Reuters Summit-Pharma overhaul under way ahead of challenges
Reuters 11/21/2008
by Lewis Krauskopf
Leaders of the world's largest drug makers are all under the hood working to overhaul a rusty business model, even as they differ over the right new parts. Investors have accused pharmaceutical companies of failing to change sufficiently in the face of looming patent expirations to major products and lackluster returns on their research pipelines. "Sometimes something truly drastic has to happen for meaningful change to take place, and that 2010-2011 (patent) cliff might be it," said Tim van Biesen, a partner at Bain & Company.
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Reuters Summit-Health care sector gears up for U.S. reform
Reuters 11/21/2008
by Susan Heavey and Lisa Richwine
Drug makers, insurers and other health care companies are preparing for possibly dramatic changes to the U.S. health care system as Democrats increase their power in Washington next year. "There are a number of things that the new administration can do for health care that are very good ... We're going to see increased volume not (only) through providers but through consumption of medical products," said Tim van Biesen, a partner at Bain & Company.
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Luxury goods
Financial Times 11/21/2008
Bulgari has issued a profit warning, the first among luxury brands, while Saks, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, the top-end US department stores, have all seen double-digit sales declines in recent weeks. Bain & Company now forecasts that luxury goods sales will fall as much as 7 per cent next year. Some worst-case forecasts see 2009 sales in developed markets reverting to 2005-06 levels.
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'Aspirational' brand Louis Vuitton expects success at Westfarms
Hartford Courant 11/20/2008
by Greg Morago
A $1,100 handbag might seem an unnecessary extravagance to many, given today's struggling economy. A recent study by Bain & Company found that the worldwide luxury goods market, once thought to be unaffected by economic fluctuations, is feeling the effects of the global downturn and "will likely enter a recession in 2009." However, Bain's Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study also found stability in "aspirational brands, such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton, [which] are purchased by consumers looking to buy into the lifestyles these brands represent."
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Reuters Summit-Is biotech really such a bargain?
Reuters 11/20/2008
by Sam Cage
Big pharmaceuticals makers, facing looming loss of exclusivity on key products and ever tougher development and approval processes, have been keen to invest in promising biotech drugs by acquisition or licensing deals to bolster their pipelines. However, Tim van Biesen, partner at consultancy Bain & Company, says deals done in economic downturns have three times the return of those concluded during a boom. "That is a huge opportunity, but it requires a little bit of courage to be the first one out there to start doing the deals," he said.
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