『医药企业为了继续生存，选择了一分为二的策略，这样可以规避竞争又可以分担风险。』
Let's split
企业分家 利大于弊
Oct 19th 2011 | from The Economist
THEY have been teetering on the edge for years. Now pharmaceutical firms are beginning to careen off the patent cliff. Drugs which once earned firms billions are facing new competition from their generic counterparts. In such a climate, one might think that diversification would help. Apparently not. On October 19th Abbott Laboratories, a diversified American health-care company, announced that its drug business would go it alone. Abbott plans to split into two publicly-traded firms by the end of next year.
Health companies used to assume that a bigger business was a better one. Virtually every quarter brought news of a fresh acquisition. But investors got squeamish. In January, Jami Rubin of Goldman Sachs warned that conglomerates are likely to trade below the sum of their parts. Concerns over the patent cliff, she warned, were distracting investors from the value of other assets. Companies seem to be taking the hint. Bristol-Myers Squibb shed its nutritional business in 2009. This year Pfizer announced plans to sell its infant-nutrition and animal-health businesses.
But Abbott’s announcement may be the most dramatic to date. Unlike Pfizer, whose pharma business accounts for 88% of its sales, Abbott is truly diversified. Splitting the company in two means shielding some of its businesses from the competition facing pharmaceuticals. One of the new firms will sell Abbott’s medical devices, diagnostics, generic drugs and nutritionals. This business, with about $22 billion in sales, will keep Abbott’s name and chief executive, Miles White. Thanks to acquisitions such as Piramal, an Indian drugmaker, nearly 40% of sales will be in developing markets. The company’s prospects seem sunny.
The future for the other firm is cloudier. It will be led by Richard Gonzalez, the current pharma chief, and will have nearly $18 billion in sales. It will focus exclusively on innovative medicines. Some think that Humira, a rheumatoid arthritis drug which is Abbott’s biggest seller, might come under attack. Such concerns have weighed heavily on the company’s stock over the past year.
Mr Gonzalez argues that Humira will sustain the firm for a while yet. Sales continue to grow and it may be approved for additional uses. And because it is a complex biotech drug, competitors may have a harder time producing an equivalent. It will be several years until Mr Gonzalez is proven right or wrong. In the meantime, he needs to find his new company a name.
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