Eli Lilly’s exit causes Ypsomed shares to collapse

Eli Lilly’s exit causes Ypsomed shares to collapse

The path to the large American market has become more difficult for Ypsomed.

Christian Beutler / Keystone

bet. The medical technician Ypsomed has to accept a surprising setback in the USA. Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has decided to exit a partnership to market Ypsomed’s insulin pump. This puts the plans for entry into the American market into question. Ypsomed shares fell by almost 15 percent to CHF 170 in early trading on the Swiss stock exchange on Friday.

The Burgdorf-based company is committed to adapting its so-called Ypsopump system to American requirements and submitting it to the FDA health authority in the second half of 2023. It is scheduled to be launched on the market in 2026. A new marketing partner must now be found for this. According to Vontobel analysts, this won’t be an easy feat because Lilly is a dominant player in the US insulin market.

Ypsomed and Eli Lilly agreed on the cooperation in November 2020. The pump should have been registered and marketed under the Lilly brand. The system is already being marketed in Europe, and according to ZKB analysts it is now very successful. The exit of Eli Lilly is therefore clearly negative and could have a significant impact on cash flow.

Ypsomed may have to write off a single-digit million amount in the current financial year, as the company announced. According to Vontobel, whether it stays that way depends on whether a new partner can be found. The ZKB is optimistic and could imagine the pharmaceutical company Abbott, with whom Ypsomed is already cooperating on sensors in Europe, in this role.

Ypsomed has confirmed its goal of achieving an operating profit (EBIT) of CHF 90 million in 2023/24.

More on the topic: “I never experienced my father as stressed, I don’t know it myself either” – the Ypsomed managers Simon and Willy Michel in conversation

British economy remains in recession for at least a year

The British economy still has a difficult year ahead: export port in Felixstowe.

The British economy still has a difficult year ahead: export port in Felixstowe.

Toby Melville/Reuters

(dpa) According to the Chambers of Commerce Association BCC, the British economy has a long way to go before it recovers. The association expects the recession to last another five quarters. Growth is not expected until the end of 2023, and in 2024 there will only be an “anemic recovery”, said the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) on Friday night. Investments, exports and private consumption are expected to remain subdued. The Bank of England had previously warned of a long-lasting recession.

The BCC expects the economy to shrink by 1.3 percent in the coming year. Household spending would fall significantly due to rising energy costs and mortgage payments, as well as falling real wages. Added to this are the poor prospects for the global economy in the wake of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. For 2024, Verbund then expects growth of 0.7 percent. This is significantly less than estimated by the OBR supervisory authority.

However, the BCC expects inflation to have peaked at a good 11 percent at the moment. By the end of 2023, it is expected to fall to 5 percent and a year later to 1.5 percent. “However, all this means is that prices will stabilize at very high levels and the government’s plans to reduce support for energy bills after April 2023 could kickstart inflation again.”

“The very real concern is that once the economy emerges from recession, the UK will be left behind by its peers as growth remains weak,” said BCC expert Alex Veitch. It’s not too late to turn back. Concrete measures are needed for infrastructure investments, training, trade and green technologies.

Competition watchdogs want to block Microsoft’s biggest takeover

The takeover of Activision Blizzard isn't done yet.

The takeover of Activision Blizzard isn’t done yet.

Dado Ruvic / Reuters

(dpa) The American trade and consumer protection authority FTC has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the takeover of the video game provider Activision Blizzard by the software giant Microsoft. The approximately $ 69 billion acquisition would give Microsoft too much market power and harm competition in the game console business such as the Xbox, said the FTC in Washington on Thursday.

The companies stand by the billion dollar deal. “We welcome the opportunity to present our case in court,” Microsoft executive Brad Smith said in a statement to US media. His group continues to have “full confidence” in the takeover. From day one, Microsoft addressed competition concerns and offered concessions to the FTC.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard announced the mega deal in January. Microsoft wanted to secure popular video games from Activision Blizzard such as “Call of Duty”, “Overwatch” and “Candy Crush”. The software group that operates the Xbox gaming platform already has other game studios with well-known titles such as “Doom” and “Minecraft” under its roof and would significantly strengthen its market position with its largest takeover to date.

The transaction was agreed at a time when Activision Blizzard was under intense public pressure, including allegations of discrimination and harassment. Although CEO Bobby Kotick was also heavily criticized, he initially remained at the helm of the game company. Regarding the FTC lawsuit, Kotick said in a memo to employees, quoted by Bloomberg, “I believe we will win this challenge.”

Experts had already expected resistance from the FTC to the takeover. The multi-billion dollar deal is also being investigated by competition watchdogs in the UK and European Union. As recently as November, the EU Commission expressed fears that the takeover would limit Microsoft’s access to games for competitors and their consoles. The conditions for users could also deteriorate as a result.

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