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Vectura shareholders are to be asked whether they wish to sell the British asthma inhaler maker to a private equity firm for £958 million or collect £44 million more by handing it to big tobacco company Philip Morris International.
The Carlyle Group and PMI’s intense bidding war for Vectura had been due to be decided by an unusual Takeover Panel-run auction beginning today. However, just before the 5pm deadline on Tuesday (10 August), Carlyle told Vectura shareholders it had pulled out of the auction and that it would not raise its bid any further.
Carlyle, a US private equity firm, said its previous £958 million offer was “full and fair”. While its offer was lower in value than PMI’s £1.02 billion bid, Carlyle said it would be a better steward for the company, its employees, and patients than the tobacco firm. Carlyle also warned that if Vectura was sold to PMI, it could be banned from participating in “key scientific forums” after leading doctors and scientists vowed to freeze out Vectura should it fall into the hands of the Marlboro cigarettes manufacturer.
Source: The Guardian, 10 August 2021
See also: The Telegraph - Vectura auction called off after Carlyle declines to beat Philip Morris bid
BBC News - No auction showdown in a battle to buy asthma firm
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Baroness Dido Harding has told the government that she will step down from her role as NHS Improvement chair in October.
Baroness Harding’s term as NHS Improvement chair will end in October, after four years in the role. She told Sajid Javid in a letter on Monday (9th August) that she will not seek reappointment. Baroness Harding led the government’s Test and Trace initiative from May 2020 to April 2021, and her performance has been questioned by the National Audit Office, among others.
HSJ understands her letter to the health and social care secretary says she believes she has overseen successful work to bring NHSI together with NHSE and on the NHS People Plan, and she feels it is the right time to leave the role. NHSI is likely to need an interim chair to cover from November to April next year when government legislation before Parliament is due to merge NHSI and NHSE formally.
Source: HSJ, 9 August 2021
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Northumberland residents are being urged to help shut down criminals dealing with illegal tobacco this summer. According to new findings, “tab houses” and shops are the region’s biggest suppliers of illicit tobacco for children and adults.
The message from Fresh, the North East regional programme for tobacco control, comes as it has relaunched the Keep It Out campaign to raise awareness and lead to new information from the public that trading standards teams can use to bring about enforcement.
A recent survey of nearly 1,900 people across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham found that 74% of children aged 14 to 17 who smoke have been offered illegal tobacco, and 49% have bought it. Houses or “tab houses” are the source for 75% and shops 14% of children’s illegal tobacco purchases.
Ailsa Rutter OBE, director of Fresh and Balance, said: “Cheap, illegal tobacco keeps smokers smoking, gets kids hooked and compounds health inequalities.”
Councillor Colin Horncastle, cabinet member for community services at Northumberland County Council, said: “I strongly encourage residents to help us to keep illicit tobacco out of our communities.”
Source: New Post Leader, 9 August 2021
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Philip Morris International (PMI), one of the world’s biggest cigarette and tobacco manufacturers, has announced the acquisition of OtiTopic, a US therapeutics company known for its inhalable acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treatment. The move is part of PMI’s “Beyond Nicotine” initiative, which involves investing in new healthcare space.
OtiTopic’s inhalable treatment for AMI, sold under the name Asprihale, is taken with a self-administered aerosol. According to PMI, clinical trials are currently underway, and the goal is to gain the US FDA approval in 2022.
No financial terms were not disclosed.
Source: Cardiovascular Business, 10 August 2021
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PQ: Females: Health Services
Asked by Dame Diana Johnson, Kingston upon Hull North
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to tackle (a) pre- and (b) post- covid-19 inequalities and intersectional issues affecting adolescents and young women accessing sexual and reproductive health services; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care
The Department is developing a new Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy, which will be published in 2021. We are considering issues relating to inequalities in access to sexual and reproductive health services as part of the process to develop the Strategy.
The recent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency reclassification of desogestrel means that women can now purchase a progestogen-only contraceptive from a pharmacy following a detailed consultation with a pharmacist. This reclassification is an important step towards improving women\'s health by widening access to sexual and reproductive health services and providing all women with more choice in the provision of safe and effective contraception. Progestogen-only contraception will continue to be available free from prescription charge from general practitioners and sexual and reproductive health services, as is the case for all prescribed contraception.
Source: Hansard, 10 August 2021
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