Kids Gulp sept billion calories par an

C'est plus de 12,5 millions d'enfants. Et de nouvelles recherches dans le British Medical Journal suggère que les enfants obèses ont des facteurs de risque beaucoup plus élevés pour les maladies cardiovasculaires en tant qu'adultes.

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Bristol-Myers to buy Amylin for about $5.3 billion

Reuters – Fri, Jun 29, 2012 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co will buy biotechnology company Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $5.3 billion in cash, helping Bristol-Myers extend its portfolio of diabetes treatments with the addition of drugs Byetta and Bydureon.

Bristol-Myers said late on Friday it had also reached a follow-on deal with UK-based AstraZeneca Plc to collaborate on developing Amylin's products once the buyout is completed, expanding upon an existing partnership between the two pharmaceutical makers in diabetes treatments. AstraZeneca will pay $3.4 billion in cash for these rights.

Bristol-Myers and AstraZeneca already collaborate on several diabetes treatments including Onglyza, and aim to strengthen their position in a growing, multibillion-dollar market. More than 360 million people worldwide have diabetes, with the overwhelming majority suffering from type 2 diabetes, a condition partly attributable to the rise in obesity in many countries.

In a statement, Bristol-Myers Chief Executive Lamberto Andreotti described the deals as a unique way to build on its relationship with AstraZeneca, which "demonstrates Bristol-Myers Squibb's innovative and targeted approach to partnerships and business development."

The boards of directors at Amylin, Bristol and AstraZeneca have approved the two transactions, the companies said.

Amylin began approaching potential buyers in April after rejecting a previous $3.5 billion takeover bid from Bristol-Myers, and facing pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn.

In all, five pharmaceutical giants including AstraZeneca, Novartis AG and Sanofi SA were in the running for Amylin, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.

LEGACY OF ELI LILLY DEAL

Bristol-Myers will pay $31 per share for Amylin, a premium of 10 percent to the company's closing price on Friday. Amylin's shares had already tripled in value from a low of nearly $8 last October.

Amylin and Eli Lilly Co introduced Byetta for type 2 diabetes in 2005, and the longer-acting version Bydureon, which can be taken once a week, was approved by U.S. regulators earlier this year. Both contain the active ingredient exenatide.

Amylin scrapped its partnership with Lilly in November last year after the two became embroiled in a legal dispute. Bristol-Myers has agreed to pay an additional $1.7 billion to cover Amylin's debt and its obligations to Lilly from ending their collaboration.

Bristol-Myers will finance the purchase from its existing cash resources and credit facilities. Amylin has agreed not to solicit competing offers. The transactions are expected to be dilutive to Bristol-Myers' adjusted earnings in 2012 and 2013 by about 3 cents per share, and become slightly accretive in 2014.

Citi and Evercore are serving as financial advisers to Bristol-Myers and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is its legal adviser. AstraZeneca's financial adviser on the deal is Bank of America Merrill Lynch, while Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Covington & Burling LLP are its legal advisers.

Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs & Co. are acting as financial advisers to Amylin Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is its legal adviser.

(Additional reporting by Chandni Doulatramani in Bangalore; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

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Keeping obesity rates level could save nearly $550 billion over 2 decades

 ShareKeeping Obesity Rates Level Could Save Nearly $550 Billion Over 2 DecadesScienceDaily (May 7, 2012) — Researchers have forecast the cost savings and rise in obesity prevalence over the next two decades in a new public health study.

See Also:Health & MedicineObesityDiet and Weight LossDiseases and ConditionsScience & SocietyPublic HealthSocial IssuesResource ShortageReferenceOverweightBody mass indexDiabetes mellitus type 2General fitness training

"Keeping obesity rates level could yield a savings of nearly $550 billion in medical expenditures over the next two decades," according to lead author Eric Finkelstein, PhD, associate research professor in the Duke Global Health Institute, as well as deputy director in the Health Services Research Program at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore.

The forecasting study also found that 42 percent of the U.S. population could be obese by 2030.

The findings suggest the U.S. health care system could be burdened with 32 million more obese people within two decades. Action is needed to keep rates from increasing further, according to the research from Duke University, RTI International, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The study, based on data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and state-level data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other organizations, was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine on May 7.

The study also forecasts an increase in the number of individuals with severe obesity, with rates rising to 11 percent by 2030. Severe obesity is defined as a body mass index over 40 or roughly 100 pounds overweight.

Severely obese individuals are at highest risk for the health conditions caused by excess weight, resulting in substantially greater medical expenditures and rates of absenteeism.

"Should these forecasts prove accurate, the adverse health and cost consequences of obesity are likely to continue to escalate without a significant intervention," notes senior author Justin Trogdon, PhD, of RTI.

The study was released May 7 at CDC's Weight of the Nation conference in Washington, D.C.

"We know more than ever about the most successful strategies that will help Americans live healthier, more active lives and reduce obesity rates and medical costs," said William H. Dietz, MD, PhD, director of CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity.

"People need to make healthy choices, but the healthy choices must first be available and accessible in order to make them," Dietz said. "In the coming days at our Weight of the Nation conference, CDC and its partners will emphasize the proven, effective strategies and solutions that must continue to be applied to help make the healthy choice the easy choice."

On May 8, a set of potential solutions will be released at the CDC conference. The Institute of Medicine will issue a new report, "Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nation," which provides the results of a comprehensive review of obesity prevention-related recommendations. The report will identify strategies and action steps that have the greatest potential to speed up progress in combating the obesity crisis.

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Hologic to buy Gen-Probe for $3.75 billion

Reuters – Mon, Apr 30, 2012 (Reuters) - Medical device maker Hologic Inc is buying diagnostic test firm Gen-Probe Inc for $3.75 billion cash, gaining access to molecular diagnostics products used to screen for blood diseases and test transplant compatibility.

The deal would combine Gen-Probe's leading diagnostics for sexually transmitted diseases and its blood screening business with Hologic's global market presence and distribution primarily targeting women's health.

Under the deal, Hologic will pay $82.75 for each Gen-Probe share, a 20 percent premium to the stock's closing price on Friday. Gen-Probe shares surged 18.7 percent to $81.57 in afternoon trading on Monday.

Shares of Hologic, which is financing the deal with a combination of cash and debt, fell 10.1 percent to $19.08. Earlier on Monday the company reported quarterly revenue that fell short of expectations, and analysts said Hologic was paying full price for Gen-Probe.

"It's certainly a good acquisition for them (Hologic), but they definitely paid a lot and the Street is probably reacting to the price they paid as well as the weak earnings number they put up," said Jeremy Feffer, an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Hologic Chief Executive Rob Cascella said in an interview that he has been talking with his counterpart at Gen-Probe, Carl Hull, in recent months about a potential acquisition.

"When you look at this business as a combined entity, this is our diagnostics franchise which will now be the largest franchise within Hologic and it will be primary dedicated to women's health, which is the emphasis behind Hologic's other businesses like breast health," Cascella said.

The deal comes nearly a year after Gen-Probe put itself up for sale and Novartis AG , which already had a partnership with the company, pulled out of the bidding process.

"The $3.7 billion proposed acquisition of Gen-Probe by Hologic looks to be at a full but fair valuation; experience over the last year suggests that a competitive bid is unlikely," Cowen and Co analyst Doug Schenkel said.

Hologic focuses on women's healthcare and makes diagnostic and breast health products and conducts minimally invasive procedures for women suffering from excessive menstrual bleeding.

Schenkel said if the deal receives anti-trust clearance, the combined company will challenge Qiagen , the dominant player in the market with screening tests for the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer.

The Federal Trade Commission earlier blocked Cytyc, now a part of Hologic, from acquiring Digene, now a part of Qiagen, due to competitive concerns about the HPV business.

Hologic is confident the Gen-Probe deal will receive regulatory clearance because the companies' HPV platforms target different segments of the market, with Gen-Probe being at the higher end, Cascella said in the interview.

"Hologic has been struggling with its Cervista HPV platform. The prospects for Gen-Probe's HPV are widely viewed as superior," Schenkel said.

The acquisition of Gen-Probe will attract the attention of investors to the remaining independent companies with molecular diagnostic platforms, including Qiagen and Cepheid , Oppenheimer & Co analyst David Ferreiro said in a note.

DEAL TERMS

Hologic said the transaction will add about 20 cents per share to its earnings in the first fiscal year after the deal closes, which is expected in the second half of the year.

The company expects annual cost savings of about $75 million within three years of the closing, and about $40 million in the first year.

Hologic, which has more than 500 employees in China focused on diagnostics, said it plans to market Gen-Probe's products, including blood tests and sexually transmitted disease tests, in both developed and emerging markets.

"Hologic's larger international presence, particularly in China, should help grow Gen-Probe's ex-U.S. businesses," Oppenheimer's Ferreiro said.

Morgan Stanley advised Gen-Probe on the transaction, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Perella Weinberg Partners advised Hologic. Goldman Sachs is also providing fully committed financing to Hologic.

On Monday, Gen-Probe reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, helped by strong sales of its women's health products.

Separately, Conceptus Inc said it settled patent infringement litigation related to Hologic's Adiana Permanent Contraception System. Under the settlement, Hologic agreed to remove its Adiana system from the market by May 18.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim in New York and Anand Basu in Bangalore, Editing by Roshni Menon, Andre Grenon and John Wallace)

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