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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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CNBC ON DIGG

The Boston Scientific Tobin Party

Published: Thursday, 25 Jun 2009 | 1:27 PM ET

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By: Mike Huckman
Reporter

CNBC.com
Man, it's gotta hurt when the publicly-traded company you've been leading for years announces you're stepping down and investors pop the champagne corks.

Shares of several of the big medical device makers are participating in today's rally, so it's hard to tell if Boston Scientific [BSX Loading... () ] is just getting swept up in that or whether the fact that it's among the most actively traded stocks on the NYSE and the biggest percentage gainer in the group is due to its news today.

After 10 years at the helm, BSX CEO Jim Tobin is retiring and the former Chairman and CEO of Zimmer Holdings [ZMH Loading... () ], which makes replacement parts for people, will take his place on July 13th.

CNBC.com Slideshow: Best American CEOs of All Time

Boston Scientific has been locked in an intense battle in the increasingly competitive drug-coated stent market. Those are the little wire mesh tubes that prop open clogged arteries. And it's successful, but hard-fought takeover duel with Johnson & Johnson [JNJ Loading... () ] for Guidant didn't turn out so well. Just this week, though, BSX announced study results that many analyst believe could reinvigorate sales growth for the implantable heart devices BSX got from Guidant.

JPMorgan MedTech analyst Mike Weinstein says, "We expect this morning's announcement, while sudden and surprising to the Street, to be positive for the stock, given Elliott's track record at ZMH of creating shareholder value." And Rick Wise at Leerink Swann says, "We believe Elliott is a highly experienced and energetic executive, capable of effecting positive change and driving progress at BSX." JPM has banked BSX and wants to do it again soon.

I've never met Elliott and I never covered ZMH when he was there. I just hope he's more media and TV friendly than Tobin who has kept a very low profile. Despite repeated invitations, he hasn't done an interview with me or appeared on CNBC in years. Over Tobin's decade-long reign BSX shares have been cut in half. ZMH shares more than doubled under Elliott. Investors are clearly hoping he can do that again.

Questions? Comments? and follow me on Twitter at mhuckman