From: "Catherine Austin Fitts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Anybody got anything on what AstraZeneca is up to in West Chester/Wilmington area, and Merck before it? Anything to do with flipping for an illegal to legal model? ============================================================================ ============================================= So....while trolling for mind control programming locations, I drive by the Alfred DuPont childrens hospital in Southern PA/Northern Delaware near Brandywine, and find a totally spooky looking corporation Astra Zenna Corporation. Huge complex, tons of security, signs about giving through United Way and funding of the clean up and maintenance of one of the rods that criss crosses their huge complex. Nothing about what they do. All windows black glass. It looks like the corporation in Sneakers. What was really spooky was a new Ronald McDonald house. All black glass. Amazing security there at the hospital etc. I spend about 30 minutes driving around and checking out a variety of facilities. Never once saw a child except for one girl with what appeared to be a father practicing learning how to drive in their van in the parking lot. ============================================================================ =============================================== Astra AG (Sweden) and Zeneca Group PLC (England) Dear Catherine, Astra AG as noted earlier was involved in a jt. venture with Merck, in which Merck later acquired rights to hypertension medication .... In December, 1998, Astra announced it would merge with Zeneca Group of London, and "funded out" Merck's interests in any new pharmaceuticals ... The closest I can come is to a union (confirmed in 10-K405 of Merck) of the ventures, then buy-out of Astra by Zeneca -- this combination could have earlier established AstraZenna or AstraZeneca .... In either case, one cannot get any reports on Astra AG or Zeneca Group, Inc. from the on-line EDGAR database as, like Novartis, they are foreign owned corporations and while they must each submit an annual report to the SEC, these are not in the public domain of EDGAR. A trip to the SEC in D.C. would possibly afford a peak through microfilm or other medium of these two foreign owned pharmaceuticals .. You have likely, then, on your drive, encountered a research hospital funded by Astra and Zeneca ... and as of this year, Astra is a part of Zeneca ... I might find something on Zeneca on the Web so will continue a search from that dimension. Best, ============================================================================ ============================================== Here's a Bloomberg ... 'tis now AstraZeneca .... BioCognizance Forum ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- ZEN Shareholders Approve Astra/Zeneca From: Henry Niman Date: 18 Feb 1999 Time: 21:29:45 Remote Name: 12.79.45.38 Comments Zeneca Shareholders Clear $34.9 Bln Astra Purchase (Update2) Bloomberg News February 18, 1999, 10:43 a.m. PT Zeneca Shareholders Clear $34.9 Bln Astra Purchase (Update2) (Adds closing shares in 11th paragraph.) London, Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Zeneca Group Plc shareholders approved the drugmaker's $34.9 billion purchase of Sweden's Astra AB, paving the way for the second-biggest European drug merger. Zeneca, Britain's third-biggest drug company, agreed in December to buy Astra, Sweden's biggest drugmaker, in an all- stock transaction, the latest in a series of consolidation moves in the $244 billion global drug industry. Astra's shareholders have until March 18 to accept Zeneca's offer for their shares. The link-up would create a company with $17.3 billion in sales and pro forma pretax profit of $3.46 billion. Leading drugs include Losec, Astra's ulcer treatment, and Zestril, Zeneca's hypertension drug. The transaction is currently worth a little less than the merger of Ciba-Geigy AG and Sandoz AG to form Novartis AG in 1996, which was valued at $36 billion. ``The vote paves the way for regulatory approval and approval by Astra shareholders,'' said Peter Cartwright, an analyst at Williams de Broe in London. ``Given the industry's consolidation and the fact that there is no other deal on the table for now, it's in the interest of shareholders to vote in favor of the merger.'' At the meeting, the takeover was approved by a margin of about 100-1 of the votes cast. Follow the Trend The merger, expected to be completed by June, is the latest in a spate of combinations in the European drug industry. Companies say they need to combine to cut costs and acquire more marketing clout to compete with the leaders in the pharmaceuticals industry. Glaxo Wellcome Plc Chief Executive Robert Ingram -- asked today if his company had approached Zeneca to discuss combining the two drugmakers since Zeneca agreed to buy Astra -- said it had not. Analysts had speculated Glaxo, the world's No. 2 drug company, might try to buy its smaller rival to prevent it becoming a more effective competitor. Ingram was speaking at a press conference on Glaxo's 1998 earnings. The changing economics of drugmaking -- particularly the rising cost of drug development -- made it logical for Zeneca and Astra to seek a partner, analysts said. They warned, though, that both companies' top-selling drugs face patent expiration in 2001, an event that invariably hurts sales. Each company would have done better to find a partner less exposed to patent expirations, some said. The transaction was valued at $37 billion at the time of the announcement in December. Since then, Zeneca's shares have fallen 5 percent, lowering the value of the purchase. ``I don't think they have convinced the market they will get the growth out of it that they predict,'' said Stephen Ewing, an analyst with WestLB Panmure. Zeneca shares rose 25 pence to 2,601p after falling as low as 2,545 earlier. Astra rose 5 kronor to 164. Dissident Shareholders The transaction now depends on 90 percent of Astra shareholders accepting Zeneca's offer to exchange their stock for shares in AstraZeneca. Astra has said shareholders representing more than 20 percent of the company have accepted the plan, including Investor AB, SEB AB, Nordbanken AB, AP Fund, Swedbank's Robur fund and Scandia AB. One sticking point may be persuading smaller Astra shareholders. Aktiespararna, a shareholder group representing about 117,000 shareholders, rejected the offer last month and again today, saying the transaction is too risky and unfavorable to Astra. The association plays an advisory role only for its members, however, who hold about 10 percent of Astra. Although Aktiespararna's opposition attracted attention, analysts said it may fail to sway many of its own members. ``The dissident group grabbed headlines but in the end I think Astra shareholders are bound to give their assent,'' said Williams de Broe's Cartwright. In addition to shareholders, the companies still need to win antitrust approval in Europe and the U.S. Zeneca this month said EU regulators delayed their decision the Astra purchase by two weeks until March 1. They also said the U.S. Federal Trade Commission wanted more information on it. Even so, the company said it remained optimistic an agreement can be reached. Losing Patents The biggest challenge ahead, analysts said, will be overcoming the sales drop after the expiration of patents on Zeneca's Zestril, which generated $1 billion in sales in 1997, and Losec, which generated $2.72 billion for Astra that year. The two drugs made up 32 percent of the companies' combined sales in 1997. Still, analysts say AstraZeneca, which will be based in London, is likely to achieve its cost-saving targets of $1.1 billion within three years through job cuts, factory closures and other measures. The new company plans to slash about 6,000 jobs, or 11 percent of the combined workforce. AstraZeneca said it will be the world's third-biggest pharmaceuticals maker behind Merck & Co. of the U.S. and Glaxo Wellcome. Based on prescription-drug sales alone, it will rank No. 6 behind Johnson & Johnson of the U.S. London-based Zeneca is offering 0.5045 share in the enlarged company for each Astra share, with one AstraZeneca share being equal to one share in Zeneca. At the time the purchase was agreed, that represented a 12 percent premium over Astra's previous share price. Zeneca shareholders will own 53.5 percent of the new company. AstraZeneca's chief executive will be Zeneca director Tom McKillop, and Percy Barnevik, the chairman of Astra shareholder Investor AB, will be chairman. The 14-member board of directors will be evenly split between former directors of Astra and Zeneca. --Reto Gregori in the Frankfurt newsroom (49-69) 92041-146, Dane ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Last changed: September 22, 1999 --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- GRAB THE GATOR! FREE SOFTWARE DOES ALL THE TYPING FOR YOU! Tired of filling out forms and remembering passwords? Gator fills in forms and passwords with just one click! 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