The life sciences industry is seeing some serious consolidation in the past six months. Pfizer is buying Wyeth, Merck is buying Schering-Plough and today it was announced that Roche is buying Genentech. This makes sense for the most part as the larger pharmas are seeing their pipelines dry up as blockbuster drugs get ready to come off patent protection and there isn't much else behind it. It seems the smaller and more nimble pharmas and biotechs are better prepared for the future. But together, they may just find a better way.
Are these mergers smart business sense or more like you save me/I'll save you....we hope. It remains to be seen. Certainly those working for either company now have to do the nightly toss and turn about whether they are expendable once the companies consolidate.
The true beneficiary should be the American public as better drugs and therapies can get to market faster but when two giants merge, it may take awhile for them to get out of their own way. I've often wondered if they set up some kind of brain share to open up their laboratory notebooks and reveal what their research is showing. It's got to be a tough call during due diligence, just how wide do you open that kimono and share what could be a competition killer when the competition is the one who wants to buy you?
Court Square's Acquisition
Court Square saw all these huge acquisitions in life sciences so we decided to do one ourselves. OK, not really. It was a little more strategic than that. Besides, we can't command the headlines that a Pfizer or Merck can....not yet.
Last month, Court Square acquired the computer systems validation unit from QA Edge in the Philadelphia area. We're very excited about this expansion because it really adds depth to our very strong group and it accelerates our goal to expand down the east coast. It feels great to be able to execute a key part of our strategy.
Next stop, North Carolina. I'll volunteer to do the due diligence down there, preferably when it's pretty cold here in Massachusetts. With my luck, Keith will send me in August.
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