Eric Althoff

Swiss Stocks Drop as Zurich Insurance Retreats on Profit

Swiss stocks declined from their highest level since January 2008 as Zurich Insurance Group AG reported earnings that missed analysts’ estimates.

Actavis Seen Selling for Higher Valuation: Real M&A

Actavis Inc., the generic drugmaker whose merger negotiations with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. stalled over price, may deserve the industry’s second-best valuation ever in a deal.

Prolor Said to Hire Jefferies to Evaluate Alternatives

Prolor Biotech Inc., an Israeli company developing improved versions of existing medicines, hired Jefferies Group Inc. to study strategic alternatives, according to a person with knowledge of the decision.

Novartis’s Gilenya to Cost EU24,000 a Year in Germany

Novartis AG’s multiple sclerosis pill Gilenya will cost 1,850 euros ($2,645) for 28 days in Germany, according to a company spokesman.

Novartis Halts Delivery to Second German Drug Wholesaler

Novartis AG has stopped deliveries to a second German wholesaler over a disagreement on prices for its medicines.

Novartis’s Alcon Wins Bid to Block Apotex’s Generic Patanol

Novartis AG’s Alcon unit won an appeals court ruling that will prevent Apotex Inc. from selling a generic version of the eye drug Patanol until a patent expires in 2015.

Novartis Chairman Agrees to Cancel $78 Million Payout

Novartis AG scrapped a plan to pay outgoing Chairman Daniel Vasella as much as $78 million to keep him from working for rivals after details of the payout emerged days before a Swiss referendum on executive compensation.

Novartis Gets Immune-Cell Cancer Therapy in UPenn Pact

Novartis AG will fund a $20 million research center at the University of Pennsylvania in a deal in which the drugmaker gains technology that uses manipulated immune-system cells to fight cancer.

Apple, Time Warner, Super Bowl: Intellectual Property

Apple Inc. failed to persuade a U.S. appeals court to review its decision that lets Samsung Electronics Co. continue selling the Galaxy Nexus smartphone while a patent-infringement case is pending.

Novartis Confirms Patient Died After Starting Gilenya

Novartis AG said a multiple sclerosis patient died on Nov. 23 after starting treatment with Gilenya, the first pill approved to treat the debilitating neurological disease.

"His potential employment by another health-care company could cause substantial harm to Novartis."

- Eric Althoff on Feb 18, 2013

Sprint Faces Mounting Pressure as Dish Lines Up Financing

NetApp Is Said to Be Pushed by Elliott to Change Board

Bill Gates Retakes World’s Richest Title From Carlos Slim

Gold Futures Post Longest Slump Since December 2011

U.S. Stocks Fall as Data Disappoints Amid Stimulus Bets