(AOF) – Illumina is expected to rise sharply in the pre-market on Wall Street after announcing its decision to sell the company Grail, in accordance with the sale order of the European Commission, after the decision of a Court of Appeal American which largely wins the case of the Federal Trade Commission, the competition watchdog of the United States. The American group chose not to appeal after a legal battle that lasted more than three years.
American activist investor Carl Icahn, an opponent of this takeover, is suing Illumina’s board of directors for failing to fulfill its obligations in this matter. After arriving at the end of May 2023 to win a seat on the company’s board of directors, the activist managed to oust the company’s president Jon Thompson in May, then in June its general manager Francis deSouza.
Illumina stock rose sharply last week following Monday’s announcement that it had filed a filing with the SEC regarding a possible sale of Grail.
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Oncology, priority of pharmaceutical giants
Sanofi’s stock market disappointment recorded at the end of October 2023 underlines the new direction for the group, which has now set oncology as its number 1 priority. Efforts in this segment, where therapies are advancing the fastest, notably involve investments in R&D which weigh on profitability. Sanofi therefore announced a drop in its earnings per share in 2024 and the abandonment of its objective of an operating margin of 32% in 2025. Merck has just unveiled a new alliance. It will pay up to $22 billion to the Japanese group Daiichi Sankyo as part of a partnership on experimental cancer treatments. While some experts estimate that the United States represents nearly half of global oncology spending (drugs and treatments), or $196 billion in 2022, Chinese spending in this area has more than doubled in five years, going from 5 to 11.8 billion dollars.