NEWS OF THE WEEK
OBAMA EMPHASIZES U.S. ‘SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY’ POLICY: War on cancer, clean energy
revolution featured in President’s State of the Union address
TRIKING AN OPTIMISTIC TONE for the coun-
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try’s future, President Barack Obama called for more cooperation and less partisan fighting during his final State of the Union speech. Obama cited the country’s “spirit of discovery” as an important reason to be hopeful, and he pushed for increased support for biomedical and clean energy research. “Sixty years ago, when the Russians beat us into space, we didn’t deny Sputnik was up there,” Obama said to laughs from many of the assembled lawmakers and guests. “We didn’t argue about the science or shrink our research and development budget. We built a space program almost overnight.” In his most far-reaching science proposal, Obama announced what he called a “moon shot” effort to cure cancer led by Vice President Joe Biden, whose son died last May of brain cancer. “For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the families that we can still save, let’s make America the country that cures cancer once and for all,” Obama said. The new push comes as the pace of cancer discoveries is increasing, says José Baselga, president of the AmeriEVAN VUCCI/DPA/PICTURE-ALLIANCE/NEWSCOM
President Obama set ambitious goals for cancer research at the State of the Union.
can Association for Cancer Research. “Now is the time for a major new initiative in cancer science that supports and builds upon our basic science foundation while translating these exciting scientific discoveries into improved treatments for cancer patients.” Citing the nation’s success in helping fight the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, Obama said he would also put forward initiatives to stop HIV/AIDS and malaria. “Now, right now, we are on track to end the scourge of HIV/ AIDS. That’s within our grasp. And we have the chance to accomplish the same thing with malaria, something I’ll be pushing this Congress to fund this year.” The U.S. needs to put a similar intense effort into creating clean energy technologies, Obama said. He told those who dispute the science of human-caused climate change, “You will be pretty lonely because you’ll be debating our military, most of America’s business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it’s a problem and intend to solve it.” Obama pledged to change how the country manages oil and coal to reflect their environmental costs. He also wants to put more money into clean energy research. “I’m delighted that the President seems to be considering additional actions to ensure that the U.S. achieves its emissions reduction targets and sets the stage for even more progress ahead,” says Andrew Steer, president of the World Resources Institute, an advocacy group. Obama also touched on other issues of interest to the chemical enterprise. Those include regulatory reform, immigration, and trade, where he highlighted the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, which is backed by much of the chemical industry and waiting for congressional approval. “Our unique strengths as a nation—our optimism and work ethic, our spirit of discovery, our diversity, our commitment to rule of law—these things give us everything we need to ensure prosperity and security for generations to come.”—ANDREA WIDENER
PHARMACEUTICALS Shire brings Baxalta to the altar in a $32 billion deal After a six-month courtship, the Irish drugmaker Shire has succeeded in wooing Illinois-based Baxalta in a $32 billion acquisition that creates a giant in rare disease treatments. The agreement, reached on Jan. 11, brings together Baxalta’s strengths in hematologic and immunologic ailments with Shire’s capabilities in lysosomal storage, gastrointestinal, and endocrine diseases. On the basis of 30 recent and planned product launches, Shire projects that its combined annual revenues of $12 billion will grow to $20 billion by 2020. Sup-
porting Shire’s projection is the fact that insurance firms are often more willing to pay high prices for rare disease treatments than for widely used drugs. Baxalta CEO Ludwig N. Hantson initially spurned the advances of Shire CEO Flemming Ornskov, who approached him last July just a day after Baxalta was spun off from Baxter International. Hantson described the $30 billion all-stock offer as “wholly inadequate” and said “it would be a shame to hand [Baxalta] over for a lowball valuation.” Hantson’s change of heart followed
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an offer that includes about the same amount of Shire stock plus more than $12 billion in cash to account for a decline in Shire’s share price and an increase in Baxalta’s price since August. For investors, a strong argument in favor of the deal is the lower corporate tax rate in Ireland versus the U.S. Shire says the combined firm will have an effective rate of about 17% in 2017 versus Baxalta’s current rate of 23%. Shire also expects to save $500 million via efficiencies and “optimizing the combined R&D portfolio.”—MARC REISCH
