Enlarge image Zuckerberg’s Facebook IPO Makes Him Richer Than Google Founders Mike Kepka/San Francisco Chronicle/Corbis Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in San Francisco. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in San Francisco. Photographer: Mike Kepka/San Francisco Chronicle/Corbis Facebook Inc. (FB)’s $16 billion initial public offering has made 28-year-old Mark Zuckerberg the 29th richest person on Earth. Facebook, the world’s most popular social networking company, sold 421.2 million shares for $38 each. At that price, the 503.6 million shares and options Zuckerberg owns are valued at $19.1 billion, making him wealthier than Google Inc. (GOOG) co- founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. “Zuckerberg doesn’t think about his wealth,” David Kirkpatrick, author of “The Facebook Effect,” a history of the company, said in a ... Continue reading →

By Ben Hirschler LONDON | Fri May 18, 2012 8:40am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - International drugmakers are working with European authorities on emergency plans to keep medicines flowing into Greece if the country crashes out of the euro. Discussions have intensified in recent days, according to industry sources, and manufacturers are looking closely at the experience of Argentina's collapse in 2002, when some firms agreed to continue to supply medicines without payment for a period of time.Executives at leading drug companies - particularly those with European headquarters - are under pressure to avert a health catastrophe, which could occur if Greek imports are halted by a massive devaluation of newly issued drachma."There's a moral obligation to continue to supply," said Simon Friend, global pharmaceutical leader ... Continue reading →

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO | Tue May 15, 2012 11:12am EDT CHICAGO (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG's Genentech unit has won the right to try its experimental Alzheimer's drug crenezumab on people with no signs of dementia - the first such trial to gauge whether early intervention can help prevent or slow the disease. The drug will be tested among members of an extended family of about 5,000 people from the Antioquia region of Colombia. They carry a gene that causes them to develop Alzheimer's early, with some experiencing symptoms of memory loss in their mid-30s, scientists say.The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services is backing the trial with a $16 million grant as part of the government's National Alzheimer's Plan announced on Tuesday, ... Continue reading →

By David Morgan WASHINGTON | Thu May 10, 2012 8:07pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts recommended Gilead Sciences Inc's Truvada as a treatment for preventing HIV infection among people at risk for contracting AIDS, including homosexual and bisexual men. In a move that could lead to a new milestone for treatment in the evolution of the worldwide AIDS epidemic, the FDA advisory committee voted 19-3 to endorse the drug's use for controlling HIV infection among the highest risk group - men who have sex with men.The panel also approved Truvada's use for the domestic partners of HIV-infected people and others at risk for sexual transmission, but several members said there should be more data on the ... Continue reading →

By Aruna Viswanatha WASHINGTON | Thu May 10, 2012 5:56pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global drugmakers could face new U.S. scrutiny after a report from lawmakers in India alleged abuses in that country's drug approval process, lawyers familiar with such investigations said. An Indian parliamentary panel on Wednesday said officials of India's drug regulator had been colluding with pharmaceutical companies to speed up approval procedures, allowing some drugs that are not permitted in other countries to go on sale.The U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are conducting extensive inquiries into nearly every major drug and medical device manufacturer for potential violations of a U.S. law that bars bribes to officials of foreign governments, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.Many of those probes focus ... Continue reading →

By Bill Berkrot NEW YORK | Wed May 9, 2012 4:21pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline will need to sweeten its $13 per share bid for Human Genome Sciences to about $15 per share to win over its top investors and get a deal done, according to a Reuters survey of analysts on Wednesday. The number represents an average of predictions that varied from $13 to $18 by 13 analysts who follow at least one of the drugmakers. They were polled shortly after British-based Glaxo said it would take its $2.6 billion offer directly to shareholders after it was rejected by Human Genome's board.U.S.-based Human Genome disclosed Glaxo's approach on April 19, saying it was launching an auction to solicit buyer interest. Its shares ... Continue reading →

By Ben Hirschler LONDON | Wed May 9, 2012 4:03am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline is to take its unsolicited $2.6 billion takeover bid for Human Genome Sciences direct to shareholders in the U.S. biotech group by launching a tender offer at $13 a share this week. Human Genome rejected the approach from Britain's biggest drugmaker last month, saying it did not reflect the company's inherent value, but GSK insists its bid is full and fair.The decision to push ahead with the cash offer, which is 81 percent above Human Genome's share price before the bid, is an aggressive move that sets up GSK for a battle with those Human Genome investors who believe it is not offering enough."They will do fantastically well out of ... Continue reading →

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