September
Why big pharma wants the government to pay it to make drugs
Drug companies say the government must help pay for new antibiotics people will rarely use. But without them, Australians may die.
- Michael Smith
August
Pfizer invests $150m in Melbourne to fight superbugs
The US pharma giant says the federal government must do more to ensure Australians can access new drugs designed to fight deadly superbugs.
- Michael Smith
May
Big US companies are pulling back diversity policies
Facing a legal, social and political backlash, America’s diversity, equality and inclusion industry is starting to reassess and rebrand.
- Taylor Telford and Julian Mark
April
Larry Fink, other top CEOs increase personal security
BlackRock has tripled its security spend for Larry Fink after a backlash over the company’s ESG investing stance – and it’s just one of many companies to do so.
- Louis Ashworth and Brooke Masters
December 2023
Pfizer paid little tax on $1.4b in COVID vaccine sales
Vaccine maker Pfizer paid just $29 million in local tax on its $1.4 billion of sales in Australia during the pandemic, raising political questions about the adequacy of the pharmaceutical giant’s tax payments.
- John Kehoe
- Exclusive
- Funding
New fund targets companies battered by market doubts
Record low biotech valuations have prompted a new VC investor to start shopping with a planned $200 million fund.
- Jessica Sier
Elite uni chiefs backtrack in ‘despicable’ antisemitism row
Some have called for the leaders of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania to step aside for refusing to say that calling for the genocide of Jews is against school policy.
- Janet Lorin
November 2023
China ready to be partner and friend, Xi tells US firms
In a speech to business executives, the president said China ‘never bets against the United States’ and ‘has no intention to challenge the United States or to unseat it’.
- Michael Martina
May 2023
Pfizer lines up huge $45b bond offering, one of the biggest on record
The pharmaceutical giant is selling debt in eight parts, according to a person familiar with the matter, to help fund its purchase of Seagen.
- Josyana Joshua and Brian Smith
The COVID-19 jackpot that eluded CSL
CEO Paul Perreault faced a dilemma amid the rush to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus – one that resulted in the biggest disappointment of his career there.
- Yolanda Redrup and Liam Walsh
March 2023
Why this fundie is more excited about pet pharma than big pharma
Northcape portfolio manager Fleur Wright likes to hold stocks that fly under the radar as part of her team’s ‘esoteric’ portfolio.
- Updated
- Joanne Tran
January 2023
US says no strong link between Pfizer booster and strokes
Experts investigated early signs that the bivalent booster was linked to an increased risk of stroke in older people - but found no evidence to confirm it.
- Laurie McGinley and Lena H. Sun
China says COVID-19 wave has peaked in many areas
A summary by a publication managed by the Communist Party’s official newspaper says infections have been declining in Beijing and several Chinese provinces.
- Eduardo Baptista and Bernard Orr
November 2022
COVID-19 wave to ‘peak soon and drop quickly’
The nation’s top doctor says the latest wave is near its peak and cases should drop sharply soon after, despite a near-50 per cent increase in infections.
- Michael Read
Six things to know about the new XBB COVID variant
Singapore has been living with the highly infectious, immune evasive strain for months – and now it’s taking off in Australia.
- Emma Connors
Pfizer workers strike over 3pc pay rise
Pfizer workers have walked off the job in protest over pay offers of 3 per cent a year in a sign of mounting wage pressures after inflation hit a 32-year-high.
- David Marin-Guzman
September 2022
Right-wingers aren’t getting vaccinated: ANU study
Young people, the poor, right-wingers and Australians from non-English-speaking backgrounds are among the least likely to have received a COVID-19 booster.
- Michael Read
COVID-19 booster for young children gets provisional approval
The medicines’ regulator has given provisional approval to a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster for children aged five to 11.
- Maureen Dettre and Dominic Giannini
August 2022
Investors flee drug giants as Zantac cancer trials approach
The recalled heartburn drug is the latest to face a wave of US product-liability lawsuits that could expose companies to $US45 billion in damages from jury trials.
- Dong Lyu and Jef Feeley
July 2022
Finally, a weight-loss drug that really works – but there’s a catch
Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy uses a hormone to regulate hunger. It’s wildly effective, but is it the right solution to the obesity crisis?
- Hannah Kuchler