. MedImmune currently employs around 500 people at Granta Park, to the southeast of the city.

In advance of the new site to be finished in late 2016, around 70 AstraZeneca staff have already relocated to interim facilities in Cambridge, at the Melbourn Science Park, Cambridge Science Park, and Granta Park. By the end of 2014 approximately 300­–400 AstraZeneca staff will have relocated to the city.

Designs for AstraZeneca’s new site are being made available as part of a public consultation for the local community, ahead of submission of a detailed planning application in autumn 2014. AstraZeneca expects to begin building the new site in early 2015.

AstraZeneca releases designs for its new Global R&D center and corporate headquarters in Cambridge, UK.

AstraZeneca Reveals Design for New Global R&D Center and Corporate Headquarters

 eye care division, Alcon, has entered into an agreement with a division of Google to in-license its "smart lens" technology for all ocular medical uses. The agreement with Google[x], a specialized team within Google, provides Alcon with the opportunity to develop and commercialize Google's "smart lens" technology with the potential to further enhance Alcon's pipeline. The transaction remains subject to anti-trust approvals.

Under the agreement, Google[x] and Alcon will collaborate to develop a "smart lens" that has the potential to address ocular conditions. The smart lens technology involves non-invasive sensors, microchips, and other miniaturized electronics, which are embedded within contact lenses. 

Novartis' interest in this technology is currently focused in two areas. One, helping diabetic patients manage their disease by providing a continuous, minimally invasive measurement of the body's glucose levels via a "smart contact lens" which is designed to measure tear fluid in the eye and connects wirelessly with a mobile device; and two, for people living with presbyopia who can no longer read without glasses, the "smart lens" has the potential to provide accommodative vision correction to help restore the eye's natural autofocus on near objects in the form of an accommodative contact lens or intraocular lens as part of the refractive cataract treatment.

Alcon enters agreement with Google to in-license its "smart lens" Ttechnology for all ocular medical uses.

Novartis to License Google "Smart Lens" Technology

 will acquire InnoPharma, a privately held pharmaceutical development company. Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will acquire InnoPharma for an upfront cash payment of $225 million, with up to $135 million of contingent milestone payments. InnoPharma’s current portfolio includes 10 generic products approved by FDA. The company also has a pipeline of 19 products filed with FDA and more than 30 injectable and ophthalmic products under development. 

“Today’s announcement is an important milestone as we continue to look for innovative growth opportunities for our sterile injectables portfolio, which will increase to 73 products with this acquisition,” said John Young, group president, Pfizer Global Established Pharma (GEP).

Pfizer Injectables is part of the GEP business and includes the manufacturing, production, and sale of human pharmaceutical and surgiceutical products. The current active sterile injectable portfolio consists of 44 products with over 190 presentations in the US. The new Pfizer portfolio of 73 products will include currently marketed products, as well as products filed with the FDA.

The closing of the transaction is subject to US regulatory approval and is expected to occur during the third quarter.

Pfizer will acquire InnoPharma for $225 million.

Pfizer to Acquire InnoPharma

, although the Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now (GAIN) Act of 2012 was a step in the right direction for encouraging antibiotics research, FDA still lags behind EMA.

Marc C. Hansel, PhD, GlobalData’s analyst covering infectious diseases, says that the GAIN Act has catalyzed investment from companies in the antibiotics business and has strengthened a stagnant pipeline, with the recent expedited approvals of two new drugs, Sivextro and Dalvance. Although these developments are positive, GlobalData believes that a number of unmet needs remain within the bacterial infectious diseases area, with new treatments for multidrug-resistant (MDR) gram-negative bacteria in particularly high demand.

Despite FDA making advances in incentivizing companies to develop antimicrobial therapies, GlobalData believes that the agency needs to continue taking proactive action if it is to keep pace with progressive regulatory bodies in the EU, particularly the EMA. The latter organization has shown greater willingness to reform clinical trial design for new antibiotics and provide guidance that prioritizes clinical feasibility.

“The FDA will need to continue refining its practices in order to maintain a robust antibiotic pipeline and offer flexibility to encourage the targeting of the most dangerous pathogens. Crucially, the FDA must do more to further draw the vast research and development resources of Big Pharma into the antibiotics market by maximizing its commercial viability,” said Hansel.

GlobalData report reveals the US trails Europe in strengthening its stagnant antibiotics pipeline.

US Falls Behind in Facilitating New Antibiotics Pipeline

The Growth Direct System from Rapid Micro Biosystems i s designed to automate the incubation, detection, enumeration, and reporting steps for environmental monitoring and bioburden applications in pharmaceutical quality control laboratories. The technology is based on the detection of the natural auto-fluorescence of microorganisms, which requires no additional reagents to detect growing colonies. According to the company, the system can be located near manufacturing facilites, which increases efficiency and reduces the travel risk with samples.

Environmental Monitoring System Improves Efficiency