For many pharma companies in 2020, the name of the game was COVID-19. Last year, the industry moved at breakneck speeds, forging unheard-of collaborations to deliver vaccines and therapeutics across the finish line...
GlaxoSmithKline managed to notch some wins during the pandemic-challenged year of 2020, but COVID-19 took its toll—not only on the British pharma's finances, but on CEO Emma Walmsley’s pay, too...
On Monday before the stock market opened, Pfizer announced that its COVID-19 mRNA vaccine had proven 90% effective so far in its ongoing late-stage trial, lifting the company’s shares nearly 8% through the course of the day...
After 7 years of compiling executive pay numbers, we at FiercePharma have learned a bit about the pharma compensation landscape. Rules to research by, let's call them. The first and biggest: Sales figures don't matter. The world's biggest drug companies by revenue don't all hand out pay packages of at least $18.6 million, which is the threshold for this year's top-paid CEOs list. A collection of Big Pharma chiefs stay off that list year after year...
Nearly four years removed from a disastrous sales fraud probe and an overhaul of its senior leadership, Alexion has launched a campaign to bolster its rare disease pipeline through pricey acquisitions. But one activist investor thinks Alexion's strategy is ill-conceived––and the old foe is airing its grievances in public...
Three of Progenics' directors could be out the door after activist investor Velan's picks were reportedly given the vote of approval from shareholders. (iStock) Progenics' board of directors has fought bitterly against activist investor Velan Capital, going so far as to sell out rather than lose the battle. Now, Velan reportedly has the shareholder votes to complete its revamp of the drugmaker's board––but the fight's not over yet...
Locked in a proxy tussle with activist investor Velan Capital, Progenics Pharmaceuticals danced a sidestep, inking a merger deal with another company rather than negotiate with its board challengers. But now, Velan says it's not giving up the fight—and the proposed merger has joined its list of grievances...
GlaxoSmithKline CEO Emma Walmsley could soon have a new title: Microsoft board member. And it would be an appointment that’s potentially valuable for both companies’ endeavors into each other’s sectors...
Some Big Pharma investors wanted to know whether drug prices are rising because executives personally benefit from the hikes. But when they put that question up for a vote, their fellow shareholders turned them away. In a series of annual meetings at top drugmakers, shareholders rejected calls for more information on executive compensation—namely, whether price hikes directly fueled increases in C-suite pay...
If you thought Teva had gone big-time with its 2017 pay package for CEO Kåre Schultz, check out what it paid him in 2018. The Israeli drugmaker forked over (PDF) a whopping $32.5 million to its chief exec, nearly doubling the sum it paid him in 2017 and marking a fivefold increase over what it paid its last CEO, Erez Vigodman, the year prior...
The call by investors comes on the heels of CEO Richard Gonzalez's grilling over his bonus pay by members of the Senate Finance Committee. (AbbVie) AbbVie investors are calling for a separation of powers in the C-suite, citing Chairman and CEO Richard Gonzalez's outsized pay package and the company's "thicket" of Humira patents...
Last week, Bayer lost phase one of the first Roundup bellwether trial, which could set the tone for more than 11,200 others waiting in the wings. And Bayer's shares took an immediate beating...
After Bristol-Myers Squibb and activist investor Starboard Value released dueling presentations on the planned $74 billion merger with Celgene earlier this week, Wall Street analysts started speculating about what might actually cause the deal to go south...
by Eric Sagonowsky | Mar 13, 2019 11:16am Lilly CEO David Ricks made 189 times the company's median employee compensation in 2018, the drugmaker reported. (LillyPad) Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks, in his second year on the job, snared a pay package larger than those of a few of his Big Pharma peers. And it's not far shy of the amount his predecessor, John Lechleiter, hauled in for his final—and eighth—year as Lilly chief...
What’s Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Plan B if its Celgene deal falls through? BMS won’t say whether it has one at all. And the company may be more likely to need a backup plan than some industry-watchers think. As Wolfe Research’s Tim Anderson pointed out in a note to clients, the company has so far skirted questions about how it would proceed without the $74 billion takeout, saying only that “their focus is on getting the Celgene deal done.” “They gave no insights on the path forward under this alternative scenario,” Anderson wrote, noting that if the deal ...
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot earned £11.36 million in total pay last year, a 9% increase over 2017. (AstraZeneca) In the past, AstraZeneca's investors have hit out at the company for executive compensation they deemed over-the-top. And they may have something to say about CEO Pascal Soriot's £11.36 million ($14.93 million) in total pay last year, a 9% jump from 2017...
Activist investor Sarissa Capital said it would support Ironwood's board in light of its recently announced move to spin off most of its R&D unit. (Pixabay) Ironwood’s activist investor likes what it’s seen recently from the drugmaker—so much so that it held off on pushing for a spot on the company's board....
AstraZeneca shareholders revolted over executive pay again this year, with 35% having voted against it, including the £9.4 million package for CEO Pascal Soriot. (AstraZeneca) AstraZeneca has made some headway with investors persistently provoked by its executive pay—but not much...
Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech, whose CEO is locked in a battle for control of the company, has suspended production of its hepatitis A vaccine and destroyed supplies on hand. A yearlong internal power struggle for control of Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech has spilled from the boardroom to the production floor, forcing the company to suspend manufacturing of its hepatitis A vaccine...
AstraZeneca slashed CEO Pascal Soriot’s total compensation by 34% to £9.4 million ($12.7 million) in 2017, but that pay cut wasn’t deep enough for one influential voice on corporate governance...
Activist investor Alex Denner is back at it in biopharma. Just a few months after playing a pivotal role in Sanofi’s Bioverativ acquisition, he has set his sights on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. The Massachusetts drugmaker on Monday said it had received word from Denner’s Sarissa Capital Management, which held 1.92 million Ironwood shares at the end of 2017, that it intended to nominate Denner for Ironwood’s board...
Thanks to target beating financials and more, J&J pharma chief Joaquin Duato racked up $19 million in reported pay for 2017. (Johnson & Johnson) That Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky got a bit of a raise in 2017 isn't all that surprising. After all, his compensation package has increased bit by bit over the past several years. More notable are the boosts enjoyed by two of Gorsky's team members...
As Bristol-Myers Squibb presses ahead in oncology and after a big finish in the fourth quarter, CEO Giovanni Caforio is taking home a 10% pay raise for 2017 to $18.7 million. His stepped-up compensation followed a year in which Bristol-Myers exceeded the CEO's overall revenue target—and beat individual sales targets for a list of key drugs...
Several drugmakers resisted shareholder resolutions into the relationship between executive pay and drug prices. (Pixabay) Despite resistance from top pharma companies, shareholders are set to vote this spring on resolutions seeking more information about potential links between executive pay and rising drug prices...