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Sebelius on Vaccines

24 Nov 2009

Discussing whether a new $487M investment from the government will help speed up the production of the most important vaccines, with Kathy Sebelius, Health & Human Services secretary and CNBC's Mike Huckman.

The New Formula for Faster Vaccines

24 Nov 2009

Novartis is opening on Tuesday the country's first plant to produce flu vaccines using cell cultures. These vaccines are faster, better and cheaper to make than egg-based methods, reports CNBC's Mike Huckman.

Novartis Opens 1st US Plant for Flu Vaccine

24 Nov 2009

Cholesterol Drug Battle: Niaspan vs. Zetia 16 Nov 2009
Abbott Laboratories' Niaspan beat Merck's Zetia in a new study. CNBC's Mike Huckman has the details.

Cardiologist Grades Cholesterol Drug Study

16 Nov 2009

Abbott Laboratories' Niaspan beat Merck's Zetia in a new study. Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Cleveland Clinic, shares his reaction with CNBC's Mike Huckman.

Merck's Cholesterol Drugs Under Pressure

16 Nov 2009

A new study is putting Merck's cholesterol drugs under pressure today, reports CNBC's Mike Huckman, with Ken Frazier, Merck Global Human Health president.

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Pharma's Market

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Jan.05

4:01 PM ET

Monday, 5 Jan 2009

The NYT, JNJ & That Tricky "Billion"

Posted By:Mike Huckman

Topics:Medicine | Corporate News | Mergers & Acquisitions | Pharmaceuticals

Sectors:Health Care Equipment and Services | Health Care | Pharmaceuticals

Companies:Omrix Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. | Johnson and Johnson

New York Times
We all make mistakes. Gosh knows I've made more than a few. And a part of me hesitates to call attention to this one. I mean, you know what they say about paybacks and karma. But this one is too good a doozy to let pass.

According to the Sunday Business section of "The New York Times," which always highlights a handful of stocks that made news during the week, Johnson and Johnson [JNJ Loading... () ] just closed the biggest deal in corporate history. Yeah, I know you thought AOL-Time Warner was number one. But that was until JNJ bought Omrix Biopharmaceuticals [OMRI Loading... () ], according to Sunday's Times, for $438 billion. That's billion with a b. I know big pharma is loaded with cash and has relatively good credit, but wow!

Well, it probably goes without saying, but the deal was actually priced at $438 million. That's million with an M.

After doing a double take, it gave me a chuckle and I just wanted to pass it along in case you might have missed it. Of course, we journalists always strive to get it first and to get it right, but there's a certain degree of consolation when even the ol' gray lady can make such a gaffe. Look for a correction soon.

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