Time for some real wackiness
As we prep for EASD in Lisbon next week let’s look at some of the wackier things going on in the wacky world.
Since it’s been some time since we had a contest try this one on- what’s the over/under until Lilly (NYSE: LLY) sues Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) over Admelog? As we said when Sanofi sued Lilly, a suit which was eventually settled, when it comes to protecting a franchise when all fails sue. And not like we need to mention it again but payback is a bitch.
Next and we’d recommend sitting down for this one why wouldn’t we be surprised if Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) helped Tandem (NASDAQ: TNDM) stay afloat. Think about this just for a moment. Tandem keeps spending money they don’t have or cannot or should not be spending. They keep telling everyone that things are just fine even as their lenders are breathing down their necks. Yep in that beautiful city of San Diego there is nothing but sunshine.
So, here’s how this plays out. Medtronic knows that if Tandem does implode they would pick up the lion’s share of Tandem’s installed user base. Only problem is Medtronic is dealing with a boatload of issues now and would not be able to handle this sudden influx of patients. By keeping Tandem afloat for another quarter or two, they can fix their current and then let Tandem implode.
Yes, we know this sounds somewhat nutty but hey this the wacky world.
Want to go totally off the deep consider this Dexcom (NASDAQ: TNDM) wouldn’t be all that thrilled to see Medtronic keep Tandem afloat as they would eventually lose a nice installed user base. They would prefer that Tandem declare bankruptcy then come in and with Google’s help buy the company on the very cheap.
But why stop there as with Google’s backing they could double down and buy Animas too. That of course assumes that Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) gets their act together and realizes better to get something than nothing. With Tandem and Animas combined Dexcom could head to head against Medtronic and instead of playing defense for what Medtronic is trying to do in the sensor business they could go on the offensive and make Medtronic play defense to protect their golden goose.
Think we’re done, think again.
Since we’re speculating on who might buy whom try this one on for size, what about Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) leaving the reservation and buying the diabetes franchise from AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN). A move which would deepen their portfolio and give Lilly fits. Novo could use the installed Bydureon base to give semaglutide a boost when it’s approved forcing Lilly to play defense to protect Trulicity. Novo could also use the orals in Astra’s portfolio to offer package deals as Lilly has been doing with their portfolio.
Now we would be remiss if we did not mention that our chardonnay guzzling friends might not take kindly to this and could jump in and make a higher bid. Listen this might have made sense years ago but Sanofi is consistent. As Momma Kliff used to say; “When people show you who they are, believe them.”
Now we’re sure some are saying we’ve lost it, that we started happy hour already. But as we note all the time this is the wacky world where anything can and usually does happen. Listen after 20 plus years covering this wacky world seeing what we have seen honestly nothing much shocks us anymore. Momma Kliff used to say the time; “Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something comes along that tells you – you ain’t seen nothing.”
